How come I can’t sing even though I like to listen to music a lot?

This is a very nice question. It’s one that I can relate to personally, because my mother was also in this situation. She always had the radio on, set to what was then the classical radio station of the New York Times (WQXR). And yet she couldn’t carry a tune.

 

There are two main reasons for this. First of all, having music on in the background is not the same as listening to music. Listening means paying attention to the music. If you’re not actively engaged with the music, then it will have no effect other than providing a more pleasant ambience than the sounds of the neighbor’s TV or your coworkers’ office machines.

 

This doesn’t mean that all your listening needs to be active—it’s certainly ok to have music playing in the background while you’re working—but I highly recommend setting aside some time for dedicated, active listening, even if it’s just a session of five minutes a couple of times a day.

 

Second, when you listen to the radio, you don’t get to choose the music. The musical element that is most important for us, when we want to train our ears in order to learn how to sing, is melody. The music on the radio doesn't always have prominent melodies. Sometimes it has other characteristics that make the melodies harder to hear.

 

If you’re listening to someone else’s playlist, the chances are good that you are being bombarded by exciting rhythms and harmonies, by the vivid colors of an orchestra’s instrumental palette, or by piercing percussion. None of this will help you. Instead, it will distract us from our goal of focusing on melody.

 

If you like to listen a lot, then I recommend making your own playlist of songs or instrumental music with a clear, uncluttered melodic line, without complicated harmonies and rhythms, and with only one or two voices or instruments.

 

To start off with, you don’t have to think about anything in particular while listening. Listen as much or as little as you like, and above all, just enjoy the music!

 

Here are some recommendations:

 

Violin solos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwbE_TwtisM

 

Flute sonatas by Handel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DpUWiabWZA

 

Lute music by John Dowland

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sElBsL9fvRM

 

J.S. Bach's "Two-Part Inventions" played on the clavichord

(The clavichord is a keyboard instrument. Like the piano, it uses hammers to produce sound, but it is smaller, softer, and more intimate—ideal for an apartment!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIIXs4CeU-4

 

J.S. Bach's "Two-Part Inventions" played on the harpsichord

(The harpsichord is a keyboard instrument whose sound is produced by plucking. It may sound more like a harp or guitar than a piano.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEo200djvTA