Questions & Answers

The bottom line is that you need to develop the muscles that make it happen.  This is very hard to accomplish by singing scales, which what most people who have taken singing lessons are accustomed to. Learning to sing high notes without straining is a developed skill, and without me going into detail here in writing, it is much better if you go and watch the free video on “how to sing high notes” that you get when you enter your email address at www.TheSingingZone.com.  It’s easier to see this in action rather than try and understand from writing.  Rest assured that being able to sing high notes effortlessly without strain is a result of practice.  The question is how to practice effectively.  When you watch the free video on how to sing high notes, you’ll hopefully realize that it doesn’t have to be that hard.

Yes, I work a lot with singers and speakers with these kinds of issues.  For more in depth info in the  cause of a hoarse voice and  treatment for hoarse voice I suggest you click on the links and read the article on how to heal hoarseness.  Any time we get discomfort, surrounding muscles compensate. For example, when you hurt your foot you start limping when you attempt to move forward - i.e. other muscles compensate.  When you experience discomfort, pain, strain, or hoarseness in your voice, other muscles compensate in an attempt to produce sound.  If we don’t do things to create balance, the condition becomes worse and it takes more and more effort to produce sound until it is chronic. The key is to rebalance, strengthen and free the muscles so you can create free resonating sound again with less effort than before. My Sing With Freedom home study course deals with these issues extensively too. Also see the article in the links above to understand the underlying causes better and the dangers of relying on drugs to treat them.

Yes, it is natural - meaning it is common.  Children have these cracks in the voice too. It is not about learning to warm up your voice.  It is about developing the muscle strenght that you need in order to increase vocal range and sing with a seamless voice.  Being able to sing high notes effortlessly.  I recommend you go to www.TheSingingZone.com and watch the free video on how to sing high notes . If you learn how to develop these  muscles in an effective way, you too can develop a much greater vocal range and so you can sing with freedom without the voice cracking and breaking.   So you then don't do anything to "stop the voice from breaking".  You develop the muscles so you can sing with a seamless voice.

Is it possible for someone who doesn't play tennis well to achieve a great tennis playing ability?  It depends on why the person doesn't play tennis well, doesn't it? It also depends on how we define "great".  If you have never played tennis we wouldn't assume you would be a great tennis player already, would we?  On the other hand, if you have engaged in similar activities and are in good shape and have good motor skills, coordination and awareness of body and mind, you'll probably learn to play tennis easier. How great you become depends on how you practice, how much and effectively you practice, your attitude when you practice, who you pick to teach , and many more factors. It's funny that people think learning to sing well would be different from any other skill. The difference is that,in my humble opinion, achieving a decent singing voice is far easier than becoming good at tennis.

You hit the nail on the head when you used the word "think". It is a belief, nothing else.  While it is true that "tone deafness" can exist, being "tone deaf" is most often an expressions that people tend to throw around  just because they aren't good singers. The reason you think you're tone deaf is because you know you don't sound very good.  But how would you know that if you're tone deaf? Naturally, you don't feel all that confident letting out sound.  That is understandable.  The reason you can't sing those melodies on the right notes and a have a free, resonating, attractive sound when you do it, is much more a muscle issue than an ear issue. Luckily this can certainly be developed.  It is in cases like this, by the way, that it is absolutely detrimental to practice by singing scales.  Go and watch the video on how to sing on key and you'll get an understanding of why this is so easy to develop. You might also want to  read this article on how to sing in tune and why it has little to do with your ear.