How long to become a decent signer?

I’m going to start taking vocal lessons this summer. I play 3 instruments including piano, literally all my friends are fantastic signers. I’m willing to devote my entire summer into learning, and I’ll be singing broadway type and musicals. How long to be decent?? Any tips on prating before I start lessons?

I think you mean « singer ». I’ve accidentally typed that myself sometimes. LOL

Anyway, as a S-I-N-G-E-R myself, I absolutely disagree with the others who insist that singers are born not created. You CAN learn to sing, unless there is some physical reason that you can’t sing–like you had your larynx removed or damaged, and you can’t distinguish one pitch from another (true « tone-deafness », but you’re a musician already so that isn’t going to be your problem).

It is also true that genetics does play a part in what your voice will sound like, even after lessons. If you have a very deep voice, no amount of training will turn you into a tenor. If your voice is naturally rough and raspy, it’ll stay rough and raspy (unless the rasp has a lot to do with you singing in the wrong register for your voice type). What you can expect to learn, with a lot of hard work, is how to sing in tune with a relatively pleasant tone. Maybe you’ll surprise yourself and your friends by actually discovering that you have a better voice than you thought you did.

Now–how long will it take? Well, how long did it take you to learn to play all those instruments? Did you manage to learn everything you needed to play the way you do today in three months? Then don’t expect the same for your voice. Singing is physical. You are going to be learning to use muscles in ways you aren’t used to using them. You need to learn how to breathe, how to open your mouth, how to relax your throat, where to put your tongue, how to use your abdominal muscles–etc. You need to learn how to pronounce words to make them easier to sing, and still be clearly understood. And depending on what kind of Broadway songs you are interested in singing, some of these take quite a bit of training. Most Broadway stars today have had years and years of formal training. And most of these people probably were singing since they were tiny tots.

You’re going to have to be realistic. For example, I mentioned learning how to breathe. That is so absolutely basic for good singing, but it’s surprisingly hard to master (because of having to train those muscles I’ve mentioned). It is possible for you to improve quite a bit over the summer depending on how many lessons you actually receive, and how hard you practice. But just aim for being the best you can be in that short time. If you find you really like how you are coming along and can see some significant difference in that time, you may even decide to continue taking lessons.

Most singers, even professional ones, will continue to take lessons or receive some sort of vocal coaching their entire lives. Sometimes it’s short term work with a vocal coach to help master some new or difficult music, or to correct a vocal problem that is giving them trouble. Continued lessons over the years can also help avoid vocal problems because any bad habits will be caught sooner before the voice is harmed. As a musician you should already know that there is always something new and challenging if you want to find it.

So, how long will it take to become a decent singer? It depends on how « decent’ you want to be.
And you don’t have to practice before starting lessons. You could accidentally strain your vocal cords doing something you really shouldn’t. Your voice teacher will want to know what you normally sound like anyway, and from there, will decide what is the best way to train your individual voice.

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