[Alexa-Luvs-Singing]

Hi everyone my name is alexa and I was just wondering if you know how 2 start a singing career. Because my friends and I have been singing since we were kids and we want to take it to the next level. :o

[Fr_Chuck]

Let me see, take music lessons, learn music theory and work on voice control and breathing.

Start signing locally, there are many open mike nights and karoke bars that gives people a chance to sing, you don't get paid, and often have to pay cover charges to get in, so you actually lose money to go sing but you are singing.

Next depending on the music, you find local venues to sing at. Senior citizen areas are often good starting places.

[Redbone]

The first thing you need to do is make sure that you have a great back up of music then start playing out in places and getting your name out there.
Music won't come to you, you have to go to it. It really depends on the style of music that you sing. As to where you go. Second when you start drawing a crowed then you know that you are doing very well.

[Clough]

Dear Alexa,

I am a professional musician located in the IA-IL Quad Cities.

Whatever the next level is depends a lot on what kind of music you have been singing and want to sing. What kinds of music have you been singing? What kinds of music do you want to sing? How good do you want to get?

For some singing styles, you do not necessarily need any formal training to sing them. As a matter of fact, formal training in singing can ruin the way to sing in some styles. How to sing them requires you to imitate those people who are already singing in that particular style. For example: singing to karaoke, singing with a microphone, singing in the some styles of music that are now popular with a lot of young people, singing old dance tunes that are popular with a lot of old people, singing in a folk music style, singing in a pop music style that a friend might want sung at their wedding and singing in a country music style. I'm not saying that any of these styles are bad. Only that they require certain techniques in order to sing them. Going outside of those techniques can ruin the style.

Formal voice lessons, in general and overall, teaches you how to make your voice heard without a microphone. Also hopefully, to read music.

I have a voice student now who wants to learn to improvise (make up notes on his own.) The style of music that he sings in the band that he is in is not classical, rock, hard rock, country, heavy metal, etc. He calls it simply "metal." And, I would agree. Our mutual goal is for him to sing in harmony, without reading any notes, with other singers in his band. That is what he wants to learn. That is what we work on. Changing his style does not make the music sound better. He was not happy with his former teacher because he was trying to teach him Broadway musical tunes.

On the other hand, singing in certain other styles, depending on how good you want to get, can require formal voice training. For instance: opera, church music, musical theater, barbershop, classical (includes renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic, etc, periods of music.)

No matter what style of music you want to sing, it always helps to have some training on playing the piano. The keys on the piano are things that you can see. You cannot see the notes that you are singing, unless you are reading the music. Even then, you have no reference point because you need to know the pitches and duration in time of the notes. Learning piano basics is fundamental to a career in music, especially singing. Any teacher training in music education at a college or university is going to require the students to learn the basics of piano.

I have a cousin who is in the musical theater business as an actor professionally. Great singer! Can't read the notes or play the piano. I have to make recordings for him in order for him to learn his parts! He regrets not being able to play on the piano at least his musical lines that he needs to know. It is an embarrassment for him. Some basic piano training would solve the problem. Don't need to be a concert pianist, but it isn't hard to at least plunk out your notes once you have learned how.

There are many styles and levels in music in which you could choose to sing. So, I hope that you can see that it all depends on what type of music you like to sing now and what type or types of music you want to sing in the future.

I would appreciate you letting me know.

Thank you!