Hoe long does it take to become good at singing?

batman249

I don't mean to be impatient but just curious how long did it take you guys to be good?

Furious_Phil

Holy loaded question Batman!!!! (Sorry, I had to do that)

The obvious answer is "It varies for each of us".

Contributing factors:
- Have you ever sung before, or are you experienced?
- Do you have any vocal damage?
- Do you abuse substances? (don't answer that... it is just a fact)
- How many hours you put in a week...
- How well you take instruction...
- Are you patient enough to keep up with the practice even when progress seems elusive?
- etc etc

Also, it totally depends on your definition of "Good"!
For me, that definition might be radically different to yours, if you catch my drift?

What can you expect: (Ballpark figures thrown out from my experience and a few other's)
- Noticeable difference in 3-4 months
- People giving compliments at 6-9 months
- Getting seriously noticed in 12-18 months
- Band-Ready at 24 months

Experiences may vary...

Cheers,

Phillip

Diego

I would say it all depends on you. What effort you really want to put into achieving good singing.

I've been singing for about 5-6 years. Last year I started taking singing seriously, and that is what drives me to keep improving, to really see the results of my efforts and to even match the greats at some point.

You don't just take a magic pill and wake up with a great voice.
You have to put in the hard work , it might take months, or years. But like I said, that will depend on how dedicated you are to mastering your craft.

-Diego

Monaro

If I may add 2c to an old thread. Unfortunately, what you think is "good" tends to change over time, as it should. I'm always a bit embarrassed listening to old performances thinking that I thought I was "good" then. But that's also good thing, means you're moving along.

There's also a danger of keeping yourself in your room to a point where you think you're "ready" and that day never comes, so some light hearted public singing, karaoke, that sort of thing is a great way to test the waters because singing feels completely different through a mic in a crowded room. Its a shock to realize all that months long practice seems to go out the window and you're back to where you started. Only you're not, you're opening your world.

With instruments like guitar, you can practice any way you want, hold it upside down like hendrix, practice with it behind your head, as long as you put in the bulk hours you can play till your fingers bleed and then dab some superglue on them and keep going all day, all night and you'll be pretty damn good within a short space of time.

You can't do that with vocals, a wrong technique and you're going backwards or physically destroying your voice. Plus you have to rest, so all this takes more time.

It's why it's important to practice the right thing, it's all very well to practice from a CD but how do you know you're even doing the right thing? How do you follow a vague description of what something is supposed to feel like when you've never felt it before? Noone can reach in and show you how to adduct properly

That's another reason why I like this method, its loaded with examples of teacher AND student so you get an idea again and again.

Now a teacher could fastrack your progress but most out there are truly awful and even if by chance they can sing themselves the way you'd like, then there's no guarantee they can teach you beyond vague descriptions of what they feel.

Occasionally, you'll hear of some "guru" teacher charging massive amounts of money for a lesson, but there's a reason. A guru like this knows instantly where your at and like a doctor can prescribe you a series of exercises that you most need to get to the next level. A lesson like this is worth a 100 normal ones in terms of progression. So if you're concerned about progress, I'd say get a lesson with Ken himself.

Sorry not to answer your question directly but I think it's the fastest way to get "good".