By Paul Kwo

Everybody sings. No matter how good or how bad, at some points in our lives, we all sing. Yet some people seem to be naturally more talented or blessed with a better voice than others. Some people just seem to have an innate ability to produce amazing sounds with their voice, churning out some great songs.

Just like any other skill, singing is a skill that requires practice and can be improved over time. Those who seem naturally more talented in singing simply sing all the time. Perhaps they never had a rude relative telling them that they are not a good singer, so they never stopped. They just kept going and kept singing, and as a result became better.

I love to sing. Whether just sitting at my school after hours in Alhambra and practicing till the wee hours of the night, or at a karaoke bar singing my heart out with some good friends, or on stage performing for audiences large and small in the San Gabriel Valley or beyond, or leading worship at my church in Culver City, all of these add up to my singing skills improving.

So if you love to sing, just keep singing. Whether you are in lessons or not, just keep doing it. The only thing to watch out for are:

1. Stretch your body and warm up your voice with basic vocal warm ups every day. Daily exercise applies to your voice too.
2. If it hurts, something's wrong. Get help with a professional vocal coach.
3. Drink lots and lots of water. Water is the fuel for your voice.
4. Avoid caffeine. It dries out your voice.
5. Experiment with how different foods and drinks affect your voice. A lot of it can be psychological. Generally speaking most foods don't directly affect your vocal cords. Food goes in a different pipe and never touches your cords. But your body may still react to it producing unwanted side affects.

If you want to be really good, then set up regular gigs for yourself. They don't have to be big, they just have to be regular. Some great ideas for small gigs most people can easily set up are:

1. Church worship singer and choir member. Just sign up at your local church.
2. Sign up and volunteer to sing at convalescent homes and other non-profit organizations that needs regular entertainment.
3. Attend a regular open mic.
4. Create your own home performance series. Invite a few friends, even if it's at your own home. Make it a little party. Have everyone bring some food. You can even do it as a singing circle where everyone performs for 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Perform at a local coffee shop. A lot of local coffee shops and places will host local aspiring artists. But of course this would be for those of you who are a little more seasoned and ready to get a little more serious.

But remember, the key is that you do this on a regular basis. Start off doing this once a month, so you have a goal, something to always work towards. Then get it up to once a week, so you are forced to practice and prepare material every week. If you can get it up to more than once a week, that's even better.

PopRock Academy is located in the San Gabriel Valley. We provide music lessons to residents of Alhambra, near San Marino and South Pasadena to the north, San Gabriel, Temple City and Arcadia to the east, Rosemead, Monterey Park to the South and downtown Los Angeles to the west and beyond.