So you're interested in a singer-songwriter career? Great! But before you take any steps, there are some mistakes you should definitely avoid (based on personal experiences). Let's explore the top ten things that people do wrong when pursuing a singing career.

Recognize Your Potential

When you're a beginner, it's easy to get excited and overestimate how easy it is to pursue a career in singing. However, if you hope to make that happen, then be hyper self-aware and always recognize any weaknesses. If not, then don't waste your time. In the end, it will only disappoint.

Work Hard to Listen

If you're serious about pursuing a career in singing, you have to be prepared to learn a lot and put in the hard work. Develop your listening skills now so that you can internalize proper vocal technique, understand how different songs and genres should be sung, and recognize what makes a voice good even when it's not perfect. It will help you develop your own signature sound.

Know Your Range

One of the biggest mistakes people make when pursuing singing careers is to think that they can't do it because they're not good enough. This isn't true. It's important to know your range so that you don't chase a career beyond what you can actually do well. Talk with someone who knows about voice and music, such as a vocal coach or musical director, to see where your strengths and weaknesses are and which type of singing style suits you best.

Identify Your Strengths and Weaknesses

Not every aspiring singer has a golden voice or extraordinary range, so it's important to understand your strengths and weaknesses. If you know that you're too far from auditions to hit high notes, go for a song track where you can utilize your lower range and strength. Similarly, if your speaking voice is known for its calm and comforting tone, record a piece of dialogue as an audition highlight rather than singing.

Have Regular Voice Lessons

If you are serious about pursuing a singing career, you need to have regular voice lessons. Not only will it improve your voice, but it will give you the opportunity to work with an instructor that can advise and help you in areas such as posture, diet, make-up, learning new songs and techniques.

Bullet Point: Perform Live in Front of Others

Paragraph: Take several small steps first to build up confidence in yourself before performing for others. Start by performing at home or just in front of your friends. There is no audience like an audience of family members who want to hear you sing!

Learn What Makes a Good Singing Teacher

A good singing teacher should diagnose the student's needs and then tailor lessons to meet them. They also offer guidance for vocal health by teaching healthy practices. Finding a good one requires you to ask many important questions like how often do they schedule lessons, what kind of clients do they usually work with, are they affiliated with an institution or organization, etc. Many of these answers can be discovered online by looking at the instructor's website.

Be Flexible and Adaptable

One of the most important traits to pursue singing is the desire to be flexible and adaptable in most every conceivable situation. If you cannot deliver as a performer when you're asked to step outside your comfort zone, then you'll never make it into the limelight. If a premiere producer requests that you sing country music when your only experience with country is an event at last year's county fair, be mature enough to take the opportunity so that you can get some valuable experience before voicing your disapproval next time.

Be Prepared to Invest In Yourself

A singing career demands that you be prepared to invest time and money into yourself. There are lots of steps to take when it comes to the more practical aspects of a singing career like making sure that you have great equipment and finding the perfect storage space for all your costumes.

Practice Everyday for 10 Minutes. Find Ways to Detach from Criticism

Building up one vocal cord will increase the strength and volume needed for singing. Daily practice will also help you know what can be tweaked in your technique, allowing you to perfect it. Eventually, you’ll find that some of the techniques start to happen automatically when you sing so it lowers confusion and makes more room for understanding how to produce a certain resonance.

Offer What You Can't Perform Live, Where It Counts

Just because you can sing in the shower doesn't mean that anybody cares, or wants to hear you do it. The superficiality of talent show and commercial success has trained audiences to expect singers to be able to sing live. If you are unable to perform live, it's best to offer what you can on social media, where audiences get the added bonus of seeing/listening to your skills.