The Myths that hold us back · Rock Singing Success

The Myths that hold us back

Below is from the draft of my book, Rise Above the Noise, a chapter called "The 5 Problems (And What to Do About Them)," Discussing some of the most important lessons I've learned over the last 30 years as a professional singer and musician. Since the book is on hold while our new program and quite possibly a whole other book on singing is in the works, I want to share this part with you now, unedited.

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𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻 #𝟭: 𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗡𝗮𝘆𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀

You are surrounded by people who are all experts from the University of Social Media about subjects they have absolutely no experience in. You’re surrounded by people who tout decades old myths about how to have a career in music. Because of those myths, it’s difficult to find support in pursuing music as a career. And with those that have had some experience pursuing a music career, they often still act as harbingers of doom because they gave up a long time ago.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t look down on these people. They need to justify their failures to feel okay about giving up. In many cases, it’s totally possible that it simply wasn’t the dream they thought it would be and they moved on to other things. But in most cases, they believed the many, many, MANY lies about what it takes to have a singing career, and became one more person in the sea of noise that spread those popular myths to others. It’s not their fault. That’s simply the nature of The Noise.

Let’s explore some of those myths.

“𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 ‘𝗶𝘁’ ‘𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁.”

It doesn’t matter that “it” is never truly defined. Is it natural talent? I will agree some people are more intuitive than others, but most of us have to work hard to earn those skills and are better for it. We earned it, and have the skills to prove it. I actually feel sad for many people who are highly intuitive about singing and music. Most of them have shortcomings that they never address because, to quote, “Why do I need lessons? I know how to sing.” Thankfully, for all the talented people that never pursued improving their skills, there are plenty more who got lessons and took it to a whole new level.

The truth is, having “it” may grab people’s attention, but it’s those that train and better themselves, regardless of their talent, that stand out above all the others. They are the ones that legends are made of.

“You either have ‘it’ or you don’t” is a myth right up there with…

“𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲.”

I’ve had a lot of voice students come to me thinking that they can only sing in their chest range, are stuck being a Baritone who only sings low, or some other nonsense they’ve been told by teachers who either believed that lie themselves, or simply didn’t know how to teach what the student wanted to do. Take it from a natural Baritone who can sing A3 to C6, helping thousands of people learn to sing everything from low bass to soprano and whistle tones, in just about whatever sound color they liked. It takes time and proper instruction to train your voice. At that point, time is really the only thing that’s holding you back.

“𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰/𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗷𝗼𝗯”

What better job can you think of where you set your own hours, you focus on singing, writing, and performing, and you get to regularly connect with a lot of people who want to support you in continuing to sing, write, and perform? I guess a lot of people don’t like the idea of you making a living doing that. I know at least 40 people off the top of my head that do exactly that.

I spent my last 30 years exploring different ways to make money from my music, from playing in bands and putting on events, to film, television, teaching multiple instruments, and more. I know people making good money in all of those fields that affords them spending all the time they want on performing their own music. Some of them signed to big labels, most of them not. I think the main issue people have is that they see all the people who are choosing the way of the starving artist rather than using the methods I’m laying out for you in this book.

“𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗹𝘂𝗰𝗸𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱”

Luck? Does that actually exist, or is it truly just when preparation meets opportunity? Being “discovered” is a myth I’ll address in more detail in Hard Lesson #4. Being “lucky” is simply an insult to all those successful singers and musicians out there who worked themselves to the bone to build up to the point they were actually making a living off their music. Let’s talk about what “luck” really looks like in Hard Lesson #5. In short, there’s no savior or luck of the draw coming to take you to the land of music paradise. That’s something you make happen for yourself.

𝗦𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗠𝘆𝘁𝗵𝘀!

Of course, there are plenty of other myths about singing and pursuing a career in music:

“Belting hurts your voice,” born from the common problem many people have with simply not knowing how to belt effortlessly, as a shape, not a push.

“Vocal Distortion is damaging to your voice,” even though there are hundreds, if not thousands of singers and screamers in rock and metal who have been doing it non-stop for decades without any issues. Yes, some do hurt themselves…from doing it wrong.

“Your larynx should remain neutral.” What? How? This isn’t classical singing. The larynx will naturally raise and tilt forward. That’s the one shaping of the vocal tract is the biggest fundamental difference between classical and contemporary singing, especially rock singing. In fact, your larynx will move depending on the sound you’re trying to make. A neutral larynx can limit your effortless range significantly, but it can also help you distort without strain. Let it move.

“You have to sing/breathe from your belly.” I don’t know who told them this. I guess it at least helps remove focus from the throat and get somewhere in the vicinity of the diaphragm, but it really has nothing to do with breathing and singing. “You have to sing from the diaphragm” is a little closer to the truth. But even then, it’s about controlling how you release air in order to sing, not where it’s actually coming from. The diaphragm is for breathing in. How you control it while breathing out can completely change your singing. I’ll talk about that later.

“Practice makes perfect.” Does it though? Or does it simply reinforce the habits you’re practicing, both good and bad?

‘It takes money to make money,” discounting all those who built from nothing. Maybe it would be easier if you started with money. But is it as rewarding? Would you take it for granted? How much more grateful are those who build from little to nothing?

“You’re too old,” despite all the highly successful singers who started in their 40’s, 50’s, or later. I’ve had plenty of students in cover bands who are in their 70’s and enjoying every minute of it! This isn’t a young person’s game, it’s a game of doing what you love and connecting with others who love you doing it.

“You have to know someone.” Why can’t you figure out who you need to get to know that will help you gain more fans and then spend time getting to know that person and adding value to that new friendship?! It isn’t rocket surgery.

The list goes on.

What lies have you believed that have held you back?

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