There was a time when singing was left to the professional entertainers. One would normally go to a favorite watering hole and listen to his kind of music. We have them all from the balladeers, soul singers, band vocalists, pop artists, rhythm and blues and jazz singers, the rappers, country and western singers, classics crooners.

As every thing and any thing, singing too, has changed. Singing is no longer limited to the pro nor is it confined to bars, cocktail lounges, night clubs, or to the more formal theaters, auditoriums and music halls.

Before, one would normally go through music school to perform in public. Others have formal training in music under the tutelage of some "maestro". For some lucky ones, they may be gifted with a voice so flawless and talent so extra ordinary that all they needed was to be discovered in amateur singing competitions.

Singing can be a profession, a job, a means to earn money, a career, a business, a ministry, and in many instances can be life itself. We hear successful singing artists claim music as their life, their every breath.

Much has been written about music or songs, singers and singing. There is a new and welcomed dimension that has made singing inclusive and relatively fun. Most people today are not cowered to hold a microphone and belt a song in public. Having mastered their unfounded fears and shyness, they sing like no other. Any formal and informal gatherings almost always end up with a singing session, thanks to the advent of karaokes and videokes. These inventions have cured inhibitions. Everybody dares to sing and friends or colleagues sit up and take notice. Imagine a straight-laced accountant belting a mean jazz or the poker-faced boss hitting the classics!

Singing lightens and brightens moods. After a long day, one unwinds. As golf is set for the weekends, drinks only on TGIF nights, that leaves singing as the only relaxing and healthy alternative. One can do it at home, at a local pub, at the employee recreational center.

Have you figured out why musical artists have short staying power these days? There is more than enough competition, count your self and my self in!