I'm a singing teacher AMA

[Lovetosinglalala123]

I've been a singer all my life, studied and gained diplomas on top of a BMus, and have been teaching singing to children and adults for almost 30 years.

I'm happy to answer questions.

Do you believe everyone an learn to sing? Or are some people 'lost causes'?

My DH sounds tone deaf but he says it sounds good in his head haha.

I like to sing but I don't think I have a good voice as I can't reach very many notes.

Do you teach using a specific technique (e.g. Estill, classical etc)? Do you stick purely to that or use various methods?

If you have absolutely no natural vibrato how can you learn it?

Does it piss you off that everyone thinks they can sing?

Charm23 I think the majority of people can learn to sing. There's only very very few people who are actually "tone deaf". Singing is like anything else, the more you practice the better it gets. When you think about it, producing/matching a pitch is really complex. Your ears send a signal to your brain, your brain "hears" that pitch and then has to send signals to the various muscles/moving parts in your throat and larynx. For most people this develops quite easily in childhood, for others it takes more time. But I firmly believe, unless there's a physical barrier, that most people can learn to sing. With range, a good singing teacher should be able to help increase this by teaching the correct technique.

Bonbonchance I'm classically trained and have attended various workshops and conferences where Estill etc have been demonstrated. I don't actually work with any of the methods exclusively. I take bits from everywhere depending on the voice I'm training. I think it's more important to work with the individual and use techniques that will help the individual voice.

Katisha Vibrato is very over-rated! It's something that develops as the voice matures and all the functioning parts are working effectively and in a relaxed manner. One thing I hate is uncontrolled vibrato which is used all the time.

Harold what really pisses me off is mediocre singers posting videos on social media with all the comments stating how amazing they are, what a fabulous voice, so talented etc. etc. I've also had the pleasure of attending lots of talent shows where I've sat there cringing because of the wrong choice of song (singers hugely over estimating their abilities) and the judges all having something positive to say. I don't think false praise is doing them any favours in the long run. (I sound really horrible and judgemental there sorry).

Can you tell me if Dancing Queen is hard to sing or is it just me?

What should you look for when picking a singing teacher for children?
My dd has ASD, a really good strong voice and won't sing in front of anyone but me. She does think she might like lessons 1:1 though.

Do boys need to re-learn anything or change technique when their voice breaks? I've always wondered if choirboys with beautiful voices are guaranteed to be good singers as adults.

Wizzywig it's definitely not just you. Dancing Queen is high! Or at least it's high for singing in a pop style chest voice. Abba songs were written for the two women in the group and played to their strengths.

AornisHades I have a couple of pupils with ASD (and a couple I suspect of being on the spectrum). I have one where lessons (probably just the singing rather than anything specific I'm doing) are helping her deal with day to day life a bit better. I treat all my pupils differently according to their needs and personalities. Being able to plan lessons to suit each individual is one of the best parts of not being a classroom teacher (I did a PGCE after my degree but decided not to go into classroom teaching).

Vim There's no reason why they couldn't go on to be good singers if they want to and continue with lessons. I teach boys through the change and a bit beyond. However, if they want to study further I recommend them to a male teacher. While I can teach girls to an advanced level because I know exactly how it feels and how I produce certain sounds and I can work around their voices to get them to produce that sound, I don't feel qualified to teach advanced male singers because I'm not male. I know there are plenty of teachers that do but I choose not to. I wouldn't teach female death metal singers either

Aornis sorry, you also asked what to look for when looking for a singing teacher. I would say the most important thing is that they are singers and trained in teaching singing. There are loads of piano teachers who teach singing despite never having studied singing ('cause if you can play the piano singing is easy right? ). There are also loads of hobby singers who've never had any training who teach singing. Word of mouth is a good way. Exam centres are also good places to ask as they get to know the teachers (and their exam results).

Thank you Love that's useful :) Interesting to hear you've successfully taught some other children with autism. I will investigate further now. I might pm you our county on the off chance you're near or know anyone near if that's OK?

Aornis AOTOS (Association of Teachers of Singing) will have a list of teachers in your area and may even help you in finding one with experience of teaching autistic children.

Thank you for this thread. Do you think some of the current child singing superstars, who sing in a very ‘adult’ style, are damaging their voices?

Why can I sing exactly like Celina Dione after I've drunk a bottle of wine, but usually I make my own ears bleed when singing?

Oh lovely. There's one nearby :) Thank you!

My pleasure Aornis

Eppia I worry more about why they are being "encouraged" to sing in this way. Learning to sing well takes years and years of training and hard work and any good teacher will allow children's voices to develop naturally. A voice, especially classical, doesn't reach full maturity until the early thirties. Personally, I don't like children singing Nessun Dorma etc. (I have the disadvantage of knowing the background to these big arias) I also didn't like that English girl on AGT a couple of weeks ago or 12 year olds singing Whitney and Celine numbers. You can argue that children naturally put their voices through the mill when they're playing but that's only in short bursts and not purposely being manipulated by adults to wow the likes of Simon Cowell. Give me a child who sings like a child any day.

Lynette that's one of those questions we all ask ourselves no matter how much training and experience we've had