This week I was having a few conversations around the nature of learning new songs, and refining them to a high standard. It struck me that I’ve not written explicitly about this.
I wrote an article a while ago on misunderstandings that amateurs make about singing. I also wrote an article on how pros practice that is relevant to this topic.
Hence I thought I would flesh out the key difference between beginners, intermediates and pros, and how they approach learning songs. Keep an eye out for where you feel you fit in this spectrum.
Beginners
When people first start singing, whether they have a good voice or not-so-good voice, people tend to learn songs one way. They have a go belting out the tune along with the track, maybe do it a few times over a week, then judge that song as either being good enough or not.
Now when it’s basic songs, with modest range, maybe a few climaxes, we can get a working version pretty quickly. But success tends to be a fairly binary experience.
- “yea, that sounds good enough”
- “this sounds bad, I’ll leave it”
This is tantamount to just flinging your voice at a song, and hoping it sticks. Pass or fail. Win or lose. No one becomes competent or great at anything with such an approach.
Instead, we have to not only build our voices to be more competent, but we must build an approach to tackling songs. We must train in HOW to learn, how to break down a song, and install ourselves into it. This requires a more nuanced approach to problem-solving a song.
Intermediates
With some training in voice and musicality, that nuance tends to come. Instead of seeing a song as a single challenge, we can break it down into its constituent components: verse, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, maybe an outro and some adlibbing.
Generally, choruses sit higher than verses. Bridges tend to have some climaxes. Ad libs are often complex and impart excitement, but are ‘nice to have’ options rather than essential parts of the song.
Intermediate singers will first listen to the song and mentally note the structure. They then work through each section, accepting that perfection won’t come in the first few passes.
I’ve written about this phenomenon in this article right here.
More helpful thinking: This leads to more nuanced thoughts like:
“These parts went well, this part went OK, and this part is way out of my reach”
Intermediate singers grasp that songs are digestible problems. In complex songs, it’s normal to have some parts come together quickly, others feel like a trainwreck, and others fall somewhere in-between.
Pros
Pros understand it’s a marathon, not a sprint. The harder a song is, the more reps it takes. In reality, it can take weeks, months, or even years to fully realise a tricky song in your voice—even when you already hit all the notes and sing with ease.
Tricky songs are like dance routines: it’s not enough to know all the moves—you have to sequence and smooth them. The harder the song, the more intricate the transitions, and the more refinement it needs.
This reflects the song’s difficulty, not a lack of talent.
Consider that every time you sing a song, you refine it. Which means no matter how good a song sounds today, it’ll sound better tomorrow.
Conclusion: Making progress every day
There is a wonderful quote from the great cellist Pablo Casals. Despite his legendary status, he practiced four to six hours a day well into his 80s and 90s. When asked why, he replied:
“I think I’m making progress.”
Beginners fling themselves at a song and judge based on immediate results. Intermediates break songs down and work section by section. Pros do the same, but with greater patience and perspective. They know it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
If you’d like to develop your own approach and grow your vocal skills, book in a session with me here.