subject: Terrible Singing : Misconceptions, Misdirected Notions About The Way To Sing Good [print this page] Everybody's got a voice, and everyone thinks that they are an expert on singing. This has led straight to some very bad singing recommendation being circulated around, advice that can hurt your singing voice badly and doubtless even permanently . Here are 4 common but badly judged singing tips that would be extremely unsafe to your voice.
1."Sing continually to develop a good singing voice." It is correct that vocalists need lots of practice, maybe more so than other musicians because they are building their instrument--their voice--while playing it. Your throat muscles, sense of control, and range all increase in power as you practice, so singing practice is a good thing.
However , even the best vocalists need to take a day a week off, and you must ensure that you don't sing for longer than what's comfortable. Continuously work up to a couple of hours a day, if singing is your profession, less if it's's a pursuit, but do not go straight from never practicing to continually practicing, and don't forget to take frequent breaks and days off.
2."Singing should hurt, that's your muscles being built." In fact discomfort is your body's way of telling you to stop doing whatever you're doing. If you're in pain while you're singing, something is not right. Don't continue to sing in that way or you'll devastate your voice. Find a good, credible singing teacher and get to the core of your problem, but under no circumstances should you just keep singing.
3."Techniques like vibrato and crossing a vocal break will come naturally." Unfortunately, this just is not a good singing tip. Both vibrato and the ability to cross breaks takes a lot of hard work, and a knowledge of the methodologies behind each. It's correct that you'll likely not spot your vibrato developing till it's full and rich, and you won't notice your capability to cross vocal breaks until singing a certain challenging song, but they are not automated methods.
4."Singing with vibrato will hurt your voice." If your vibrato is meticulously controlled, this isn't true. Singers of the "vibrato is bad" discipline frequently can't produce the effect, and claim that vibrato in the vocal cords is analogous to the vibrato effect on a guitar or other string instrument. Those instruments, they assert, steadily go untuned, so think of what's happening to your vocal cords when you sing with vibrato!
