Can you sing? If yes, was it natural?

[TERF4Life]

The skill/ talent of singing perplexes me. How are some people naturally good at it yet others can have years of lessons and still be terrible?

If you can sing, how did you know you could? Do your friends know you can sing? Are you shy with it?

Yes, I have always been able to. So can my sister. It's odd because neither of our parents can at all!

What do you mean by 'Can you sing?' though? Do you mean sing in tune or have a good voice? I have good pitch, so I automatically sing in tune, but I have a pretty mediocre voice in terms of depth, tone etc. I'm fine in an amateur choir though, and have been in several.

I used to have a really good singing voice because I sang every Sunday at church for the first 18 years of my life. It was just practice. If I try to sing now, I can't hit any high notes. The old vocal chords aren't what they used to be.

Yes I can sing. I could always sing. I had singing lessons and did my exams. I’m in a semi-professional choir now and love it.

I think you can of course be trained but some people just can’t carry a tune, just like lots of things!

I've always sung, but shyly iyswim. About 20yrs ago, I was with a group of friends and we were doing karaoke for the first time. I heard one friend say to another 'Bloody hell, she can sing, I never knew'. Still makes me laugh when I think about it!

I can sing. My mum is a good singer so I think it comes from her (my dad can’t sing at all).

I have grade 8 distinction from my teenage years, and grade 8 in two other instruments as well.

As a PP said, music is my “thing”. I’ve always been good at it and once you’ve learned the basics and can read music etc, it never leaves you.

Also because I enjoy it I don’t mind practising, and didn’t when I was younger. It’s similar to sport in that way, or learning a language - if you spend more time on it then you’ll improve, as long as you have at least a basic ability to begin with.

I sing at home but I’m not one of those people who goes around singing in the office / at the shops / in other people’s cars or whatever. I cringe for those people even if they’re very good!

What did you sing in at the ROH? I’ve always thought their chorus is astounding.

When I was young I couldn't sing at all, it was so awful then as I got older into my 40's suddenly I could sing and I'm a good singer now, if I happen to do a karaoke people always seem impressed and I was offered a job once by an impresario to join his stable. I have no idea how this happened, one day I could just sing.

I was always good at music, had a good ear and can play musical instruments but I never used to be able to sing.

I discovered I could sing almost accidentally. We did lots of musical stuff at school from reception age and later I was in the choir and played a few instruments. I carried on singing at senior school (mostly in school productions, but the odd choir competition too). Did music and drama as a hobby outside of school and performed in a few shows. I never tried to do anything with it professionally because it just wasn't an option for me at the time - I had no connections in the industry and needed to get an ordinary job to support myself. However I carried on doing the amateur stuff and I've always enjoyed having a good old sing song! Later I had children and joined a church choir, which was lovely. Eventually we moved away from that area and I didn't sing for a few years, but I finally joined a community choir and I love it. It's all ages, all levels of experience and different abilities. It's a great thing to do for my mental health and I've made friends there too. All from somehow being able to hold a note or two!

I can't sing not one bit. Every time I sang as a child my mum would make a comment about how out of tune I was or how I sounded like the cat etc. I am now too embarrassed to even sing by myself in the car.

I have 3 children one who has a naturally beautiful singing voice and two who don't. While they were growing up I let them sing away without ever making a single negative comment, for a few years two of them were quite out of tune, this has resulted in them being able to now sing at a reasonable level, they are never going to be as good as their siblings who has the raw talent, but they both have a pleasant singing voice and more importantly than that they get great enjoyment singing along to the radio and they don't care who hears.

Yes, and yes, it was natural.

(Singing teacher here)

VAST majority of people will improve with lessons. Many people are traumatised by being told they can’t sing in childhood! That one surprised me but it’s what I’ve seen. Different head shapes will lead to a better or worse naturally pleasing resonance. A lot of tuning issues are down to aural skills and lack of vocal cord coordination, both of which very trainable. It’s like going to the gym - more you do it the stronger you get.

Yes some people are more naturally gifted but we are all born with an instrument and they’re all diffeeent, you just need to learn to play the one you have. And you can’t see it so it’s an exploration!

I am the opposite tone deaf. Can't sing a note and even if I could thin wobbly reedy voice. I get really irritated by the number of people who condsendingly tell me that "only 1 in a 100 people" are tone deaf and that it is just a matter of confidence.

Makes me so angry. I would genuinely love to be able to sing. To not be able to and then get patronised by someone who doesn't know what they are talking about is insult to injury.

I can sing - natural, but had a very small amount of voice lessons as a child. It's definitely not just me that thinks it, I got parts in school productions etc. Mezzo Soprano when younger, definitely just Soprano now.

I never sing in front of people who aren't immediate family. It's embarrassing when people notice! I was told constantly by my mother that I wasn't good enough to do it professionally (which is true, but no need to tell a teenager that when they're just enjoying stuff at school!!) and so I don't like to do it around others who will be similarly mean about it.

My father and half sister on his side have done semi-professional singing, and Mum can hold a tune, so I suspect it's somewhat a family trait. That said, my kids (and husband) are shit lol!

I could have written this!

Im a reasonably good singer as long as I stick to what works for my voice. You won’t catch me attempting Whitney or Mariah for example. I do a lot of am dram/musicals so I know I’ve got a good enough voice to sing in public. I always say I’m a mediocre triple threat. I can sing, act and dance very, very averagely.

Never had lessons, I have a good ear and can hear others when they’re out of tune. I remember being in a music lesson when I was about 9 and the teacher kept playing notes and asking individuals to sing the note. He kept coming back to me to do it “correctly” when others didn’t hit the note.

I have friends in amdram that are phenomenal singers. It’s all natural talent with some enhanced with professional lessons. I believe you have to have it, you can’t learn it. You can only get better with lessons, they can’t make you sing.

Studied at music college for Uni (piano). Learned other instruments at school too - although I don't do music any more.

I have a shit singing voice. And a good enough musical ear to know I have a shit singing voice. I suspect it would improve with lessons but have never tried.

I have exactly the same issue. I think our problem is so many people are tone deaf so lack the ability to appreciate. Even the Head of Music at my school seemed a bit lacking in awareness of talent when it was right under his nose.

I used to be able to sing very well, but silent reflux has killed the top of my range into a croak. I started losing my voice about 15 years ago and I’m sad about it.

Some days I can hit some higher notes - up to A or C above middle C, so not that high really. I have a great alto/mezzo tone (think Alison Moyet’s It’s That Ole Devil Called Love Again) and sometimes I can really plug into that. But I really miss being able to sing with confidence.

I can sing a bit and I have had lessons. One thing my singing teacher used to say was that the chief barrier to singing well for most people is anxiety around singing> tension> affects the voice> more anxiety> more tension...and so on. (She was very into what happens to the voice when there is no tension...football fans singing during a game, for example...and how you replicate that in a more controlled way.)

Her view was that lots of people grow up with anxiety and shame around singing (because at some point someone has made you feel bad about it or you grew up in a household where everyone felt bad about it) and in places where there is less shame and anxiety and singing is normalised, you get many more great singers- not just because they are found more easily but because everyone sings better. So many great singers coming out of places with a great singing culture, from US gospel churches to the Welsh valleys.

I can hold a decent note and get fairly high, I'm a high alto.

My family are singers so I guess it's genetics.

I would say that as I have gotten older, my voice isn't as elastic as it used to be. If I have a cold or have talked a lot my voice easily disappears and I can't project any more. I did karaoke after having covid and was hopeless! No lung capacity at all..voice was okay talking but hopeless when singing.

My friend thinks she can sing, but she really can't. But she loves singing so we will often sing together just for fun. I love how it brings her so much joy so would never tell her she doesn't sound good.

That's not true. I play the piano and can also really tell when DH guitars needs even the slightest tune. I know I have a good ear because if I sing I know I'm not reaching the notes, even though I know in my head how they should be sounding! I can't understand really awful terrible singers who can't seem to tell that they're they're tone deaf but insist on singing loudly. Now THEY don't have a good ear!

I have a pretty good ear, I can recognize and mimic accents as well as singing style. We play a family game of “Sing this song as Adele/James Blunt/Frank Sinatra/ Maria Callas etc.”
Maybe it’s because I grew up in a Methodist family who used to sing while doing the chores, but I’ve chosen music and singing to be an important part of my life.

(I’m also an excellent whistler, Bach being a favourite. And practice makes perfect!)

I can sing reasonably well in a soprano range. I don’t have a very powerful or distinctive voice but I can hold a tune and/or sing a harmony accurately. I’ve not had singing lessons specifically but learned to play the guitar and studied music up to sixth form level so can read music with reasonable competence. I sang in choirs and small ensemble groups all through school and up to university. It’s actually something I really miss doing!

Singing must be one of the only “instruments” where people can sound good without any training. I think really good singers are sometimes people with natural raw talent, and sometimes people who are really well trained, but to be really amazing you need both.

My daughter can sing, as can her dad and his sisters. Could tell from a very early age.

I sound like foxes mating.

@Sgtmajormummy I cannot whistle at all. I’m very jealous of those who can, especially those who can do it in tune!

I said MOST people. That doesn’t make it untrue, it just makes you one of the minority.