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DMBand0026
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Chicago
 
2006-03-12, 10:57

I can tell you from experience, about 16 years of it to be exact, that singing can be taught, to a certain point. I started singing when I was about 4 years old, obviously non professionally. I haven't ever really stopped. I've encountered a lot of singers over the years, ones who have had professional training and experience, and ones who haven't.

The ones who have had professional training do tend to improve a little, some, quite a bit, but professional training can't be the saving grace of someone who is just fundamentally bad at singing. What I'm saying, is that there's a certain amount of natural ability involved. Just the same as if someone is an athlete, I don't think anyone would disagree that the world's top athletes have a certain amount of natural ability involved in their talent. That's the same with singers, some people are just predisposed to being better at singing than others.

Yes, those who aren't born as the best can improve and become better, but I really think a lot of it has to do with congenital abilities. Both my parents are singers, and both sing professionally, my father is a choral teacher and humanities teacher at a high school, my mom was a music educator and now is the music director at a church.

Both of my brothers sing, my older brother didn't put as much time and effort in as I did, and never got professional training, so he never developed the abilities I did. My younger brother is well on his way to where I was at one point. I got professional training, sang professionally for a while, and even released a CD. I still sing quite a bit now, not much professionally anymore, but I do play several instruments professionally.

Anyway...I really think that a lot of vocal ability comes from natural ability. It can be furthered, vocal cord strength can be built up, lung capacity expanded...etc, but a lot of it has to come from natural ability.

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