I have always been blessed with a natural singing voice, or so Ive been told. In fact, that belief was what propelled me to launch my career as a singer in a rock and roll band. We have been performing onstage now for over five years with some success, but I often worried about the career I chose.

Why? After most gigs, I would be terribly hoarse for days afterwards and I would start to worry how long my voice would last. Maybe I was doing something wrong. So I started looking for professional singing teachers and they actually helped.

There are dozens of singing teachers who offer their services online on the internet and they are a good source of help. Believe me when I say that you cannot learn vocal lessons from a book. You need someone to interact with, someone who can answer your questions and critique your technique as well as correct your mistakes and teach you proper breathing. There are some things you can pick up from a book on vocalizing, but for best results, theres nothing like a singing teacher who can give you hand-on guidance.

Ive had my share of different singing teachers ever since I made my decision to learn about proper signing technique. The sad truth is, not all of them are good, so be very selective especially when you are starting out. For instance, my first teacher was just horrible. It sometimes seemed like she had no idea how to sing and I felt myself being scammed. I tried to give her a chance for a few lessons, but things were clearly not improving. I was left with no recourse but to find a new teacher.

Thankfully, my next singing teacher was better, but he was aloof and I wasnt comfortable with him personally. He just seemed to be too hands-off for me. He would always cite his past experience with overcritical singing teachers, but it was obvious that they had influenced his teaching style and not in a good way. He believed that his students should be free to make their mistakes and learn from those without much guidance or correction, and this didnt quite jibe with my learning style. Im the kind of person who thrives on feedback and he just wouldnt provide any. Again, we had to part ways.

I have found that the best singing teachers are those who have great teaching skills and with whom you click with on a personal level. I guess its no surprise then that my very best singing teacher was a personal friend of mine who just happened to be in training to be an opera singer. He always enjoyed explaining things to me and, since we were friends, we communicated openly. Although Ive studied with other teachers who are more knowledgeable, theres still no one who has taught me more than my friend.