You say you want to sing. What does it mean to sing or to be a singer? The answer may appear obvious, but is it?

When we think of singing, we may think of a specific song or performer. We may think of notes, pitch or wonder how many octaves someone is able to sing.

The one thing you may not consider is your mind. Singing starts with your thinking. It is your mental attitude. What you think, you will feel. What you feel, you will sing. Your voice tells us what you are feeling long before the words you say or sing do. If you feel happy, excited, or love for example, vocal adjustments will happen automatically in order to match that thought. If you feel fear about hitting a high note, you will not be able to focus on the approach needed to reach it. As you cannot think about two things at once you will undoubtedly miss the note and naively think it is caused by poor vocal technique, lack of range, a dry throat, nerves, or one of many other mind games singers play with themselves because they do not understand how their thinking determines the sound they produce.

So what is singing? What do I need to develop to become a singer? Singing is the combination of three things:

1. Vocal Technique
2. Music
3. Creativity / Self-Expression

Vocal Technique: Vocal technique is practical information about your thinking, breath co-ordination, tone production, chest and head registers, resonance, and maintaining healthy vocal cords. These techniques are practiced until the vocal co-ordination needed to produce the desired sound becomes automatic. Often, singers focus only on technique resulting in a rigid and uninteresting style. They lack originality and are disconnected from the audience.

Music: It is your ability to understand the structure of a song and communicate your ideas to other musicians. Those who focus primarily on the music hinder the development of their distinct style. They sound as if they are imitating someone.

Creativity Self-Expression: Creativity and self-expression allows you to develop a style that is unique to you. It is the result of exploring and stretching your musical boundaries. Singers who focus only on creativity and self-expression lack proper technique limiting their ability to hit high notes, sing with power, and the ability to control the voice allowing them to express any song in any style they choose. Un-necessary strain is put on the vocal cords, often causing damage. They do not reach their singing potential.

To be a singer you need to develop a balance between all three areas. Imagine a three-legged stool. You will certainly wobble and possibly fall over if you do not maintain a balance of all three elements.

Learn and practice vocal technique on a regular basis, understand the structure of the music you are performing, and always challenge your creative boundaries. It all starts with your thinking. Following these guidelines will put you miles ahead of the competition.