Myth #1

Singing is a skill you have to be born with.
FALSE! (anybody CAN learn how to sing)

It is very common for someone to believe that they weren't meant to be a singer - they just "weren't born with it."  There is a big group of people to blame for this myth: the uneducated. 

For someone to say "singing is something you have to be born with" is like saying "basketball skills are something you have to be born with."  Tell Michael Jordan that it is something you have to be born with.  You all know the story.  Michael Jordan got CUT from his high school basketball team.  He didn't take that very well so he began practicing all day every single day.  Then he made the team.  Then he earned a spot on one of the most prestigious college basketball teams in the nation.  Then he was drafted to the NBA and went down in history as one of the best to ever play the game.  Basketball skills aren't something you have to be born with, and neither are singing skills.

Anybody can learn how to sing.

There is something else to blame: the pop culture's hit show "American Idol."  The show is DESIGNED for entertainment, it is a BUSINESS.  How do they get money?  They sell all of the inexperienced singers to America as a form of entertainment.  Also realize that those singers are specifically chosen because they are the worst case scenarios of singers who don't know how to use their voice and have no control over pitch.  That can be changed.

Back to the uneducated.  People who don't know anything about singing will say that all of those bad American Idol auditioners are tone deaf.  If you think they are all tone deaf then I am glad you are reading this.  They aren't tone deaf.  They just don't know how to use their voice.  Tone deafness is actually very rare.  The real problem is a lack of vocal knowledge.  I was in the same spot as those "tone deaf singers."  Anybody who heard me sing would immediately point the finger and label me as "tone deaf."  I am NOT tone deaf.  When I met Brett, he took me through some pitch evaluation exercises and it was clear that I am not tone deaf at all - I just didn't know how to use my voice.  I could hear the melody and pitches perfectly clear IN MY HEAD, but as soon as I tried to translate it into vocals, I didn't know HOW to do it - therefore it APPEARED as if I was tone deaf.

So the next time you hear a singer that you would label as "tone deaf," think again.  They probably just don't know how to use their voice.

Now for the second part of these "bad singers."  Not only can they not sing on pitch, but their voices sound ugly.  You can also blame that on a lack of vocal knowledge.  Better sound color is created when the correct muscles are used for the correct vocal coordinations which produce a FREE and NATURAL sound.  Anybody can learn how to sing with these coordinations - they are all natural coordinations that your voice is designed to do.

The key to solving all of this is obviously to work with a qualified vocal instructor, but beware - not all vocal instructors are good.  Some teach different methods, some are good and some are not.  Be very careful while choosing a vocal coach.  With correct vocal technique and instruction, ANYBODY can learn how to sing.

With all of this said, please do not let people tell you that singing is something that you have to be born with and that all of those famous singers were "meant to be singers." 

Someone who has been singing for 2 years with correct vocal technique can be better than someone who has been singing with incorrect technique for their entire life.

Anybody can learn how to sing, it is just a matter of discovering the correct way to use your vocal instrument.
I repeat, anybody can learn how to sing!
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