Think you can’t sing? Keep at it!

A recent study from Northwestern University suggests that singing accurately is a skill that can be learned, and if not used, can decline over time.

The research was led by Steven M. Demorest, a professor of music education at Northwestern’s Bienen School of Music. Three age groups were studied — kindergarteners, sixth-graders, and college-aged adults — and scored based on their singing accuracy. Each participant was asked to listen to a pitch (or an interval) and then sing it back.

The study showed vast improvement in accuracy from kindergarten to later elementary school, likely due to the fact that most children are receiving regular music instruction at that age. But the adults performed at a level closer to the kindergarten group in two of three of the tasks. These findings imply that, while singing on key might be easier for some people rather than others, it's also something that can be nurtured and developed.

“No one expects a beginner on violin to sound good right away, " Demorest noted in a press release. "It takes practice, but everyone is supposed to be able to sing. When people are unsuccessful they take it very personally, but we think if you sing more, you’ll get better.”

The study indicates that only 34% of U.S. children choose to participate in music classes past the eighth grade. This fact, combined with evidence that many children are made to believe that they're "tone deaf," signifies to researchers that kids are quitting music education classes because they believe they're no good — which is a huge part of the problem.

“It’s a skill that can be taught and developed, and much of it has to do with using the voice regularly,” Demorest explains. “Our study suggests that adults who may have performed better as children lost the ability when they stopped singing.”