Should Songwriters Take Singing Lessons?

Are you a singer or a songwriter?  If you write songs, can you sing?  Is it important to be able to sing if you want to write songs that sell? 

I live in Nashville, Tennessee, a town where every surgeon, dry-cleaner, and real estate agent you meet also happens to be a songwriter. We are a songwriter-rich town, and we are very busy here--besides paying our bills, raising families, walking our dogs, and otherwise living our lives, we also must find time to write, demo and pitch our songs. So why should a songwriter consider the added time and expense of taking singing lessons? Of course, I'm biased: I'm a singing teacher. But I'm also a songwriter, and over the years I've seen the many benefits of vocal study. Even if you are convinced that you sound like a frog with strep throat and you will never sing in public, there are reasons to take a few classes. They include:

Vocal Health--Why leave a writing session hoarse when a few warm up exercises done while driving to the session could prevent you from straining your voice?

Ability to Think Like a Singer--This is invaluable if you are trying to get your songs cut. I once wrote with a guitarist who came up with a line that sounded great on guitar but was very awkward and uncomfortable to sing. When I said that the line "didn't sing well" he looked at me as if I were nuts. But I would bet my car that the difficulty of singing that melody made the song less pitchable-I certainly didn't want to sing it! Some lyrics also look great on paper but feel awkward to sing-once you learn about singer's diction in voice class you'll understand why. As you learn about your voice in singing lessons you develop an instinctive feel for which melodies and lyrics flow vocally, and which don't. The more singable the song, the more pitchable it is.

Better Work Tapes and Communication With Co-Writers--Even the aforementioned frog-voiced writer has to sing for co-writers and make work tapes for demo producers, demo singers, etc. Developing your range and pitch accuracy will make it much easier for you to communicate to the world what you hear in your head. One writer I know was only writing lyrics though she had definite melodic ideas in her head-- after she took some lessons she gained the confidence to also contribute musically.

Singing is Fun!--Singing well is even more fun. When you sing correctly it feels good and endorphins kick in. Singers often experience a "singer's high" akin to a runner's high. I have on occasion been in a funk, forced myself to do some vocal practicing, and sung myself into a good mood. And when I'm having fun I have a better creative flow, so I write more and better songs.

The above points pertain to all songwriters. The following points are for songwriters who perform at writer's nights, song circles, and other gigs.

The Better You Sing, the More People Listen--Rivers Rutherford, Gretchen Peters, Leslie Satcher and Jeffrey Steele are all hit songwriters as well as wonderful singers. At live shows their singing ability draws you in, then they deliver the songwriting goods. Developing your voice helps promote your songs. A while back I heard a successful writer squeak out his recent George Strait hit at the Bluebird Cafe--it was barely recognizable from the version I'd heard on the radio. We in Nashville pride ourselves on being able to distinguish a great song regardless of the singer, but had I heard the writer's version first I honestly don't think I would have recognized just how good the song was. I'm not saying that a writer needs to study singing for years and try to develop a star quality voice--I'm saying that some voice study can and should improve tone, range, pitch accuracy, sustenance, and overall delivery of a song.

The Nerves Thing--Playing out is part of the job. It's how we try our new songs out on people and how we network. The more you learn your voice and what it can do, the easier it is to perform. I've had episodes of world class stage fright but I knew my voice would stay solid, which ultimately eased my nerves. Because I'm fairly comfortable with my voice, stage fright never prevents me from getting my songs out to the world.

If you decide to try some voice lessons, make sure to let your teacher know that you are a writer. Better yet, spell out your goals in the first conversation: do you want to sing your own demos, knock everyone out at live performances, get rid of the sore throats you get during writing sessions, simply get more comfortable with your voice, or what? Being clear about your goals will help your teacher develop a sensible study path for you and enable you to sing like a pro!

Proper Breathing For Singing

Breathing Correctly Creates Great Singers

Breathing, something you do 24/7, sounds like it should be easy to remember. But for many vocal-singing performers, sometimes it's not. When singing on stage, your mindset is usually different than any other time of day. While exercising and vocalizing, get used to nice, slow, quiet, deep breaths. While you practice this at high velocity times of the day, you'll notice it feels more natural to take short breaths in your chest. Work on pushing the air down into your stomach. When you breath in, the air itself is obviously not going to your stomach, it's still in your lungs. While breathing in, push your abs out and keep your chest relaxed. This will cause your diaphragm which sits right below your lungs, to expand downwards leaving the lungs with more space to expand. When this happens, your lungs have more room to expand in the downward position as well. This lets your lungs expand more than usual as well as pump that extra oxygen into your bloodstream and muscles. This will cause you to have more air and support for everything. This will not only help your vocals, but your overall stamina while being able to showcase your vocals and still hit the high and long notes, after running around the stage.

Fitness and Singing!

A Vocal coach can help your fitness too...Singing requires a fitness level not unlike an athlete.  When you have been exercising daily, it comes in handy when you hit the singing stage for your performance. Not only does your body look better when you are in-shape under the lights and off stage, but you have more physical endurance. If you don't have to push your body harder than usual, you will have more energy you can focus on your vocals. N*SYNC might not have been the biggest rockers of all time, but, I do remember seeing an interview where they talked about running 5 miles a day while singing through their show. That, to me, does not sound easy and it shows true commitment to your craft. When you watch a performer that has to dance on stage for an entire set it looks as hard as it truly is. When you add vocals, it makes it twice as tough. So rockers may be famous for their partying, but you'll sing better when you are actually fit. Learn how to sing here.

Singing Endurance

Create long lasting endurance when you sing! The most important like any physical activity, is to be healthy. Eating the right foods before a singing performance can be crucial to making it through the show. I personally had a bad experience playing a show in Nashville, after eating from a popular fast food restaurant chain. This show featured 8 bands, and each played no more than 3 songs. Three songs is a very short set and shouldn't be hard to give it your all. But after eating food that didn't provide the proper amount of energy and a light feeling in the stomach, there was a small disaster. After the second song, I had a feeling of stomach distress accompanied by a feeling of lightheaded-ness. Not a way to end a 3 song set. While barely anyone knew I wasn't feeling up to par, I knew I had to change the way I approached even a short show. The point is eating the right foods makes sense for your performance.
Learn how to sing better than you ever imagined!

Do you want to sing better?

Your Singing Success just got easier. Look, I understand that you love to sing, but do you sing well - or at least as well as you really want to sing? Here a re a few tips and a good video that can help you to sing better.

Find and create your natural volumn. Many people sing too softly, out of shyness or embarassment. This keeps them from being able to support a good tone. Others sing as loudly as possible, which can result in sharp or flat notes, as well as body tension. Singing at your natural volumn should feel good, not forced or constricted.

Locate your best tone. Tone is strongly affected by your state of mind. You may find that you sound better when you imitate someone else, like an opera singer, pop diva or rock star. Have fun experimenting and don't hold back! You may be surprised at just how good you can sound.

You gotta learn to relax when you sing! Tension destroys vocal tone. Try not to let your shoulders hunch up and keep your neck from tensing. Don't force your chest up and out when you breath in. This will actually constrict your air flow. Stay in motion, however slightly. This will relax your body and your tone will sound more natural. Try gently swaying from side to side with the rhythm. You'll look better, too!

Get Your Own Vocal Coach HERE!

Save Your Voice On Stage

Have you ever gotten a tense throat just before or even during a singing gig that you were excited about singing at and of course they were excited to have you sing? You start wondering, can I pull this off? What if they aren't happy with how I sound, they'll not refer me for other gigs. Well, the list of singing fears would be endless here - I think you grasp the point. Well, below is a brief but useful outline of this issue - keeping you voice healthy.

Q: Even though I'm pretty healthy, I lose my voice when I sing live. I guess I'm pushing harder than when I practice. What should I do about this?

A: The first thing that I usually ask a singer is "how well do you hear yourself in the monitors?" Often, they are not hearing themselves sing on stage, so they figure that the audience can't hear them sing and push their voice harder than what is natural. The result is that the tone becomes dull or strident and often intonation problems occur. Talk to your sound man and make sure that you have enough of your voice in the monitors. If you've got the funds, invest in a headset microphone.

Learn More right HERE

Sing like a pro and make it look easy!

Can you sing? Do you want to sing better and make it look easy?  You can learn to sing with ease.  If you are less than satisfied with your singing, then it is very likely you’re doing something less effectively than it can be done. But stop and think a moment.  HOW do you get rid of the difficulty?

There are several possibilities: 1) You are just no good at singing (many people suspect this about themselves, but it’s totally untrue as you will learn); 2) You are not trying hard enough (many people assume this too, but you will find out that trying “harder” only ADDS to your difficulty); 3) Singing is a special skill that you have no useful knowledge about, so you must be prepared to spend lots of time
and money learning this totally foreign skill. More singing tips are coming...