"Can anyone learn how to sing?" is a popular question in Google. Let's analyze why many vocal teachers who rely on responding with a "yes" as a way to generate more vocal coaching clients, might argue that most people can, in fact, learn how to sing. And why other, more critical individuals, respond with a "no". If vocal training is widely available, including free lessons on Youtube, can anyone learn how to sing for real or what would restrict a person from being able to sound like they know what they are doing?

Valeria Salt, a Canadian female indie singer who finished a reputable classical music school in Saint-Petersburg, Russia, has performed internationally and is a talent judge in Canada's top music organizations such as FACTOR and JUNO AWARDS, thinks that the answer hides in the question itself.

"Can anyone learn how to sing? I think most people are subconsciously asking "Can anyone learn how to sing a few songs?" vs developing a long-term vocal skill that becomes significant and worthy enough to be a permanent part of their life.
Many of us have heard about scientific findings that it takes about 10,000 hours to learn a new skill such as singing. Yet how many people do you know who are willing to commit themselves to that many hours? I am not joking when I say that there are people who search for "how to become a good singer in 5 minutes"! Check the Google keyword planner tool to confirm that I am serious.

10,000 hours equals about 417 days. That is 417 days of 24 hours non-stop pure 100% dedication to singing with no food, bathroom, or sleep breaks. This is why music schools, especially the classical ones, take several years to qualify their students to have enough foundation in this art. Yet some people in the same program can do exceptionally well while others just barely make it and never go on to making music into a serious profession.

Why is that?

Why is it that two people can listen to a few Youtube vocal lessons and start improving their singing, while others are stuck at the same level?

Clearly, there are other factors involved. Of course, inherent talent is one of them. But what else, if we are often also told that talent doesn't lead to results without experience. Why is it that some singers' voices seem to "get better with age like fine wine" while others start to sound like old squeaky tires?

1. Can anyone learn how to sing a few songs? Yes, as long as they are not completely tone-deaf, do not have a disability that keeps them unable to reproduce sounds, and are willing to put in an above-average amount of time into practicing. Yes, that means much, much more than 5 minutes. This is why vocal coaching with the option of recording a song at the end is so popular. Or song recordings as a birthday present. The singing student takes a series of lessons to learn their song of choice with a coach, step by step. However, if, afterward, you ask the same student to learn and perform a totally different song, all on their own, without a coach, most of them won't be able to do it as well. Because to be able to consistently hit the correct notes and reproduce the right sounds takes ongoing practice and the ability to align hearing the right notes and assessing yourself critically to identify whether you are, in fact, in tune. Now imagine a cover band singer who has to learn a 40-song set for their bar gig. Then the reality hits. How long do you think it would take you to learn 40 songs?

2. Can anyone learn how to sing well enough to make singing into a career? Well, William Hung's rise to fame might suggest a "yes" to this one, too. But realistically speaking, for the most part, it's a "no". Unless, of course, you find other creative methods of masking your flawed singing with something else. No one can stop you from launching your own TikTok account and posting videos of you singing a few lines per video, since you can rehearse them till the cows come home, all day long, while away from the public eye/ear. It's just that if you ever get invited to perform live, you might run into an embarrassing moment of not delivering on the illusion that you created online. It doesn't take that much to figure out whether someone really can or cannot sing. People CAN tell the difference between Adele and William Hung.

If it's not part of your true calling in life, you will have a harder time achieving your musical goal. Especially if no one (to your knowledge) in your family tree has/had the skill/talent. Everyone has a "program" that they acquire at birth, that can significantly simplify their life if they know how to satisfy it. When we fight against our "program", we run into many more difficulties that could be avoided. Learning any new skill, be it singing or coding websites, is better than sitting on a couch picking your nose. So taking action is already a step in the right direction. However, what if that particular step takes you away from your program and causes a chain of unnecessarily unpleasant events that end up causing more stress than enjoyment or fulfillment?

This is where astrology and numerology come in to help us identify our potential, talents, the most effective ways to achieve our goals, the best timing for finding the right teacher or starting lessons, and so on. Should you strive to be a singer or perhaps you'd have more energetic support if you aim to become an event promoter or a record producer? Yes, all this info is available at our disposal via metaphysics.