Can everybody sing? This is maybe the most common question about singing… some people are convinced that you need to be born with “The gift,” otherwise you will never be able to sing.

Also, I have seen and heard so many times the question: “do I have a singing voice?” like if we had two different voices. 

YOU HAVE A VOICE. Whatever you do with it is your choice. Everybody has not only the ability to sing, but also THE RIGHT to sing. And the right to express themselves!

Everybody can learn to sing. First of all, we all have the ability to produce sound as long as we have a voice, and we actually do it as part of our social life–for example, at every birthday party! It has been within us in every culture.

Now, of course, what you do with your voice is a different story. 

Countless times I have seen people who had absolutely no vocal training at all, getting frustrated because they don’t sound like Ariana Grande or Beyonce. 

Everybody can dance too, but only trained dancers can do the crazy movements we see in professional dancers.

No one expects a person to do an advanced ballet sequence if they never took a class or practiced dance.

However, with singers, people tend to keep on thinking that you are either born for that or don’t bother to even try.

Any level you want to reach with your voice is possible. How much are you willing to work to get there, that is entirely up to you.

How to sing when people around you tell you that you don’t have “the gift.”

The first thing you need is to do a bit of brain work.

Understand that people’s opinions are just that. Opinions. In most cases, the people that told you that you “just can’t” sing, are not even voice teachers, so it is really not a very qualified advice. Why would you trust them with your singing dreams?

Also, understand that the only person you should be comparing is to yourself. Please don’t compare your voice to anybody else because each one of us will have a different instrument. Comparing yourself to another person is both useless and frustrating unnecessarily. 

So first, recognise how your instrument is right now. This is regardless of if you have taken voice lessons or not. Where are you at the moment with your voice? And where do you want to be? There is a process in between A and B, a path that you have to follow. It doesn’t happen just by being born for that.

There are so many factors that affect your voice. The shape and size of your body, the posture and breathing habits you have built through the years, the way you use your body, your daily activities, the ideas you have heard from other people, your thinking patterns, your life stories, the way you have been treated, the way you deal with emotions, the amount of music you have been exposed to, and so many other things. 

Once you recognise where you are at with your voice right now and you decide where you want to be, you also have to be willing to do it through the process. Singing is a discipline, and if you are serious about learning how to do it to reach your specific goals, you are going to have to dedicate your energy to it.

You have to honor your starting point and go from there. 

Training your voice to a high level takes years, but it is a very rewarding experience. In the process, you will find things about yourself, and you will become a different person. Singing requires passion, discipline, gratitude, humbleness, trust, openness, and willingness to forgive yourself and keep growing.

It is up to you how far you want to take it, and is directly proportional to the effort and energy that you are willing to dedicate to it. But even if your goal is to sing a song to your baby, you will find the benefits of it.

The voice is a very generous instrument. It shows you where you are in life and what your next step is.