Why Learning to Sing Has Made Me a Better Musician…

James Pain has always had an undeniable passion for music, although it wasn't until he started singing that he truly unlocked his full potential as a musician.... 

Tell us a little bit about you and your music career so far?

It's only in the last year or so that I've started to take music more seriously as a career opportunity. I've been playing drums since I was about 13, and had experience playing in groups and recording in studios throughout my teenage years. But there was about 2 years where playing music was completely absent from my life, and it was only when I went back to getting drum lessons again and  jamming with mates that I realised that I wanted to take it more seriously. Now I'm looking at options for a music performance course at university and just eager to start gigging on a more regular basis! 

What inspired you to learn singing?

I remember seeing Midnight Oil perform years ago, and their drummer Rob Hirst was playing at the kit whilst belting out these amazing backing vocals. Seeing performances like that definitely woke me up to how many options there were for me as an aspiring musician. Then after years of learning to play guitar I found myself frustrated by the limitations of my own voice, as I felt I had a good feel for singing but had never been given any professional or technical guidance. Finally I saw Mikaylah perform when I was in Bali during my travels, and was so inspired by her abilities as a singer that I asked her for recommendations on where to get lessons and she put me onto Coach Music Academy. 

How has Singing effected you as a musician?

Overall I feel that singing has helped me with improving my musical ear. Given my experiences as a musician have predominantly been rhythm based, focusing on the melodic elements of singing have improved my drumming and guitar playing too. Also when I learn a song now, there's the challenge of learning the guitar part, the singing part, and then learning to do both at once, which requires another level of coordination that I was definitely missing before. 

Your top tips for budding musician’s wanting to make music their full time gig?

I personally have not been fortunate enough to make music my full time gig yet, but I've certainly seen many of my friends succeed in doing so. I think that the most important element of any chosen field is work ethic. Just put the time and effort into honing your craft. Set yourself a solid practice routine and constantly challenge yourself. Aside from that, I think the other essential part is to play with others as much as you can, whether it's jamming with a couple of mates or playing live shows, you'll inevitably learn more from sharing your musical experiences with others. 

Do you want to learn to sing? Contact us today