Do you think anyone can sing?

Nope. I dated a guy in a band years ago that tried to teach me to sing. He was very patient with me. Finally he told me I was just tone deaf. He couldn’t help me.

No, people with horrible speaking voices should never sing, for fear their unholy warblings will summon Lucifer himself. They should never sing.

They should also stop talkimg.

Sing, yes – on key, NOT. My “ear” cannot differentiate the sound. I love singing, but the sound is often different from what is expected.

Sure, anyone can sing. Yoko Ono and Linda McCartney are reputed to not have a talent for singing, and yet they do/did. Still, they are probably better than me some people I know.

But to sing well? It takes at least a fair amount of natural talent and sometimes training to become really good or even great.

@chyna & @YARNLADY… You both speak of being tone deaf or not being able to differentiate the sound… Is this only for when you try to sing, or do you have the issue with all sounds heard too? Can you recognize good singing? How could that be so if you’re tone deaf?

Is it a matter of not being able to match up your vocal chords to what your ear wants to hear?

I hear it correctly in my head, but it doesn’t come out of my mouth that way. Although, some days are better than others. I know this sounds ridiculous, but I swear my ability to sing reasonably well for a few days at a time is somehow related to my monthly cycle.

Exactly, @RealEyesRealizeRealLies, my vocal chords will not behave! I know what I want them to do, but I can’t get them to actually do it.

I have a great speaking voice, but remember how Carmen Diaz’s character in My Best Friend’s Wedding sounded when she tried karaoke? Yeah, that’s me.

@RealEyesRealizeRealLies I can hear the correct sounds, but I cannot reproduce them.

To the OP… I struggled for years trying to find my voice. Problem was two fold. I tried to sound like others I liked, and I never used the proper equipment which allowed me to hear myself in balance with the music.

Standing in a corner with my voice bouncing directly back into my ears made all the difference in the world. Once I heard myself, then I began to associate the output with the feeling in my larynx. Now I sing from that feeling rather than the sound. I don’t even have to hear myself any longer. I just know when it feels right. And now, as long as I don’t try to imitate anyone else, I can sing anything… and quite professionally I might ad.

Got it @YARNLADY. That happens to me when I’m sick. I make the machine go, but it just doesn’t want to cooperate.

No I doooooowwwwwwnnnnn’ttttt tttt….

Yes and no. Singing well is a talent. You are either born with it train it, and utilize it or you aren’t born with it and can’t sing well.

Nope. From a person who has been singing for years, I have found an abundance of people who are pretty hopeless at it. But many of them have passion; and that’s what matters.

No. Some people do not have functioning vocal chords.

Almost, if not all, of our senses can be measured on a continuum. Color blindness to perfect matching ability. Absolute deafness to being able to hear the tiniest sound. Singing has a number of different qualities, but the first requirement is to hear and be able to produce an exact tone. The continuum goes from tone deaf and inability to match tones to perfect pitch where you can sing an A flat if asked to or identify that tone when you hear it. You don’t need perfect pitch to sing well, but if you are tone deaf, you won’t be able to sing well. You can sing as much as you like and if you enjoy it, that’s all that matters. I hope you do!

No way. How I wish I could, just a little but nope, it’ll never be and I’m sure not even with any amount of training and practice.

I watch, listen and feel my body shudder and respond with waves of emotion to particular singers I am sure are really singing virtuoso’s and I’m amazed those sounds can come from inside a human.

Watching video of Bill Withers (for example) live with only a guitar- no sound room or studio, no sophisticated modern amphitheater , that’s singing.

I certainly do not think anyone can sing. And I certainly do think those of us who can should not be subjected to those of you who can’t. ~

I sing beautifully, immediately after a swift kick in the nuts.

I can yell harmoniously with music at a high volume, very well:)

NO. Just listen to some people who attempt to sing along with karoke.

They not only embarrass themselves, but their family as well.

@john65pennington Your wife tried the karaoke? ;-)

Sing to a mediocre or average standard, yes most people will be able to do that if they are not clinically tone-deaf (unable to hear the difference between two notes at different pitch).

Sing well – no. That’s a gift, you either have it or you don’t. No amount of training will turn an average singer into a brilliant one.

@Supacase and @YARNLADY – if you’re capable of hearing the difference between the sounds then you can be trained to sing.