Sister Agatha nipped my singing career in the bud when I was aged eight.
"Who's droning? You're droning. Don't sing, just move your lips."
That attitude
SO annoys me!
There's a saying 'If you can talk, you can sing'. And it's just about true.
My old school music teacher (who'd arrived at the school when my father was there) said he'd never found anyone who was genuinely tone deaf.
Obviously, some of us are better at it than others, but the basics are inbuilt.
The two biggest problems are trying to sing too high (which was probably Ian H's problem
1) and not having learned to listen to yourself (hence Rogerzilla's suggestion of the finger in the year
2).
Most men are baritones, most women are mezzos. Classical and posh church music goes for the extremes, so puts all four voices outside of their comfort zones.
Steve
Notes:
1) I had the same from my music teacher in the last year of primary school, although she didn't name and shame me. It was 'if you can't stop groaning at the back, just keep quiet'. In my case the problem was my voice was breaking. By the following September I was singing tenor.
2) You don't have to put your finger into your ear to get the effect although it does work. Cupping your hand over the ear does nearly as well. Google Ewan McColl and you'll see what I mean.
