If you want a career in singing or simply want to have fun developing your voice, you’ll probably need to get singing lessons at some point in your development. You’d think this would be a simple matter of looking up names of teachers in a directory, right? Well, unfortunately, finding a great singing teacher is not quite that simple. Ending up with the wrong singing teacher could mean more than wasted time and money. A bad teacher could ruin your voice and your hopes. It’s with this rather scary thought in mind, that I’ve created the following list of tips on how to find good singing lessons. If you are in the UK there are some great places to take private singing lessons in London.
1 Before you start looking for a singing teacher, you need to decide want you want from your singing lessons. Do you want to develop your voice to its fullest potential or just learn songs? Do you want to be classically trained or learn a pop style? Knowing what you want will help you decide who’s right for you and how much you’re willing to spend, so sit down and write a list of want you want and what you don’t want. By the way, taking classical singing lessons doesn’t mean you have to sing opera, but it is the most complete way to develop your voice, in my opinion.
2 So where do you start looking for singing lessons? There are are number of places you can look. A good place to start is your library where you should be able to find local ads, as well as music publications with classified sections. You can also try the internet with a search on “singing lessons” plus the name of your area.
3 A good singing teacher doesn’t make bold claims about what he can do for your voice. He knows that improvement takes consistent hard work and dedication on the part of his pupil.
4 Beware of a singing teacher who claims to have a brand new, never previously discovered technique. You don’t want to be his guinea pig, only to find that you haven’t made progress or worse still your voice has been damaged further down the line.
5 Even if everybody raves about a singing teacher, he may not be right for you. When I studied singing at the Royal Academy of Music in London, teachers would go in and out of fashion amongst the students. A singing teacher whose methods have stood the test of time is a much safer bet.
6 When you find a singing teacher you’re interested in, ask to sit in on a few singing lessons (with different students). If all the lessons are exactly the same and the teacher doesn’t tailor the singing lessons to suit the student, then look elsewhere. You need someone who teaches what is right for you and your voice.
