How to Find a Good Voice Teacher
When All Of Us Say We Are Good
When All Of Us Say We Are Good
Millfield School via Compfight
Educate yourself on what to look for in a voice teacher so that you spend your time and money wisely
We work with beginners to professionals and we measure ourselves by our students' achievements. While a teacher's degrees and performance experience are important, they do not guarantee accomplished students. Our science-informed approach has yielded opera singers, Broadway and off-Broadway performers, national touring bands, voice and acting teachers, speech-language pathologists, arts administrators and more.
Few studios rival these results:
32 National Winners
20 Regional/Multi-State Winners
31 State + Local Winners
6 Professional Awards
Top Music + Theatre Schools
Major Scholarship Awards
National Shows, Tours, Record Labels + Careers
Our Students' Achievements
Our Qualifications
Statement of Qualifications for Teachers of Singing by The American Academy of Teachers of Singing
32 National Winners
20 Regional/Multi-State Winners
31 State + Local Winners
6 Professional Awards
Top Music + Theatre Schools
Major Scholarship Awards
National Shows, Tours, Record Labels + Careers
Our Students' Achievements
Our Qualifications
Statement of Qualifications for Teachers of Singing by The American Academy of Teachers of Singing
What Is A Voice Teacher?
A voice teacher in the truest sense is one whose focus is on the technical work of building the voice - and those who fit this definition can be hard to find. Because the focus is on producing performers, universities have traditionally been inclined to hire those with performing backgrounds versus those with pedagogy backgrounds. While performers can offer valuable insight into the performing and coaching of repertoire, they might not have had the type of training to become a technical teacher of the voice.
Additionally, university voice programs are generally geared to producing performers, not voice teachers. For those seeking singing lessons, this information is critical to know because those coming out of university voice programs likely had a semester's course that covered vocal anatomy, mechanics, and basic topical training in voice pedagogy. After graduation, many end up giving voice lessons, BUT what takes years to learn is the ability to diagnosis and re-coordinate vocal issues. There is a need for universities to have a more extensive vocal pedagogy track to produce voice teachers, but most of their incoming students are seeking a performing career instead. The problem for the voice student is that the effects of working with a well-meaning but inexperienced voice teacher can be hard to correct. Once Ingrained, acquired habits can be hard to rewire.
The good news is that sports performance science and vocology have been paving the way for newer, evidence-based ways to teach voice. I am very grateful to those inside and outside of academia who contribute research in these areas to advance the understanding of voice training and function. Singing is a motor skill comparable to learning a sport. When compared to tennis, for example, it is understandable that you can improve somewhat by playing game after game, but you will only truly improve when you break it down to the individual skills involved, working on your forehand, backhand, overall strength, aerobic conditioning, etc. For the voice, songs are like tennis matches - no two are exactly alike. To improve your singing, it will take the more methodical approach of repeated patterns to build the numerous skills and coordination of singing which can then be applied to a song.
Additionally, university voice programs are generally geared to producing performers, not voice teachers. For those seeking singing lessons, this information is critical to know because those coming out of university voice programs likely had a semester's course that covered vocal anatomy, mechanics, and basic topical training in voice pedagogy. After graduation, many end up giving voice lessons, BUT what takes years to learn is the ability to diagnosis and re-coordinate vocal issues. There is a need for universities to have a more extensive vocal pedagogy track to produce voice teachers, but most of their incoming students are seeking a performing career instead. The problem for the voice student is that the effects of working with a well-meaning but inexperienced voice teacher can be hard to correct. Once Ingrained, acquired habits can be hard to rewire.
The good news is that sports performance science and vocology have been paving the way for newer, evidence-based ways to teach voice. I am very grateful to those inside and outside of academia who contribute research in these areas to advance the understanding of voice training and function. Singing is a motor skill comparable to learning a sport. When compared to tennis, for example, it is understandable that you can improve somewhat by playing game after game, but you will only truly improve when you break it down to the individual skills involved, working on your forehand, backhand, overall strength, aerobic conditioning, etc. For the voice, songs are like tennis matches - no two are exactly alike. To improve your singing, it will take the more methodical approach of repeated patterns to build the numerous skills and coordination of singing which can then be applied to a song.
How to Find a Good Voice Teacher
Becoming a good voice teacher takes time in the field and commitment to continued learning in the field. Optimally, you want to find the person who has invested in becoming a teacher by having an advanced certificate or degree in vocal pedagogy. Next best would be to find a teacher who has a voice degree from a school that offers an in-depth teacher training program in which they have taken courses. In either case, this person must be someone who seeks continuing voice pedagogy education and professional development after graduation to remain current in the field. Even for a good teacher, it can take 2-4 years to build a voice from the ground up.
The track is different when a student arrives with a lot of the vocal groundwork already established. These types of students have already shown the motivation and discipline to tackle the hard vocal issues with prior instruction, so focusing on polishing artistry and professional development is the street to travel. There is not much more thrilling, though, than finding diamonds in the mud.
The track is different when a student arrives with a lot of the vocal groundwork already established. These types of students have already shown the motivation and discipline to tackle the hard vocal issues with prior instruction, so focusing on polishing artistry and professional development is the street to travel. There is not much more thrilling, though, than finding diamonds in the mud.
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Fall 2021 Prizewinners 
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Luis will be attending MSM on a $30K scholarship and will be in the studio of legendary bass-baritone, James Morris. Luke Randazzo wins 2nd place and $2,000, Matinee Musicale, 2021, with online voice lessons 
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Luis, Luke, Joseph, Josh, Amogh, Eva, Carmen, Norah Eight NATS National Quarterfinalists 2022!!! 
Luke Randazzo wins National First Place, Upper High School Classical Tenor, Baritone, Bass!!!!!!! 
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A GREAT ARTICLE ABOUT CHOOSING A VOICE TEACHER |
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Although it was written in 1994, the issues are the same today...
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"More is demanded of the professional singer today than ever before. Not only must you have the voice but also you must have the brains. Not only must you have a good musical instrument, but you must use it for the expression of the thoughts and emotions that define and motivate humanity.
You cannot learn to sing from a book or a record. It takes personal interaction. You need a trained ear listening to you, encouraging you when you make progress and alerting you to bad habits that inhibit your progress. It is also important to find a teacher who really understands the basic vocal mechanisms, and can effectively educate the student. My gripe with so many of the teachers is that they just sit and play scales and don't really explain how to get the most benefit from each scale. Today's teachers vocalize, they exercise, but they don't educate their students. A teacher must be honest, and must be able to demonstrate the technique, and be able to show the control of their own voice. Never study with a teacher who is chronically hoarse. The teaching and the technique should be very natural. While proper technique may be difficult to learn, it should not make you feel physically uncomfortable. If a technique takes a great deal of physical effort to demonstrate, then it cannot be correct. This is one area where the old saying, "Those that can't do...teach," does not apply. If your teacher does not have a beautiful vocal instrument, beware. Even though the goal of study is not to imitate the teacher, a voice teacher should be able to demonstrate the validity of the methods he or she is teaching. The job of a voice teacher is to teach you to control, and thereby free the voice to develop to its full potential. A teacher should not impose a style for you, for style and flair come from within. When you are vocally free to express you own feelings, your unique style will develop naturally. (Cont...) |
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Why do so many reputable teachers hold so many different opinions, whether they teach privately or in music schools? The main reason is that there is no single authority whose judgment on singing is universally accepted. Unlike any other branch of study, the teaching of singing can be practiced in any country without a certificate of proficiency. An untrained teacher can set up practice in any country without a certificate of proficiency. An untrained teacher can set up practice, begin to publicize themselves, and develop a large group of unlucky students. Even a bad teacher can set up a practice, begin to publicize themselves, and develop a large group of unlucky students. Even a bad teacher might occasionally find a student with an exceptional voice, which, with careful study, might have developed into an outstanding instrument. But by improper training, the voice may be damaged or irreparably harmed. Such self-appointed authorities probably never passed an exam and never had to explain what right they had to teach.
People come to teaching by different roads. Some teachers have planned to teach from the outset and use their good and bad experiences from their years becoming or trying to become singers to help others. Some start teaching after more or less successful careers. Some take up teaching because they never realized their own ambitions. Some teachers try to build up a large clientele by developing a stable of associates, that is, student teachers who are still studying themselves. These "associates," at best, parrot the method of the master teacher. At worst, they damage the unwary students they come in contact with, for they lack the experience to oversee the building of a voice.
Singers must examine their motives very carefully before deciding to pursue a career as a teacher. The general attitude, a patient temperament, is very important. The danger with some active singers who teach is that they sometimes compete with their students. The teacher has to feel love for the student, like a responsible parent, not like a baby sitter who dislikes children and only takes the job for the money. (Cont...)
People come to teaching by different roads. Some teachers have planned to teach from the outset and use their good and bad experiences from their years becoming or trying to become singers to help others. Some start teaching after more or less successful careers. Some take up teaching because they never realized their own ambitions. Some teachers try to build up a large clientele by developing a stable of associates, that is, student teachers who are still studying themselves. These "associates," at best, parrot the method of the master teacher. At worst, they damage the unwary students they come in contact with, for they lack the experience to oversee the building of a voice.
Singers must examine their motives very carefully before deciding to pursue a career as a teacher. The general attitude, a patient temperament, is very important. The danger with some active singers who teach is that they sometimes compete with their students. The teacher has to feel love for the student, like a responsible parent, not like a baby sitter who dislikes children and only takes the job for the money. (Cont...)
This brings us to the financial motive. A reputable teacher should have asked themselves this question: "Am I in this profession for its own sake, or only for the income I can derive from it?" The best motive for teaching is the love of voice and the joy of developing a voice to its fullest potential.
Apart from the ability to teach, it is critical to hear objectively as well as subjectively as singers normally do, to be able to diagnose what is heard. The skills are to recognize how a student is producing their sound, identify the things that inhibit the sound, and apply the correct remedy. In other words, the diagnosis is like that of a doctor's, who looks at the symptoms for a clue to the cause of the trouble.
Many good singers are not able to teach because they lack this ability, while some have a dual gift for singing and teaching. Coaches who are often unable to sing well themselves often lack the knack for teaching. Dedicated professional teachers are interested in teaching even during a period of successful activity in their own careers. If they possess the talent of listening critically, they may continue to learn much and apply it to their own singing. Good teachers, too, can learn from teaching. (Cont...)
Apart from the ability to teach, it is critical to hear objectively as well as subjectively as singers normally do, to be able to diagnose what is heard. The skills are to recognize how a student is producing their sound, identify the things that inhibit the sound, and apply the correct remedy. In other words, the diagnosis is like that of a doctor's, who looks at the symptoms for a clue to the cause of the trouble.
Many good singers are not able to teach because they lack this ability, while some have a dual gift for singing and teaching. Coaches who are often unable to sing well themselves often lack the knack for teaching. Dedicated professional teachers are interested in teaching even during a period of successful activity in their own careers. If they possess the talent of listening critically, they may continue to learn much and apply it to their own singing. Good teachers, too, can learn from teaching. (Cont...)
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An objective way to judge a teacher is to hear his or her students at certain intervals. Any teacher can, by luck, produce one or two good voices, but the reputable teacher gives something to all students that makes them progress at their own optimum pace. "High notes created in the shortest time... technically faulty singing will be corrected... develop great vocal power...etc." An honest teacher could never promise so much. Students who hear these outlandish claims should be on guard. Such dishonest teachers will never admit their inability to keep their promises. Instead, the fault of failure is laid on the student's head. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but you have a physical defect that will never allow you to become a singer." Don't believe it. Unless a throat specialist tells you that you have a serious throat problem, you can sing!
Before I paint the perfect voice teacher, I would like to stress that teaching is hard work, a commitment which takes years. A teacher gives the advice gained from years of study and hard work, and earns every penny he or she gets. You don't get something for nothing in this world, and if you are benefiting from your voice lessons, then you should be glad to pay for them. Nothing worth having in this world is easy or cheap. And a career as a singer is a thrilling experience that only one person in a thousand may be able to have. Don't measure your teacher by the dollar, however. The cheapest voice teacher is not necessarily the best bargain. Likewise, a voice cannot be bought by the pound, so that even the most expensive teacher may not be the one for you. The expression, "Penny wise and pound foolish," really applies when choosing a voice teacher. Find the one for your needs and stick with them!" *— pp.103-105 from Breaking Through: From Rock to Opera, the Basic Technique of Voice (Milwaukee, Hal Leonard, 1994) by Gloria Bennett. (End) |
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