Myth #4

A college degree in vocal performance makes you a "qualified singer."

FALSE!

This may be the only time I get to compare vocal training to dog training...

Vocal training can be like training your dog.  As we all know, there are both right and wrong ways to train a dog.  Similarly, there are right and wrong ways to train the voice.  Unfortunately, there are way too many vocal trainers that use obsolete training methods for today's advanced society.  Some of them don't even know HOW to get your voice to work correctly, so they use "shortcuts" that can just destroy you in the long run.  When Brett was young, he had a vocal coach that used one of these "shortcuts."  Brett was struggling with his voice and couldn't sing powerfully, so this "vocal trainer" allowed him to yell as a shortcut to singing with power.  With that said, be warned that not all vocal instructors can be trusted.  (Needless to say, Brett did evolve to become one of the leading vocal trainers in today's music industry with vocal exercises that automatically train your voice to operate naturally, as it is designed to do.)

Most universities that offer musical degrees are classically influenced.  Along with that comes classical music.  Along with classical music comes the vocal trainers that train people to sound like all of those classical singers.  Classical can be great music BUT - if you plan on singing today's contemporary music genres such as pop, R&B, country, etc then being classically trained is NOT your best bet.

While learning to sing, it is more about quality than quantity.  Spending 4 years with incorrect technique is not even comparable to spending 4 years with correct techniques.  Just because a college offers a degree in vocal performance doesn't mean it is the best training available.  I have encountered MANY college graduates that admit to learning more about singing in a few months with Brett Manning than they did in 4 years of "college."  Imagine that...

Scenario #1: Thousands of dollars on a college resulting in a lack of correct vocal technique and years of paying off a student loan...

 - OR -

Scenario #2: A few hundred dollars on a professional and up-to-date vocal trainer with instantly effective vocal exercises that can teach you how to correctly and naturally use your voice as it is designed to do, and all of this in half the time and SO much more affordable. 

I have also encountered people that think learning all of the scientific things about the voice will make them a better singer.  That will make you a better scientist, but not a better singer.  I can sense the argument coming, so let me elaborate before I go any further.  You DO need to understand some things about how the voice works, but you do NOT need to know EVERY single small detail about the anatomy, etc.  It is not what you know, but what you can DO.  Let me use Michael Jordan to explain my reasoning...

Michael Jordan is one of the best basketball players in history.  He has obviously mastered the coordinations needed for shooting, dribbling, dunking, etc.  But I don't think he learned how to shoot a basketball by reading an anatomy book and learning the names of all the muscles and tendons in the arms and how they work - he learned how to shoot a basketball by actually practicing the coordinations.  Reading an anatomy book and learning the names of all the muscles in the throat and what they do will not make you a better singer.  The key to becoming a better singer (or learning how to sing) is to condition your vocal cords and coordinations by using simple and genius vocal exercises that are designed to make your voice operate naturally, as it is designed to do.

These vocal exercises are NOT going to cost you $40,000 and 4 years at a college.  In fact, a few of these vocal exercises can even be found for FREE by going to the "Free Stuff" section of THIS WEBSITE.
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