Music has been enjoyed in various forms for thousands, if not tens of thousands of years. Music halls appeared in the 18th century in London, then radio brought songs to the public on a wider scale, record shops sprung up, and finally, the internet.

Streaming and downloading allows anyone to listen to virtually any song they want to. And in 2020, there were nearly 250 million downloads in the US alone, and this doesn’t take into account streaming channels.

Music is used in many ways, and singing as a form of therapy is helping patients recover from stroke and other brain traumas. For most people, singing is something done for pleasure while cleaning the home, or driving a car. For others, it can be a career.

Not everyone sounds great when they sing though, so does this make it an art, or can anyone learn?

Why doesn’t everyone sound good when singing?
The voice is said to be an instrument, much like a guitar it can be used to make different notes and make beautiful sounds. Some people are lucky enough to be genetically inclined to be better singers. Certainly, certain people have more pleasant singing voices than others and some suit particular genres.

Emulating other singers
Some tutors such as Brett Manning teaches students how to sing rock vocals. This is because many individuals suit this particular style of music. Often, vocal coaches will run different courses to cover a range of musical genres so that a singer can find where their voice best fits.

One problem with amateur singers is that they try to emulate the star they are covering instead of developing their own voice.

Can everyone sing?
As for singing well, this can be improved with training and exercises. It is widely believed that nearly everyone can sing. Some people though understand how to use their larynx to control their vocal cords better than others. Lung capacity, the size of the pharynx, larynx control, and even nasal cavities, affect how you sound.

What a singing teacher can do is help you improve your weaker areas, and to develop your vocals. By learning vibrato and harmony, for instance, you will become a better singer. So, the answer is perhaps that nearly everyone can sing, and most can be taught to sing better, but not everyone will sound pitch-perfect all the time.

If anyone can sing, is singing really an art form?
While many songs are throwaway soon-to-be-forgotten pop numbers, others go down in history as classics. Interest in artists such as Elvis and the Beatles remains as strong as ever as new generations discover their music.

Singing is as much an art form as any other in the sense that it is an expression of the artist. Songwriting is also often an outpouring of emotion and can become part of a powerful performance by a singer.

There is more of a crossover between music and visual arts now too. There are music festivals incorporating visual art. And bands such as the Gorillaz have used visual imagery instead of bringing the band to the forefront.

Singing, and especially songwriting, is a creative art. Interestingly many singers have attempted to crossover into other areas of the art world with the late David Bowie trying his hand at the fine arts regularly.

How do singers perfect their art?
Although there is no doubt that some singers are more naturally talented than others, they still need to practice. They also use vocal coaches and singing teachers.

Some of the biggest stars have used singing teachers and vocal coaches at some point. There are always ways to improve a singing voice, and professional coaches can help improve certain areas such as range.

But, they aren’t just for the stars. You can use a vocal coach to teach you to sing and develop your voice. They will also advise on many areas that you may not realize are important such as posture, and resting your voice.

If everyone can sing, then why don’t they?
Genetics may play a part in being a good singer, and others grow through coaching. Some even develop musical talents through the loss of one of the senses. The blind singers of Bangkok and other Asian cities are ubiquitous, and their voices can be extraordinary at times.

One study at the University of Montreal found evidence that blind individuals can discriminate between pitches 10 times better than fully-sighted people.

However, singing is a physical skill, and it can be improved through practice. There are exercises that singers use to control pitch and increase range. It seems that some people have poor motor control in this area, and find it harder to sing well than others.

Then there are the unfortunate ones who have voice disorders that affect speech and singing. In some cases, a vocal coach may help with therapy and bring a singing voice slowly back.

Summary
Singing is certainly an art, and it can be used to express not only emotional ideas and thoughts but is often used for political or social points of view too. It can, and has been linked with many visual art projects.

And like any art, some people are naturally gifted, but others can still learn and practice. While not everyone will become famous for their singing, most people can develop their vocals in some ways.