is 17 too late for singing lessons?

Never too late :-) Also consider other options in the meantime - eg how about joining a choir? You ll get a little bit of information about technique, as well as practice with your voice, training your ears etc - and make new friends :-)

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I'm 17 and I still don't. But remember, you don't necessarily need lessons be a good singer. People are in disbelief when I tell them i'm not trained. Just remember you are not disadvantaged by not taking lessons if you treat your voice properly and find out your natural voice. so its up to you if you want to start, you will not ever be disadvantaged for starting late if you have the passion/drive and respect for your voice

Of course not.

Not too late at all! Just let your parents read the following VERY carefully and see if it helps:

NO-ONE is a born singer! All one has to be able to do beforehand is to carry a tune and the rest will follow during OFFLINE one-on-one lessons with a GOOD vocal teacher. Besides, the best and most honest feedback comes from a trained vocal teacher after an OFFLINE one-on-one auditon. Therefore:

Either start taking OFFLINE one-on-one lessons with a GOOD vocal teacher, join a choir or find yourself another interest.

In fact, it takes obviously some talent, some luck, LOTS of patience, diligence, courage, hard work, dedication and LOTS of lessons with a GOOD vocal teacher. Besides, your voice will keep maturing until you are in your mid-30s so you need a lot of TIME as well. Therefore:

Sorry, but THE ONLY SAFE way to learn the correct singing techniques & to improve properly IS to take OFFLINE face-to-face singing lessons with a fully trained vocal teacher! The teacher HAS TO BE in the same room with you, so that he/she can give you proper feedback. However, even the best teachers in the world cannot make wonders, so please be realistic with this. Singing lessons are NOT going to help if one is tone-deaf! Please do NOT rely on any dodgy web tutorials because that way you can misunderstand things VERY EASILY and develop bad habits, hoarseness, vocal nodules and other nasties IN NO TIME, and even though you would sound good! It is always much wiser to invest a little bit of your money/time to face-to-face lessons rather than wasting the same amount of money (or even more!) to frequent ear-nose-throat specialist visits due to aforementioned problems, so please reconsider this. If you can't afford vocal lessons, then joining a choir is the only SAFE alternative option. And believe me, but even MANY of those who have music as their hobby DO take lessons as well! Always remember to warm up your voice properly, but please know your limits and don't overdo your voice! Remember the diaphragmatic support, do not strain your throat too much! Also, remember good body posture! Avoid fizzy drinks (burp danger), dairy products (mucus risk), caffeinated products (coffee & tea included, they dry up your throat) and spicy food (irritation risk)! You can consume these things, but NEVER before singing! Do NOT shout, yell, scream nor otherwise abuse your voice AT ANY TIME! Also, please respect your vocal range; if your teacher says you are, say, more of an alto (baritone if you are male), then you ARE more of an alto (baritone). DO NOT try to imitate anyone famous, that will usually give you just bad habits and even damage your throat. You are YOU and your voice is unique, so please learn to cherish that. The world does NOT need copycats. Do NOT sing, whisper, shout, yell nor scream if having a sore throat/cold/flu, Also, do speak as little as you can if you have flu/cold/sore throat! Remember to drink at least 2 litres of room-temperature still water every day, not just during singing days! Smoking is a big no-no, as is inhaling secondhand smoke. Also, avoid staying in dusty and/or moldy environment.

There you go, leave it or take it, but self-help is as DANGEROUS as trying to perform a minor surgery on oneself after watching how it is done in an episode of Chicago Hope or Holby City. And, sometimes one needs to sacrifice things in order to find the best vocal teacher for oneself.

never too late

No person is too old to pursue their dream. You may have a disadvantage since you're starting to take lessons later on in life but it's worth shot. You'll regret giving up in the future.