How do you become a good singer?

Question:

How do you become a good singer?

I have an okay voice that can sometimes sound good but is not consistant. I think it has potential but....anyway how do I train my voice without professional help and make it that much better.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: * Voice lessons are not a bad idea.
You can learn how to protect your voice, and
how to develop your best range.
If you go through a local music school or church music ministry, you might find a graduate student willing to give you a few lessons.
* Sing with a church choir to learn enunciation and diction,
and to practice singing in tune and following music. If you can't read music yet, I strongly urge you to learn. You can't sing notes on pitch if you don't know where they are on the scale. It also makes it easier to correct wrong notes when you understand music, and know if you are off by a half step or flat or sharp.
* Pick up an instrument such as guitar or piano. You can learn more about music and pitch and scales this way. Go to a music store and look at their instructional books that come with DVD.
* Try out for a musical at a local theatre. Learning to sing and perform on stage requires the right projection so you don't damage your voice. Support comes from your diaphragm, not screaming from your throat or your head voice. (Other hints: Do not coat your throat with milk before singing, or restrict your voice with lemons. NEVER sing when you have a cold; you will risk putting permanent nodules on your vocal chords. Do not smoke unless you want that sound to your voice more than you want to avoid the risk of lung, throat or mouth cancer. You need to warm up your vocal chords by practicing scales before rehearsing or performing.)

So a good choir or musical director can teach you those skills so you don't damage your voice by abusing it. You can ask them for references for a good music coach, or a student willing to teach.

Note: Once you know how to use your voice correctly, and are not developing bad habits that can damage your vocal chords, if you want to work on your style, pick a singer whose style you like, and imitate that. Be careful because many singers are not professionally trained and have damaged their voices that way.
I would study singers with operatic training, such as David Byrne(?) of the talking heads, Linda Ronstandt, and Mariah Carey.
If you like other styles, I would make sure you check with a vocal coach how to achieve that effect without damaging your voice.