How Long Does It Take to be a Good Singer?

How long before you can control your voice?

How long before you get comfortable with your voice?

How long until you start liking your voice?

After 15 years of teaching beginners to sing, I can say that students who take weekly lessons usually see results after 6 weeks. For permanent improvement in technique, it usually takes at least 1 year of training. 

Weekly check-in and timely feedback from a vocal coach is essential to the growth of a beginner singer. An experienced coach can help save a beginner time and effort to achieve the best results in a shorter time frame. 

Beginners often see rapid improvements in the first 2 months of vocal training. 

After that, progress will taper off. Results may seem less obvious at this point but this is when the techniques learnt in the past few months solidify into muscle memory. 

It is therefore important to keep up the lessons and personal practice. A lot of people give up at this point. Or they think they are good enough to improve on their own. This is not true. Stopping lessons at this time means the foundation does not get the chance to strengthen. 

Over time, bad habits sink in and destroy the progress made. 

For a singer to really start accepting, being comfortable and liking their own voice, it really does depend on many different factors:

• Previous singing experiences
• Learning mindset
• Age
• Innate talent
• Personal expectations
  
  

Previous singing experiences

A beginner who has had many compliments about their singing will naturally have a higher self efficacy about their singing abilities. Higher self efficacy enables them to like their own voice more. 

On the other hand, a beginner who has had a lot of criticism - whether constructive or unjustified - about their voice will have lower self efficacy about their singing. It will take longer for them to start liking their voice because of perfectionism.

Learning mindset

This pertains to how a beginner approaches their vocal training. An open mind and a willingness to make (and correct) mistakes paves the way for a more fulfilling and enjoyable learning experience. Vocal training is a lifelong journey. Having the awareness to appreciate little milestones on the journey contributes to a greater sense of achievement. Dopamine releases much more frequently to motivate the beginner to strive for more challenging goals.

Age

This is not to say learning to sing is restricted to a certain age group. Anyone of any age can start vocal training. The difference between a younger beginner and an older beginner is that older students usually have more self limiting beliefs they accumulate over the years. These unhelpful beliefs crush their confidence and demotivates them from improving their singing. Replacing these beliefs takes time but it will be well worth their effort. 

Innate Talent 

Some people are lucky enough to be born with the physical, neurological and/or psychological characteristics that make them natural singers - even without prior training. These are the people who sound good every time they start singing. They will undoubtedly be starting further ahead than most beginners and achieve desirable results quicker. 

Personal Expectations

Having unrealistic expectations is akin to having a blindfold on. It blinds the beginner from seeing the incredible progress they have made but setting the bar so high that achieving those standards is near impossible. Perfectionism and unrealistic expectations go hand in hand to destroy the joy of singing.

Conclusion

Beginner singers make tremendous progress in the first few months of training. Eventually, the progress slows but that is when true growth happens. Being aware of the various psychological and physiological factors that can affect your joy of singing helps you get more from your vocal training and ultimately reaching your true potential as a singer. 

If you would like help to jumpstart your singing journey, Shower to Stage Academy is designed to crush fears, build positive beliefs and a strong vocal foundation so you can take control of your voice. Check it out >>