Your Heroes were Wrong

There’s a legendary vocal coach who runs a successful YouTube channel.

He believes that, as a coach, your students’ work is all the proof you'll ever need that your methodology works.

And his students are masterful singers.

Except…

You’ve probably never heard of any of them.

The Right Way

One of his most popular series is “How to Sing Like ,” in which he deconstructs legendary rock and metal singers’ performances.

He explains how they achieve their tone, range, and style, and teaches you the basics of how to achieve it for yourself.

But whether he’s discussing Freddie Mercury, Jon Bon Jovi, Steven Tyler, Axl Rose, or Robert Plant, he finds himself saying the same thing:

“What they’re doing isn’t proper technique. If you do that to your voice for too long, over time, you’ll damage your voice and either lose it or require surgery.”

Then he shows you the proper technique for achieving similar results, touting the benefits of longevity and sustainability.

And he’s right:

Many of the most beloved rock and metal singers of all time lost their range, power, or voice altogether in time.

Jon Bon Jovi is a shadow of his former self, and not just due to age, but due to improper vocal technique.

The thing is…

These singers went down in history. Their names and, more importantly, their music have and will leave a permanent stamp in people’s hearts.

Which begs the question:

What good is proper technique if you’ll never have an impact on the world?

Perfect Imperfection

Freddie Mercury isn’t a legend because he was perfect, but because he was unique.

There are a million Toastmasters speakers you’ll never hear about, a million trumpet players that will never make a lasting impact. But Miles Davis had a limited range, which forced him into creative compositions within the limits of his ability.

Perfection is not just unattainable, it’s overrated.

This vocal coach may have 1,000,000 subscribers on YouTube, but will any of his singers go down in history? Unlikely.

Which isn’t to say that he isn’t an exceptional vocal coach I've benefited tremendously from his lessons and never miss a video. I'm a far better singer than I was years ago as a result of his instruction.

And it certainly isn't to say that his students aren’t exceptional singers - they are!

But consider this:

One time he dissected his cousin’s vocal technique, explaining all the ways he was singing wrong which leads to vocal fatigue and inconsistent performances.

Sure, it was true.

But his cousin, Sammy Hagar, has a career that spanned 50 years, including 26 studio albums, 4 of which were with Van Halen and all went to No. 1 and sold multiple platinum, and was inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.

If you’re hoping to make a living, "proper technique" is a worthy pursuit.

But if you’re hoping to make a dent in the universe, it may be overrated.