Pete, I have talked about my classical voice teacher in other threads, (so forgive me those who have already read this before) and I must tell you that having a good voice teacher makes all the difference in the world. (I have a page about how 'you are never to old to sing' at my website if you want to check that out.)
http://www.mcn.net/acflynn/

I am lucky that I found an excellent teacher and performer who charges me only $10 a lesson!! She could charge $100 an hour if she was in a city, but we are in a little town in Montana, so she knows that is what people can afford. I went to her because I knew I wanted to have the confidence to sing Well. I found out that although I had years of choir in school, from grade 4 thru high school, NONE of the really important techniques had been taught to us about how to use our vocal chords, muscles in the mouth and face, placement, and how to breathe correctly to have support for a good sound as well as enough breath to phrase the music correctly (not breaking to take a breath in the middle of a word, musical line, or lyrical phrase.) I tape each lesson, and she sometimes videotapes me so that I can really hear and see what I am doing. A Good teacher will give you challenging classical pieces to learn, even though you never perform in that style, because it stretches your voice to use the techniques that are necessary to really know how to sing. One of the first things she told me is, this is all physical, like an athlete. You have to think of it the same way an athlete does in training. Every day you use the muscles in your body in certain ways, and in training them to do things correctly, they get stronger and you get so that you can control muscles you didn't even know you had. She is right. It is just like training to do gymnastics or track or any other physical skill that requires knowledge of technique, daily practice, and good coaching. To sing well, you have to be able to lift the soft palate (the roof of the mouth in back) to create space for a good sound, to be able to hold the muscles on the floor of your abdomen down to allow room for the diaphragm to contain as much air for as long as it can, and to learn to control the muscles that move the ribs, so you can expand the ribs out to allow more air in. You have to know how to relax muscles in the face and mouth that want to tighten up, where to place the tongue, etc. This and more takes training by a good teacher, and practice. BUT, just like in athletics, if you were not born with the necessary physical attributes, no matter how much you practice, you won't be as good as someone born with what it takes. For singing, it takes a set of good sounding vocal chords, and a good "ear", or ability to hear when you are singing the right note. Singing is my passion. If you want more information on technique, just email to me or leave a message here.
acflynn@mcn.net