Re: Voice Teachers--what to look for?

angstridden
Thu, 13 Oct 2005 23:58:43 +0000

One thing to look at is the STUDENTS of the teacher. Go to recitals, plays etc and listen to the kids. That says alot!

My daughter started when she was 5 in private voice lessons. At the time I found the “healthy voice” teacher because I did not want to risk her hurting her voice. 5 is young to start I know, but she had a gift early on and folks encouraged me to put her in voice. (To find the healthy voice teacher I talked to the music professor at a local college).

She has had two teachers since then. She won vocal lessons free for two years from her second teacher. But I did not feel she was progressing as much as she could because the teacher missed alot…so we moved on to her current teacher (where she also won a vocal scholarship)

You will want to look at the students. Also see if they focus on a certain type of music…Like one teacher here focuses on classical. D. trained classically and can sing that way but wanted pop so we wanted a teacher that would help her develop her belt voice. However she still will do an Italian piece or something else now and then to stay on top of those skills.

Another thing to consider is the teachers organization. There are teachers who PLAN what they are going to do with the students so they will advance and others who just wing it. The "wingers " have a tendency not to think about songs IN ADVANCE for the student and so much time is wasted with teacher and student going through song after song. And its not fun to pay X per hour and know that most of it is spent search for a tune. They also tend to not be organized with a plan and a goal…so students dont advance as much.

And what types of opportunities do the teachers offer the kids. Competitions, recitals etc. And another biggie how interested are the teachers. Really interested teachers will go see the kids in shows etc.

Ask the music teacher for recommendations…they usually know who is good. I agree with Loreli on the piano…you dont need the best pianist but the teacher should be good.