The Value of Voice Lessons

If you're serious about improving your voice quality, the value of voice lessons is unmatched. But, the value of voice lessons is greatly influenced by the quality of the teacher you choose and the compatibility of that teacher's teaching style with your learning style. Naturally, while any voice lessons from a competent music teacher will help you improve, you can greatly improve the value of voice lessons by taking the time to choose just the right voice teacher to meet your needs.

Before you run out and find a voice teacher, you may find  it beneficial to take some time to reflect on your goals. The more specific you can be in defining your goals, the better your chance of maximizing the value of the voice lessons you'll receive. Do you want to join soloist singing competitions? Do you want to sing on Broadway? Do you want to sing solos in church? Do you want to become a better choir singer? Do you merely want to avoid embarrassing yourself when you sing? Whatever your goal, the value of voice lessons will be immeasurably positive when you take your voice lessons with this goal explicitly stated.

Now you're ready to start your search for the right voice teacher. The best place to start such a search is with someone who knows vocal music. Local school music teachers and choir directors may be helpful. A local music store will have lots of contacts as well. Voice teachers often contact music stores or leave their contact information on music store bulletin boards. Some music stores even employ music teachers. Of course, you'll want to check references if you find a music teacher this way.

Universities and community colleges can also be excellent sources, both for voice teacher references or voice lessons. In many cases you can take a college voice class from a very qualified teacher for much less than private lessons. While this means you'll have to share the teacher, it can be a good starting place. For an extra fee, many college professors give private lessons to promising students. Also, sometimes you can get free private tutoring at universities from graduate assistants who need work experience for their post-graduate programs.

Once you've located a potential teacher, you need to do a mini interview. The teacher will want to know about you too. The teacher will want to know about your music history and your voice lesson goals. Both of you will probably have questions about how much time will be budgeted for practicing what you learn during your voice lessons. Some voice teachers also have their students participate in recitals, which may or may not fit in with your goals. Make sure you ask the teacher about references, past teaching success stories, qualifications, and fees.

If you're comfortable that you've found the right voice teacher, you're ready to schedule your introductory voice lesson. Make sure you ask what you need to bring to your voice lesson. Many voice teachers expect their students to create a practice plan to follow between each voice lesson. Your voice teacher may also want you to bring an audio recorder so you can hear what you sound like.

During the first few voice lessons the teacher will be learning about you. You'll get some instruction during this period, but primarily the teacher needs to evaluate where you are and what your natural and learned skills are. Rather than starting off working on the great masterpiece you want to sing, as many new students expect when they begin voice lessons,  you'll probably be given a bunch of simple voice exercises to help you learn to hit the notes accurately for various keys.

Once the voice teacher has a good idea of where you're at, you will probably go over an evaluation with your teacher. At this point you'll really begin to get a good feel for how the voice teacher works, in addition to finding out about your strengths and weaknesses. This is very valuable for you as a student, so listen carefully and don't get defensive. If the teacher has only positive things to say when evaluating you, consider carefully whether you should take voice lessons from a different teacher.

From this point onward the voice lessons will follow a predictable pattern. You'll perform for the teacher, be given feedback on your progress, and be given new practice assignments. Whether you're struggling or doing well, the teacher should during this time adjust the teaching style and assignments to meet your needs.

Once you've begun to master your warm-up exercises and hitting notes on cue, the teacher will probably either assign you a song to learn or ask you to choose one. The selection may depend on where you're at with your vocal technique. Also, even while learning songs you'll likely begin by having to do special practice exercises that involve hitting the notes in that key. This is why you are paying for voice lessons, so at this point you need to trust the professional expertise of the teacher.

After you have progressed in your exercises you'll likely be asked to learn small pieces of the song at a time. Depending on the teacher's teaching style, you'll either be critiqued and corrected bit by bit as you go or in summary. You'll be given appropriate exercises to help you improve at each point before moving on to the next phase of learning the song. If you've chosen voice lessons in a classroom environment, you'll be able to learn additionally from what each of the other students is going through. Some students find this to be an added value of voice lessons, while others find it very disconcerting. If you're taking private lessons, you'll probably need to do recitals in order to develop your stage presence.