[AstralTraveller (David)]

My wife starts a WEA course on singing tonight. It's the second time she has done the course but she gets a lot of 1 on 1 tuition and she reckons she still has a lot to learn (she's not wrong). The teacher reckons anyone can sing with training and practise. I think that's right but of course some people just learn to sing while others become good (or great) singers.

They spend a lot of time on fundamentals like breathing. That is certainly my weak point - I always run out of breath by the third line of a song. [I remember Pavarotti saying he learnt a lot about breathing from Joan Sutherland.] It also helps if you can 'hear' music well. My wife struggles with that - things like whether the next note is above or below the last one - but if you have played music you are likely to find that easier. I also remember someone commenting that John Belushi (aka Jake Blues) perhaps didn't have the greatest voice but he had great timing and for that reason was a great performer.

So give it a go, no matter what you'll feel better for trying.