Can you sing?

Some people book a singing lesson to find out if: "Can I sing?" 

That very question may already contain a number of myths and misundertandings all at once and it's hard to know where to start really to answer it. 

First of all, what does it even mean - to be able to sing? 

That's a complex question and needs to be answered bit by bit so that is the way I'm gonna do it.

THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION

PHYSICAL PREREQUISITES

To be able to sing, you will first need the physical prerequisites making it possible for you to use your voice. Practically everybody has that, with very few exceptions. If you are one of those few exceptions you are probably very aware of it already. We are talking about deformities, illnesses and severe damage. If you are in any doubt, you can easily find out by visiting an ENT doctor (the kind of doctor who can look down your throat with a camera). Or if it is some other part of your body hindering you (like your lungs, your abdominal muscles or such), start by visiting your physician who can either treat you or refer you to the right specialist for your condition. Physical conditions so severe that they impede your vocal ability are very uncommon and the fact is, even if you do have some kind of disability there is a good chance it can be worked around anyway. The human body is an amazing creation that can do marvelous things.. 

Then there are cases when there is a physical condition, but it is caused by functional problems, i.e. - unhealthy technique. This is more common. But don't worry, if it is not severe, even pretty bad vocal damage can be solved simply through rest and technique (and if it is very severe, through medical care and then technique). Again, if you have any suspicion there can be damage, always start by visiting a Physician.

OK, let's say we have now ruled out any physical conditions or illnesses hindering you to sing and that you do have the physical prerequisites needed to sing, just like most people do. 

Then can you sing? Now that depends on what meaning we put into it.

TECHNIQUE

Do you mean - can you produce the notes you want? 

Well maybe you actually can't, but you can learn to. Not being able to reach notes is a functional hinder, i.e; it is all about technique. The same goes for volume, dynamics, staying in pitch, sound color, effects, stability, brightness, -  all aspects of sound really. And not only for sound. Also for rhythm and language. With the correct technique, knowledge and pedagogical tools you can learn how to do all these things with your voice. There can be a number of reasons for why a person's technique might not be working. There can be psychological hinders, misinformation and misunderstanding, the lack of understanding of how the voice works and how to make it work like you want. Whatever the reason is, there is help to get.

Perhaps you haven't learned how your voice works yet, but why wouldn't you be able to? No one expects you to be able to play the drums if you never learned to, right? There are many common and pretty strange ideas about singing. I plan to cover this topic in another post,- or actually - there are so many myths and misunderstandings that I plan to write a whole series about it! But for now all you need to know it that it is possible to overcome technical hinders. What you need is just access to the right knowledge. 

TASTE

….but perhaps you mean, can you sound good? 

But to answer that, we first need to know, what is good? That is a matter of taste. You can pay me to find out what I think but is that really worth the money? Everyone has different taste and mine is just one of everyones.. Perhaps you love singers like Whitney Houston, Celine Dion or Mariah Carey and perhaps I only like death metal singers. Now I'm not saying that is true, but it could be. So if you sing like Celine Dion and it is not my taste, does that make you a bad singer? Of course not.
I recommend people to rather hire me for learning how to sing according to their own taste.

EXPRESSION

But can you move someone with your singing? 

Well that is a good question! Singing is all about expression. You want to express something and listeners want to be touched by it. You want to reach them. You are most likely to do that if you tell them a story and they can relate to it. One that triggers memories and feelings of their own. It is your way of telling the story (and there are very many ways..) and the listeners own story that decide if the both connect. It's just like people, they have different personalities and different backgrounds. Sometime's they connect and sometimes they don't… Some people are easy to like, right? And some people you just can't stand.. But luckily those people are someone else's favorites.
Expression is the whole picture. The core of it is the story you are telling, the message. The way you chose to deliver it is what makes you unique. What materials do you use to paint your picture? With your voice you can put together different elements to create your sound - vocal modes, sound color, effects… How do you work with dynamics, language and rhythm? How do you move or perhaps you don't? Which facial expressions do you show and how intensely? There are so many variations and combinations, there is no right or wrong. There are just choices, what you chose to do - and not to do.. Together, that is your expression. Your way of getting your message across. 

If you want everyone to love your way of expressing yourself, you better think again, cause it's not gonna happen... This is the harsh and lovely reality of our uniqueness. There will always be people who won't like what you do, but there will also always be those who love it! Therefore my advice is, do what YOU like. Cause actually you are not THAT unique. I guarantee you that there are other people who like and are touched by the same things as you, so if you stay true to yourself and to a way of expressing yourself that feels right for you, you are going to move those people. If you enjoy your singing, others will too. Isn't that great? You have everything to win from being yourself and doing what you like!

So what was the answer to the question really.. can you sing? :-)

- Annika

Ph.D. Nandhu Radhakrishnan at the University of Missouri, Columbia (Communication Science and disorders) explains it very simply - 

"...there are people who do not sing but it is not because they cannot, but because they do not sing".