Recently a student of mine, who is having difficulty making a healthy sound admitted to me that she does not listen to singers and music in general. Instead, she just attends her choir and sings. This explained to me why she is having such trouble figuring out how to use her voice well.
The number one thing that a person needs to develop a healthy singing voice are good tonal models. Listening to great singers feeds your mind and your ear. If the only other singing you hear is the mediocre or poor singer standing next to you in your choir you are in trouble. Listen to singer's singers, the artists that professional singers consider to be great.
Music is an art, and great artists must influence your work. Thinking of music as a participation sport, the way many do, does not lead to good singing. Listen more than you sing when you are learning, because in order to learn something, you must "take in" information. It does not take extra time to ad music listening into your life. you can do it with your ipod while you exercise or on your stereo when you make your bed or drive your car.
Happy listening.
