How to tell if a voice teacher is the right one for you or not
Here’s the thing about choosing a voice teacher: just because a teacher has had a career at the Metropolitan Opera, a recording career, or has starred on Broadway doesn’t mean that they’re the best teacher for you. Just because a singer has exceptional performance skills doesn’t mean that they have the skills to teach.
On the opposite side of things, some of the best teachers may not have had careers onstage! I’ve certainly studied with phenomenal teachers who didn’t have crazy performing careers.
Yes, there are people out there calling themselves voice teachers who don’t know how to demonstrate or explain good singing. But if you are searching for a voice teacher, how can you tell if someone is a good fit for you or not? You’ll want to consider these questions:
Can they sing and teach WELL what is is that you want to learn?
If you talk to their students, do they enjoy working with the teacher? Does working with the teacher add value to their singing?
If you have the opportunity to listen to recitals or recordings of their students’ singing, do their students sing in a healthy and consistent way?
What are their students doing? Are they getting gigs or receiving recognition for their singing at school or in the community? Sure, auditions and competitions are subjective—the best singers are often chosen based on the preferences of whoever is judging. But student success is a good thing to see when you consider hiring a voice teacher.
Beyond that, if you choose to work with a teacher, you’ll want to ask yourself these questions:
In a single lesson, do you feel as if you’ve added value to your life and singing?
In the course of a few months of lessons, does your singing feel MUCH easier and sound better than it did when you started lessons?
As you may notice, determining whether someone is a good teacher—and more importantly, a good FIT—for you or not includes more than whether someone has had a career onstage or not. More important is the impact that the teacher has, and the overall value that that teacher provides to their students. The only way you’ll be able to find out whether someone is a good teacher for YOU or not is by doing your own research, offline.
Ready to see if I’m a good fit for YOU? You can sign up for a free 30-minute trial lesson with me HERE.
