It seems that a lot of people doing singing get to grade 8 within one or two years of starting; I know not everyone does but there are certainly more than in other instruments. I know that it happens in other instruments too but these are usually rare cases and are generally a result of rushing too fast and just playing three pieces to pass the exam for the certificate. I do, however, refuse to believe that it is the case that a large portion of the people who sing do this, if it was a small number then maybe, but so many people seem to do it so there must be something more to it.

Is it just the case that when people start singing lessons they've already done a lot of singing throughout their life and thus are already quite good? Is grade 8 singing easier than other grade 8s? Have a lot of singers have already been in choirs so already have quite a bit of experience? Or is it because most singers play another instrument first so they make it there more quickly?

Just a question that's been bugging me for a while I haven't asked before (I must be feeling brave today ) as I didn't want to be accused of implying singing is easier than other instruments: I'm not saying that (I wouldn't stand up and sing in front of a large number of people!), I'm just curious as to why this phenomenon occurs.

People who play another instrument generally already have a good ear for music and also the ability to read music. Most people who do Grade 8 this quickly have usually already been playing another instrument beforehand.

I have perfect pitch so I find singing very easy. I didn't take Grade 8 until I was 15 because I needed to let my voice mature first... however, I sight-read my first diploma-standard piece when I was 13, two years after I began singing lessons (OK now I sound like an annoying person, sorry!).

Choirs also help - sightsinging is greatly improved by singing in a choir...

There is no "basic" technique to singing - anyone can open their mouth and sing, there's no complex starting process as there is in instrumental lessons. The technique comes in when you want to refine your art so that it's really really good. For some people, this comes very naturally, and progress is very quick.

I agree - I took grade 8 within 1 year of starting lessons, but as I said elsewhere, I had been singing in a choir (that means a lot a sight-reading!) for about 6 years prior to that and had been studying the piano since I was 5, was in fact working on Grade 8 piano at the same time as grade 8 singing (not to mention treble recorder grade 6 when i was like 12) - and I thought the piano was harder, if only because you have all the scales and arpeggios which you don't in singing, and which take a lot of practice!!!

Also I have a very good ear and excellent relative pitch (OK so shoot me if I am being annoying), which helps a lot - and if you have a good memory, you learn the pieces much more quickly I think in singing because you internalise differently - I mean the piece does not have to go through your fingers, so to speak, it comes out directly from inside (not sure this is making much sense) - for example you could be humming the tune all day or even singing it in your head, for a piano piece that is not going to help a lot with the practical details like fingering and general velocity. For singing it can be a fast way to learn all the words and tune, and then you just need polish.

The thing about grade 8 as has been also said elsewhere is that it is I think it is significantly easier than Diploma, and that is even more true for voice: because you can get grade 8 without proper voice technique (I certainly did!), but not without proper piano technique, and you can't get your Diploma without the technique whether for singing or an instrumenr - in my opinion anyway! Though maybe now things have changed....?

Don't forget that singers don't start learning the instrument at our first formal lesson - I'd been singing for thirty-odd years before I had any lessons, and had been in choirs for most of that time. It's not as if the fifteen months I took to pass grade 8 were the only singing experience I'd had, even though, unlike Cheeble and Lafrog, I don't play any other instruments.

I can't comment on whether grade 8 singing is easier than any other instrument - perhaps if I'd played one for thirty-odd years I'd have a grade 8 in it, perhaps not.
I think it's interesting, though, that the person who sits next to me in choir and who plays the violin says that singing is much the harder of the two, as you have to cope with words and breathing as well as the notes!

Cheers

Katyjay

very good point - all of us know how to sing in some way (some even have a natural voice, lucky them) when we get to the first lesson....BUT for most of us getting to the proper technique is actually quite a long road...and like with any instrument, very very few ever make it to the stage. So whether it took you one or five years to get to grade 8 and beyond, the end-result is the same...the further you go the fewer there are and even then, a lot of professional artists did not necessarily take this path!