Can a person learn to sing or is it a natural talent?

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I realllly want to learn to sing properly. I mean I already sing on youtube for some songs I've been writing but I hate my own voice! It feels like I can hit the pitch but the actual tone and whole sound of the voice is really not that great.
So I ask the question. Is it possible that a person can learn to sing without having much ability?

Has anybody here learnt to sing or was it just something you could always do?

I'd appreciate any advice and some debate from any singers on the forum.

Joe

I've been working on my own singing and it has definitely improved. A couple of friends benefitted from singing lessons.

John Bell, who is a singer/songwriter, in Scotland says that pretty much everyone can sing and that it is largely lack of confidence which holds people back.

I think if you have the desire to learn, practice, and are not tone deaf, you can learn. If you can tell that you are hitting the notes I would guess you are probably not tone deaf.

Confidence is huge!

I have found, it's better to sing (or play an instrument) with gusto and possibly be a little off, than it is to play the notes perfectly but sheepishly. But then again, I tend to play rock or world type music and not classical.

If you enjoy it, stick with it. You will improve. I have always been able to sing some what, but I have been practicing for some upcoming gigs (I play guitar and lap steel, but have been ask to sing some for these shows). I have noticed improvement in my tone.

I've once been to some workshops for learning to sing. Before I went to choir classes for two years and I didn't like my singing at all, it was too soft and full of air.
Nonetheless, the teacher in the workshop had a certain teaching technique (whose name I forgot) which got astounding results for everybody in this workshop. After this workshop,.....now my view of singing is like this: It's like there's a keyhole in your mind or throat or vocal chords (or all of them?) and some people know how to go there, take the key and open it.....some people don't know where the key is and how to open the doors, they need guidance for this. But if they get it, they can open up potential singing abilities. Afterwards you'll just need practice for intonation and hitting notes.

So yes, it's possible to learn to sing. I found learning about the voice in general, and singing techniques are helpful but I found a good teacher to be the most helpful.

I grew up singing in choirs. I took voice lessons. I can sing, play the guitar, some piano and I'm learning the banjo. I do it not to perform but for the enjoyment of music. I'm a great backup singer but not a good soloist - but that's not what it's about. It's just music.

I've noticed the people who are the good singers seem to be born with the talent/gift, but everyone can sing for the joy of music. It doesn't matter if you sound good or not, just sing.

It's possible, even without lessons. Here is a wonderful singer named Danny Smalls, who learned just by listening to his favorite oldschool tunes, and singing along. I don't know where the video is, but there's one of him saying that's how he learned to sing, by just going with it. He shows up in subways and makes hundreds some days..

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBRWBJ_HQaY&feature=related[/youtube]

Personally, I think there has to be some sort of natural talent there too, otherwise the tone is not pleasant. My mother-in-law attended singing lessons as a child/teenager and has a very trained voice, almost like an opera singer. She has a strong voice and well developed lungs and she seems to hit the right notes, but there's a definite unpleasantness about it. She has the technique alright, but the sound is just wrong.

I definitely can see and relate to what you're saying here.
I think there's like a certain area or pocket of your mouth that you're meant to use to sing. An area perhaps where the air resonates to produce a nice tone. What I believe is that a person has to learn the technique to get the air to resonate there. I believe it's called the hard palate or something? I think that's the hardest part though. It's just something I can't do.

I can hit pitch really well I think. But the sound at those pitchs isn't strong or developed.
It isn't possible for you to maybe try and explain a few of those magic exercises your teacher taught you to get a better voice? I would really appreciate any help.

And thanks everyone for you insightful responses!

That's really inspirational. I wish I could learn like he has. Seems like he worked it all out by himself. Maybe I could do that!

if you have a certain amount of basic talent, yes, you can learn how to sing. any talent above the basic amount only makes it easier to learn.

the biggest thing though is how to use your voice/breath properly, and that is what most self-tought singers do wrong, the difference between a forced and a natural tone is huge even for a tone-deaf person.
for this reason, it is recommended to take a lesson or 2 from someone who is semi-professional at music (not nessecarely a singer, though that is preffered, someone who plays a wind instrument (trumpet, tuba, saxophone...) works as well, since they also have breath control)

Ozzy Osbourne doesn't have a good voice, but thanks to his tecnique, he still sings very well.

You can elarn but you need the natural talent. I can hit the notes and pitch well and can use multiple vocal styles, but it still is decent at best because of my poor singing voice. I've been told my screams/growls are very powerful though.

That's a very good advice.

As I said, I can't remember the name of this technique but it was pretty effective and yes it was all about palates. Remember, there are a lot of books who explore the voice and singing methods in depth. They may be helpful. This technique derived from one of those books, though it had a special name.

Anyway, it was about breathing first. Then there was a excercise where you had to sing a note and saying "uuuu" or "ouuu" or something like that. It was something very specific you had to try to say and sing. While singing someone else would touch you somewhere behind your head, at the neck. If you really sang, you could feel it vibrate at this spot......That was one exercise.
Another one was about singing tones but by again, using very specific vocalizations and at the same time you had to use one of your hands and direct it with the way you wanted your notes to sound e.g. with a slow movement of the hand forward then backwards....up and down...etc.
There was much more....e.g. try to make a vocalization that sounds like a cracking door or try to squeak like a crying child and so on.

As you can see, those descriptions are patchy. I had those classes some years ago, so I forgot a lot about it, enough to not be able to repeat this again.( I have lost the key) But yes, breathing is key. If you have too much air while singing or talking, you won't be able to sing with a strong voice that well. It will sound too light.

Thanks for the advice again. I've done a few youtube searches etc and I've found a few exercises that involve lip rolls and tongue trills? I'm kind of watching them in disbelief that they'll ever actually achieve anything. Dunno whether they're anything similar to what you used to learn.

Also did you say that using too much air produces a light voice that isn't strong? That doesn't make sense to me but maybe that is where I'm going wrong!

However, I'm really starting to lose faith in the ability that I'll ever be able to sing with a good voice I still want to try vocal coaching but I dunno.. I'm starting lose all hope. It's getting me down as well - Music is like one of my major major major special interests. I'm a good guitarist but being able to sing would literally for me be the best thing ever (without sounding melodramatic)...

You might look at your local community college and see if they offer singing courses. I took one where the instructor taught us how to properly use our diaphragm. The method he used is also helpful to gestating women - it supposedly eases the whole birth event. (I'd already had my kids but I could see the merits.) I noticed major improvements for a several students.

Yes, such things can be helpful, as well. But you have to be very adamant to do such things. Things like those you mentioned can losen up your mouth and e.g. the creaking sound or the yawning excercise are used to open up something (I don't know what especifically).
I guess it depends where you are directing your breathing air. E.g. mine is in the wrong "channel" while talking so I have a harder time than average to sing loudly or strongly because I have to consciously surpress this kind of speech impediment(my voice is a little bit whispery). But I guess directing your breathing air wrongly is a common mistake. I really can't remember how I was made aware about the "right" sound and feeling of singing.

Music is also one of my major special interests. And I wanted to learn how to sing properly. It would complete my musical knowledge and experience. And although being in a choir I sensed I was bad at singing....I didn't care and said to myself I have to try it out anyway. It just has to be done and if it doesn't get any results....at least I tried and more importantly got to know the methods used to train this instrument which is called voice.

I didn't regret it at all. Yes, now I can't replicate this experience but at least I know now how it felt to be singing and how I sound if I'd actually used my voice to sing. That's good enough for me.