The title itself suggests that today, I will throw light on the most prevalent problems people face in voice lessons. However, before I bring that to your notice, it is essential to understand what voice is and why it is vital for humankind.
In simple words, voice is any sound that comes out from the larynx or the voice box or anything that we simply speak. Voice is also often used in another context. “she was her mother’s voice.” This statement has a deeper meaning. It means that the girl stood for her mother when her mother could not stand up for herself.
Hence, the word ‘voice’ is frequently used when people express themselves. The most important question- Why is our voice so important? Now let us think about a scenario where we do not have a voice, and we cannot talk. Isn’t it tougher to communicate in such a world? I am sure it is. Thus, our voice is significant for the process of communication.
Moreover, if human beings would not have evolved continuously and would not have developed the voice box, we would never have vocal music in our lives. The voice is such an essential part of our lives and hence, should be enhanced. The people who practice music take voice lessons regularly.
In my opinion, not only musicians but also other people should take voice lessons and enhance their voice. Taking voice lessons improves the quality of our voice and helps us to modulate our voice efficiently while giving a speech because modulation is all about how well you have trained your sweet voice.
Now, I will be throwing light on some of the most pervasive problems in voice lessons which are faced by several people, especially musicians and singers all over the world.
1. Vocal Strain
Vocal strain is a disease that causes gradual loss of voice. This type of infection can be caused if you keep exerting a lot and do not know how to relax your voice. Very few people understand the actual meaning of this disease, and so most of them do not take it seriously.
Relaxing your voice is particularly crucial while learning how to sing because your vocal cords get irritated if you keep pressurizing them. Some of the symptoms of vocal strain are noted below:
- Noisy breathing
- Hoarseness in your voice
- Loss of the ability to speak loudly
- When you require short breaths while speaking, the loss of fluency.
- When you need to clear your throat frequently
In case you face these problems while taking your voice lessons, do not accept these symptoms lightly. These symptoms sign that you are probably losing your voice strength and are ultimately going to lose your voice altogether. When such things bother your throat, giving keeping your throat fully relaxed is essential; otherwise, this can lead to long term problems.
2. Breathing
The correct breathing is an incredibly important aspect while taking voice lessons. Shockingly, too many singers face a problem with breathing while taking voice lessons. It is vital to control your breath every time you sing something. When you breathe correctly, you bring a feeling to the song.
While taking voice lessons, some of the teachers take different sessions for breathing exercises because it is the most crucial element of music and voice modulation. Moreover, when you are not able to breathe correctly or when you do not have the sense of living correctly, it reduces your fluency while speaking and singing.
When you keep taking short breaths while speaking or singing, these breaths feel like the obstacles that stop you from traveling towards the end of the song. Hence, breathing while taking voice lessons should be given utmost importance and must be taken care of even while speaking.
3. Confidence
Another prevalent problem while taking voice lessons is the fear of being unable to sing, lack of confidence. It is miserable that not only beginners but also professional singers who are pretty well known for their singing face this problem.
The best singers are the ones who are incredibly confident about their singing and know that they are experts at it, and if they are not experts, they know how to work on themselves confidently. The people who are confident even before starting their voice lessons work faster and with double efficiency than the ones who are good singers but do not feel secure.
Confidence is something that should be built even before the voice lessons start. When we look at the competitors and the other students performing well, we often start comparing ourselves and feeling bad. Whenever this happens, you need to be confident and not give. Even though confidence is not directly related to your voice, it is an important issue that people face in voice lessons.
4. Tone Quality
A vocal note which is generally used in the context of pitch, quality, and strength is known as tone. Tone quality [also called timbre] is a feature in different types of sound that help us differentiate between them. A choir’s singing can be distinguished from the sound of the musical instruments due to the other tone qualities.
This is an important aspect and another problem faced by musicians in voice lessons. It is essential to talk in the correct tone while giving a presentation or a speech as it helps build trust between the presenter and the audience.
5. Not Warming Up
Whenever we play a sport, we taught that warm-up is incredibly important; why? The simple answer is that if you do not warm up correctly, you will face cramps and other issues while playing the sport. The same is for music. It is particularly important to warm up and take care that your vocal cords are ready before your performance.
The reason for this is that when you have to touch the high notes, there is always a chance that you will fail. Hence, to make yourself capable of performing, the warm-up is a must.
Many students, while enrolling themselves in voice lessons, feel that it is unnecessary to warm up, and that is when it becomes one of the problems in voice lessons. Students become so enthusiastic about the performance part that they completely forget this one crucial facet of music, which is, in fact, the most critical part of astonishing performance.
6. Practice is Important
Some people take up music and speaking as a hobby very enthusiastically but later on see that they have only been wasting their skills. The practice is essential not only for music and speech but also for any other gift. Students who take voice lessons are told several times to practice at least once in a day, but unfortunately, they do not follow these instructions and end up wasting the skills and the talent that they could have used amazingly.
The practice is vital for musicians because a gap in your routine can make your throat too relaxed to sing again. You forget things when you do not practice regularly. If not daily, then practicing at least 2-4 times a week is recommended.
7. Singing According to the Voice Type
Identifying the type of voice that you possess is the first and foremost thing you have to do. Some people do not know their voice type and start singing and practicing on the wrong scale or on a scale that is either too high or too low for them. This can make you end up in a very confusing situation.
Knowing your voice type makes you understand what you can exactly expect from your voice. Straining your voice for no reason makes no sense at all. It also makes you realize how high and how low you can sing.
The different voice types are –
- Baritone
- Bass
- Tenor
- Countertenor
- Contralto
- Alto
- Mezzo-soprano
- Soprano
It is imperative for you first to identify the voice type and the range you will be comfortable with, and only then should you start practicing regularly.
8. Singing too Loud or too Light
This is one another problem faced while taking voice lessons. This problem is faced by most of the singers in the beginning but can be solved if paid attention to. When we sing too loud, we start straining our voice, and when we sing too lightly, the real impact of the song is gone. Hence, maintaining a balance is essential.
Belting is an efficient method that helps you hit the high noted without many problems. It is a method where the singer starts singing with the power of his or her chest. However, in some cases, belting has caused voice strain, which is another problem.
Sometimes a trick can be used to know how loudly you should ideally be singing. According to this trick, you have to enter an empty room and sing a song the loudest you can provide; it has to be singing and not yelling. When you do this exercise, you will understand how to project a strong voice without shouting.
When you sing too lightly, it results in the lack of power across your range. However, this problem can also be solved by putting some efforts. If you practice singing numbers or letters on an ascending pitch, you will start building up your powerful voice in no time.
9. Usage of the Mouth
The mouth is an essential part of our body because all the voice comes out from. Thus, the usage of mouth is another problem that people face in voice lessons because they do not understand how to use it.
Many students start singing with their mouths too wide, which is a common problem with singers. When you sing with your mouth wide open, it makes you sound different. However, this problem is easy to fix.
10. Parroting Someone Else
There are so many people in the world who try to become someone else. Singers face the same problem. They all want to be just like their favorite singer and end up imitating them. This imitation or parroting a singer’s style of singing, is another pervasive problem in voice lessons.
Even though it is true that we idolize someone in front of us and begin learning something by imitating them, but, this habit is not a good one in the long run. To become a successful singer, it is essential to be original, developing your unique styles and skills to make you stand out.
Then someday, another singer will start his or her journey by parroting your singing style. It is also essential to know that you cannot just develop your original style of singing without any musical knowledge. Learning music and taking proper voice lessons is very important while trying to be actual.
When you know a lot about music and the notes, you can create your style of singing and motivate others. Most importantly, you must talk to your teacher while taking voice lessons and ask all of your doubts regarding this vast subject. A clear mind plays a significant role in creating a fantastic singer.
Most importantly, it is recommended that whenever you learn voice lessons, please look up to a proper professional teacher. Learning voice lessons is not a bed of roses and learning it from someone who is not an expert might make it even more difficult for you.
11. The Food You Eat
A very prevalent problem faced in voice lessons is the type of food the singers eat. When you want to do something big in your life like mastering your vocal skills through voice lessons, you got to learn to eat the right food instead of eating good food. What does this mean?
When you eat ice-creams and fizzy drinks because you find that food excellent and tasty, you unknowingly begin to harm your vocal cords. Your vocal cords are sensitive to such cold and rough food and hence, start reacting to it. This, in the long term, can cause permanent loss of voice and other fatal issues. Thus, eating healthy and nutritious food instead of what you find tasty is very important.
Other than all of these problems, people face issues with posture. Maintaining the correct posture while taking voice lessons is very important. Along with this, it is necessary to choose the type of music that suits you.
It is very important to understand that learning voice lessons is not rocket science but at the same time, you cannot just learn voice lessons keeping your eyes shut. These prevalent mistakes are one part of what people go through during voice lessons but a few other mistakes are being indiscipline, not eat the correct type of food and indulging in wrong activities. Hence, if you really want to pursue something in this field, being serious about your work is extremely serious.
Last Updated on by urvisingh21
