By Talonda Thomas
To a singer, there are so many important factors that determine your career in music. Growing up, I believed that there was only one avenue to singing. That path was called stardom. Unfortunately, most singers will never become famous nor even have their voices heard in public. The most extraordinary voices are known to be the ones that are behind the scenes.
The real question is what type of singer are you? Are you the singer who performs in a choir at church or at school? Are you aspiring to sing on Broadway, sings classically in major concert halls, in a band on a late night show, or even a singer for commercial jingles? There are places in the world for all singers. Unfortunately, most singers belong in a karaoke bar.
What now? If someone tells you that you have no hope as a singer, do you melt down and never sing again? If you get turned down from American Idol, does that mean you have no singing capabilities? The answer is maybe. Some people are seeking a professional singing career without taking the baby steps that teach them to walk in greatness. Before you do anything in life, you must remember STEPS. Following the steps in any process require patience and understanding. You must first realize that nothing comes overnight. Most great singers did not learn how to sing overnight.
You must take the first step of admitting that you are probably not a fantastic singer. It’s almost like being in AA meeting, or any self help group for that matter. Recognize that there could be a problem. Majority of the time, we can fix our vocals habits and weaknesses. It is almost impossible to find the perfect singer. There are the very few gifted, and the very many who work hard to train their voices.
The next step after realizing that you may need to perfect some things vocally (as we all do), is to find a vocal coach or voice teacher. Some people ask if there is really a point in even taking lessons. What can they teach me that I haven’t learned from watching music videos and listening to the radio? The truth is that once you believe that you don’t need voice lessons, you have already taken 3 steps back.
1. You now believe that you are too good for lessons.
2. You do not think that you need improvements.
3. Even if you receive useful information from a voice teacher, you may not take it into consideration because you don’t believe that what they are teaching is useful.
Get over it! If you want to make it in any aspect of the singing business, criticism is the one thing that you must learn to accept. The reason why many singers get kicked off of singing competitions, don’t make it through auditions, and do not improve, is because they have friends and family willing to lie to them, telling them that their voices are amazing.
Something that you must remember, is that it is important to forget the family comments. You are working with the big dogs now. Our families love us and that sometimes may make them bias. I would pay a voice teacher just to tell me the truth about my talent!
The Voice Teacher
He or she can be your worse enemy or your best friend. They can be scary, and sometimes seem monstrous in their criticisms. They will either be your best friend or the reason you quit singing. Understand- Your job is to hunt for the right teacher. We choose friends in life who we get along with. Our personalities must match.
Though you may be frightened sometimes of what a voice teacher might say, it is important to find a voice teacher that knows how to say it. Some people in the world our overly sensitive, but especially about their passion. We don’t want people to tell us that we are inadequate, or that something sounds like crap. We sometimes just want someone to lie to us, and tell us that we can go on living in a fantasy bubble that protects us from people who don’t like our singing. Well don’t worry! There are plenty of high paid voice teachers who will do that for you! We call them con-artists!
It should not be your goal to find someone overly friendly, who likes to chat a lot with you and keeps you feeling as ease. Your goal is to find a professional teacher, who takes their time and students very seriously. You do not want to be at ease all of the time. It is just like exercising. You must work yourself out hard to grow. You should find a teacher who will always challenge you in a supportive way. A healthy vocal teacher- student relationship, is the key to a healthy singer-fan relationship.
The first step to finding a voice teacher is to know what type of voice student that you are. If you are into singing Italian arias, you do not want to end up with a teacher who gives the best contemporary voice lessons for mainstream singers. This type of teacher is usually geared towards professional radio, television, and well known singers. If you are trying to become a pop star, you might want to go with that type of teacher.
The Contemporary Voice Teacher
This teacher will give you the basic information that you need on stage presence-how to keep your audience and choose repertoire. This teacher is great for a musician who has experience singing, but definitely not for beginners. You should never try and make a living out of your hobby unless you are willing to develop it. Developing your craft in singing, would mean understanding how to read it, hear it, and sing it.
There are many steps and approaches that need to be used, in order to teach you the techniques of singing. You do not want to end up with a teacher who will not give you techniques and that it mostly giving you suggestions on how to sing. There are indeed some great teachers who will give you the tools of how to be a good performer. These are typically called vocal coaches. Be careful that these teachers are helping you to be able to sing, and not just perform well. Never believe anyone who tells you that you don’t have to be a good singer to be a professional singer. This person is setting you up to never increase your singing ability. It is not okay to be a mediocre singer and settle for that. You must be willing to work to develop your voice.
The Classical approach
The teacher that is most recommended, will be the classical voice teacher. Classical music may not represent what type of a musician you are, but it will teach you the skills that you need to sing any type of music. The same techniques used in classical music, are to be used in contemporary music with modification. In fact, most classical teachers will also teach Jazz and other contemporary styles with a classical technique. The classical teacher will typically be giving you lessons in intonation, diction, vowel placement, breath support, and choosing repertoire that is right for you. Your repertoire is the list of songs that you sing. If at the very least a teacher is not offering you these services, then it’s time to find another teacher.
The Competitive Comparison
A vocal coach is willing to work with you in a less conventional manner sometimes. Vocal coaches are more often to attend studio sessions, and aid in musical productions than a voice teacher. A typical voice teacher will spend their time in a private setting, teaching a student to understand their voice.
During rehearsals, a vocal coach can aid a singer or actor in developing
audibility with or without amplification as dictated by the style or concept of the
production. Moving from the rehearsal space into the theatre, the director may need to have an unbiased ear and the actors may need assistance or techniques to help adjust to the new acoustics.
During technical rehearsals, the vocal coach can help with the balance of the production’s aural elements; working as a part of the design team, the coach can bring insight into the relationships between sound, lights, set and costume which enhance audibility.
Sometimes the best steps to learning how to sing are to take private voice lessons giving an in depth understanding of the correct way to use your voice, and then moving on to a coach that can help you perfect your performance. You may even do both at the same time-but never settle on not having a teacher that will train your voice.
Online Voice Lessons?
There is a new phenomenon called the internet! Have you heard of it? Well some think that it is fantastic and others feel that some people are going too far online. There is a fairly new idea about teaching voice lessons online. You will often see advertisements for online voice lessons and lessons over the phone.
While this may be a nice idea for making extra cash, it is not a good idea for voice students. If you are looking for some entertainment and not to become a serious vocalists, you will really enjoy the online and over the phone experience.
Always remember this- there is nothing that you can learn as a professional singer online or on the phone. A teacher must be able to see you in order to see what things physically need to be corrected. Do not fall a victim to high priced vocal coaches online that say that you will be singing wonderful within a few hours.
There is no way! It takes great time to be great. Do not fall for coaches saying that they will increase your vocal range in a short period of time. It takes awhile to really increase the range of the human voice. I went on one website, and a coach even had the nerve to advertise that he would have you singing five octaves.
This would be the equivalent of saying that I can run from New York to California by this evening. It is not humanly possible. Those types of Coaches are uneducated, highly motivated scam artists. Keep you head up high and dig deep during your search. Do not settle for “the next” best thing.
Payment and Performance
There is no way that you are supposed to be doing all of the work in a voice lesson. Why else would you be paying for a teacher? It is expensive to learn a new instrument. You should at least get you moneys worth by having a well equipped teacher. Your voice teacher should have many necessary things.
These include:
1. An extensive understanding of what they are teaching.
It is definitely okay to ask a teacher where they received their training. Find out what colleges they attended and make sure that the reason that they are not teaching in a school district or college, is not because they are under qualified. You have the right to know how much knowledge your teacher has.
2. The teacher should own a piano.
How else does a student learn how to follow pitch if it is not being played on an instrument? The teacher must have the skills necessary to teach you how to sing in tune, and with an instrument. DO NOT settle for a teacher who tells you that you must pay and bring your own accompanist. This often means that they didn’t take the time to learn in school how to play a basic song on the piano (which all music colleges require music students to learn). Do not end up paying high costs for a teacher as well as paying a person to play the piano during your lessons.
3. The ability to teach- professionally
Do not settle for the teacher who cancels frequently, shows up late, and waste time talking on the phone to their sister during your lesson. That is your time and make sure that you get every minute of the time that you are due. By the same token, always be on time to your lessons.
4. A reasonable payment schedule and price
Teachers obviously vary in their prices for lessons. Depending on your location, stage in your musical studies, and the quality of your teacher the prices can go anywhere from $25- $150 per hour. Most lessons for voice are between 45 minutes and an hour.
A voice doesn’t need to be worked for much longer than that each lesson. In paying a private teacher, the rule of thumb is that you will pay approximately 30 dollars for the first half an hour and one dollar a minute after that. Some teachers will offer payment plans but most expect their fees up front. Be expected to pay a fee for standing up a teacher if you do not cancel in time. You are their source of income. Imagine if your check didn’t arrive for as much as you had hoped it to be this week.
Below you will find a list of resources that might help you find a voice teacher. Remember, finding a teacher can be as easy as talking to local music students and parents. Always feel free to call local colleges and Universities. Sometimes the best music teachers in an area are teaching college music students how to sing.
Talonda Thomas is the owner of the New York Musician Center, a renowned music school for gifted music students. Talonda is a vocalist, author, and voice teacher that has performed with and taught many famous performers.
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