<p>Our daughter has been blessed to find and work with a great voice instructor who is classically trained but focuses on jazz and popular music styles. She has learned a lot and has a great rapport with her teacher. </p>
<p>We just found out that her teacher won a fellowship and will be studying in Brazil for 6 weeks this summer. D will keep seeing her before the trip and once she returns, but wondering how bets to handle those other 6 weeks. D will be a senior this year and audition season is just 6 months away. </p>
<p>Any ideas? Not sure we want to engage another teacher for such a short time.</p>
<p>DD never had summer lessons…teacher was off to other events and in college of course teacher is not there in the summer… It is a good time to learn independent practicing. She and her teacher can agree on a plan and it will be a good test to see if she can manage on her own… It is a relatively short time.</p>
<p>I teach a number of students who are not classical performers, but rather MT, jazz, etc. Their work with me is on vocal technique, how to explore and condition what the voice can do healthily. For the teacher to recommend not going to a teacher of classical voice, i.e. technique, is worrisome. If she does not go about singing in the best, most healthy way, regardless of the style, she will not endure.</p>
<p>My Son’s vocal coach always takes a number of weeks off during the summer as have we. They typically get together once or twice a summer just to touch base. Knowing this is a typical summer pattern for many of his students, he asks that they vocalize daily (scales and vocal exercises) but his suggestion is always for them to double up on Piano lessons over the summers. He feels strongly that classical training and proficiency at the piano go hand in hand and students have more free time to practice at the keyboards over the summer.</p>
<p>This may not work for everyone but it seems to have served my son well.</p>