Can you learn how to sing? Yes. Most people can. The only people who have the real issue with singing are those who are tone deaf. Most people miscatagorize tone deaf people, and they are very rare. I doubt this is you. Anyone can learn diaphragmatic breathing, how to focus the tone, how to enunciate, etc. You can improve your singing voice by far.

The next pressing issue is a critical one. How is your natural instrument? I am NOT talking about HOW you sing. That can be changed with some training. I am talking about your raw instrument. Most voice teachers can tell if a singer has a good instrument under bad technique. This could be your case. Changing your technique can very well change your sound. Don't listen to anyone who says otherwise who HASN'T been trained. They don't know better. Ask a voice teacher, choir director, anyone with experience. And get more then one professional opinion. There are a couple of so called trainers who DON'T know what they are talking about. That's why it is important that you get a second opinion. Good luck and don't judge your instrument by your technique. It could be your technique getting in the way of a beautiful sound!

Singing is one of those things that you have to try in order to determine what you are capable of doing. But, it does require an aptitude for hearing pitches accurately, and the ability to sing back accurately what you do hear. This ability really cannot be taught, you either have it or you don't. If you cannot hear pitches well, you might not be able to learn to sing well.

However, if you want to know if you have potential, you can try the following to gauge what ability you have for hearing and singing pitches accurately:

1) Try to sing a melody of a song you know-even something like "Happy Birthday"-and really listen. Can you sing in tune (or close to it), or are you very off-key (or can you even tell)? Can you hear every note accurately in your mind?

2) If you have access to a piano or keyboard, play a note on it. Since you are a guy, look for the middle of the keyboard (where the maker name is), and go slightly left of that name. Play any of the notes that are in the group of three black keys immediately to the left of the name. Can you sing back the note you just played with accuracy? Don't focus on whether you sound like Sinatra or Pavarotti, just listen to how accurately you can hear the tone, and sing it back.

3) When you hear a song on the radio, do you pick it up quickly, or is it hard for you to remember what it sounds like, even after you've heard it many times?

4) What kind of a tone do you have? Is it raspy? Whiny? Is it a smooth voice? What do people say about your voice, in other words, do they find the tone of your voice to be a nice pleasant tone? If it is raspy, it may not be of a quality to sing most music- ballads, opera, and musical theater in general require a clean, smooth full tone, not hoarse or raspy. Training will not fix this, you have what you have. Some people are born with a raspy voice.

If you can do the above, and your tone is clear, you have the basic equipment to learn to sing, and taking lessons should be your next step. However, if you cannot take lessons yet due to finances, then I suggest that you join a choir. Look to your school or church or community for choirs to join. You should be able to find one that doesn't require auditioning. Try to find a choir with singers that are in your age group, since that music will be geared to your age. Kid/teen voices are different from adult voices-your range and vocal quality will not be like that of an adult, and if you try to sing adult music with a kid's voice, you could injure yourself. I am assuming you are a kid or a teen, you aren't saying. But if you aren't, then find an adult choir. The choir conductor can help you find the part you should sing by listening to you. However, be aware that choir directors will put you where they need you, not necessarily by what type of voice you have. I once joined a choir where the director kept telling me I was an alto because he needed altos-which I am most emphatically not. So rather than risk damaging my voice by belting out a part that was in the weakest part of my range, I told him essentially to put a sock in it. So if you do join a choir, monitor yourself-if you are uncomfortable singing the parts you are put on, say something. Don't EVER hurt yourself. Singing is not supposed to hurt. But, if you can take lessons, take them as well.

If you find that you can sing in a choir, then, to improve, you absolutely should get a teacher since you say you want to sing on a stage properly. The teacher will show you how to sing properly with good technique, will work to develop your range, tone quality and vocal flexibility (how fast can you sing, vocal leaps, etc), and will be able to classify your vocal type properly once you have gained some technique. Tenors and basses sing different types of music because they are very different voices with different ranges and vocal qualities. If you don't sing music that suits your voice, at best, you will not sound your best, and at worst, you can injure yourself.

Singing is both natural talent and a learned skill. Good singers not only are well trained, but they are also born with a certain tone quality, volume, lung capacity that together with training is what makes them good or great. You can train all day long, but if your tone is unpleasant, raspy, or doesn't have a lot of volume, there isn't much you can do to change that.

Short answer:

"Everyone has a beautiful voice. You just have to know how to use it." …Jo Estill

You are 17, so the vocal change that you have experienced during puberty has probably settled down and your voice will continue to mature over the next few years. Therefore this is a great time for you to learn to sing! Amusia is the condition tone deaf people have, it's extremely rare and most vocal coaches never come across it. If you have a voice coach that tells you that you can't sing, it's says much more about them than you!

Singing is a 100% learnt skill! Absolutely no one can sing when they are born. At a basic level singing involves language skills, pitch and rhythm, all of which we have to learn, that's before we learn phrasing, dynamics, expression, communication, energy, voice qualities, improvisation, harmony….. And then deal with the stage performance and audiences – so a career in this will not be for all, but that doesn't mean they it's not possible for them.

Extended answer:

No one can talk when they are born, no one can clap or tap rhythms/keep a beat. Babies do have a variety of pitches and are very expressive with them – they are primal sounds to let their carer know they need something. This can be the basis for developing singing, but ultimately are used firstly to learn to speak.

Learning to sing early is down to exposure. The more music and singing you are exposed to at a young age the more likely you are to imitate this and develop your own singing skills. Nursery songs/rhymes are generally the first exposure, which develop pitch, beat (bouncing knee) and rhythm.

This exposure may start in the womb as at 4 months the baby can hear, therefore they can be learning from this point onwards. Babies learn at a very fast rate compared to adults – we're stuck with habits we need to break, so babies who are exposed to music from a young age are picking up loads very fast.

Take Mozart for example, most people say he was born with it, but his father was one of Europe's most renowned Violin teachers of the time, a composer, performer and keyboard teacher. Therefore Mozart was around quality music from the moment he was conceived. Michael Jackson had a large family of brothers and sisters singing round him from day one, this creates a big impression on a young mind! Both obviously had the desire and motivation to gain mastery themselves, but this initial period was very important to both.

Zoltan Kodaly once said: 'Music education begins nine months before the birth of the mother'! More recent books on talent ("Talent is Overrated") would suggest the same – it's all about your environment.

People generally don't sing because they were told when they were a child to "shut that racket up" (or something) and they mistakenly believe that they can't sing so stop learning. Also, some blokes may have been asked to leave a choir when they are in the middle of puberty when the voice is changing like mad and they start to believe that they can't sing. Not true, just a difficult time to sing.

If you feel you can't sing, go back to the primal sounds a baby makes. Play about with these, the loud and the quiet. Crying, wailing, gurgling, giggling….etc. If you have any young cousins, nieces or nephews, sing nursery rhymes with them, it'll help with your inner ear and tuning.

Get the best vocal coach you can afford and take it form there! Change if they don't work for you.