Can Adults Learn to Sing?
Yes. Adults can learn to sing. How good you will get and how quickly depends greatly on a how you train–but you can reliably learn to sing skillfully–with power, beauty, and great ease–at any age.
You might have a desire to sing well, but also be sceptical that it’s worth trying for various reasons. Let’s look at some common reasons adults who dream to sing put it off.
Common Concerns around Singing Lessons for Adults:
It’s just too late to start.
Voice lessons don’t really work.
Learning to sing as an adult is much harder than as a child.
I can empathize.
Vocal Challenges:
I understand these hesitations, firsthand. Although I mostly never consciously admitted this to myself, deep down I was pretty sure that I lacked what it took to have a truly good singing voice.
“Deep down I was pretty sure that I lacked what it took to have a truly good singing voice.”
I sang in choirs and backup in bands, but never had a remarkable voice in my teens. In my 20s, I figured out a few tricks that sometimes helped me sound better, but I still had a very limited range for pop singing and would strain on most high notes and have a sore, tired voice from gigging, or any time I sang too high, for too long.
Financial / Consistent Lessons Challenges:
I didn’t have money for voice lessons–I took a few lessons when I could–but I didn’t see much results from sporadic lessons, and began to doubt that even professional singing lessons would work for me. But then… I learned to really sing–as an adult. Most of my deeper skill as a singer I acquired in my 30s, when I finally committed to consistent singing lessons and practise, guided by a professional voice teacher.
Is it Too Late to Learn to Sing?
No, it is never too late to learn to sing. If you’re worried about age preventing you from acquiring the skills you need… you will be fine. If you want to be a K-Pop star, maybe it’s too late?* –but otherwise, you’ll be fine.
*Actually, even with K-Pop, Psy became internationally famous in his mid-30s with Gangham Style. Then there’s Susan Boyle’s I Dreamed a Dream breakthrough performance on Britain’s Got Talent–it’s really never too late!
Do Voice Lessons Really Work?
Yes. Voice lessons really work. At least, effective voice lessons do. The keys are regular practise and an effective teacher.
Forget YouTube
I do not recommend trying a few tips from YouTube for a few days, or even a single cheap lesson, and then determining that you’re not meant to sing based on an inconclusive outcome.
It might be possible to learn to sing from YouTube or online courses, or sporadic lessons, but deep down, you probably sense that private singing lessons from a dedicated professional teacher are a far more reliable way to create the type of change you’re looking for in your singing ability.
The importance of live, interactive singing lessons
Only a private singing teacher can observe, diagnose, prescribe crucial adjustments based on what you are doing, moment to moment.
Things to bear in mind while researching voice teachers:
Remember:
Not all singing teachers are equally effective.
It’s important to do some research.
It’s nearly impossible to know if the lessons will be effective, and a good fit, without trying at least one lesson and looking for the result I describe, below.
One quick tip for finding an effective teacher:
In other articles I go more in depth about what to look for in a teacher, but here is my favourite quick tip for finding an effective teacher:
Look for a teacher with whom you experience a breakthrough in strong-yet-easy high notes in the first lesson.*
There’s a caveat to this:
If matching pitch, or producing clean tone in your lower range is difficult for you, maybe allow for around 2-6 lessons before expecting a breakthrough, but you still want to experience this sensation very early in the process, and it’s a reasonable result to expect from a truly skilled teacher.
*Note: If you're looking for a singing teacher in Vancouver or nearby, feel free to take advantage of my free intro lesson offer (December 2020) to experience an immediate change in your ability to access high notes, yourself
“Look for a teacher with whom you experience a breakthrough in strong-yet-easy high notes in the first lesson.”
Is Learning to Sing Harder as an Adult?
No, learning to sing is not necessarily harder, as an adult, compared to learning as a teen, and will likely be easier in some important ways.
For example, adults are likely to learn faster due to:
Better focus in lessons
Better absorption of concepts and frameworks being taught, alongside the actual singing
Better self-regulation for more consistent, thoughtful practise.
Were you exposed to music classes of any kind in elementary school?
There is some evidence that if you had any exposure to musical training in your primary school years, this can boost your lifetime musical aptitude, but I think ‘desire’ matters even more. Early training or not, there is still plenty of room to develop into strong singers.
On tone deafness:
There is even recent research showing that some singers who are clinicially amusical (truly tone deaf–actually quite rare) can overcome these limitations.1
Okay, on one hand, the workaround involves running low-frequency AC current through your brain, but on the other hand, if you want to sing badly enough, there’s probably a way to make it happen. I think the more important question is:
‘Does your desire to become a skilled singer outweigh your fears of all the likely solvable reasons it might not work?’
On hurtful feedback on your singing, as a child:
After I had taught for a few years, I was struck by how many adult clients told me of how, when they were young, they were told not to sing by a choir director or a family member. I was also saddened by how utterly this silenced them, stopping them from improving their singing at a crucial age for musical development, and how the hurt from these moments seemed to remain many decades later.
I’d understand if you were concerned that trying voice lessons might mean a teacher might tell you not to sing, again. Most teachers would never say this, but it might be wise to contact a new teacher, before booking, and test the waters. Just ask if they would ever advise a client with pitch matching issues to give up and see what they say, and how you feel. If you think you might get burned again, look for another teacher, or discuss what you would like from them, around this subject and see how they respond.
I think there can be a place for being honest with a client, at a certain point, if their reaching their particular singing goals might be a longer, harder road than they were expecting—I feel an obligation as a trusted adviser to provide my informed opinion. On the other hand, I would never tell anyone to outright give up. For starters, no one knows exactly how hard it will be and how much or little you might improve. If you really want it—go for it!
How long does it take to learn to sing?
If you find an effective singing teacher and you practise regularly, you should get a glimmer of what you’re capable of, quite early in the process, and you most people should expect to become consistently good singers within a couple years.
Bear in mind that ‘a couple years’ is faster than most other instruments, plus the journey itself should be fun, and the payoff when your voice really comes together can be priceless.
If you are considering taking your singing to the next level, please feel free to get in touch regarding voice lessons in Vancouver. Prospective clients can book a free 20 minute consultation.