When considering taking singing lessons, you’ve got to consider your goals. What do you want to get out of your lessons? Are you just playing around and any slight progress you make will be OK? Or do you really want to test the water and see how good you can be? A big part of the equation is the natural talent that you bring to the table; I won’t deny that. If you believe that you have great ability, you’re going to want to attract a great coach. However, you can’t be sure where you stand with regards to your natural ability without a professional evaluation of your voice. Just like the old body building stories of the 98 lb. weakling who turned himself into a chiseled he-man, amazing things can happen when you put your mind, heart and soul into it. There are countless stories in the world of athletics of late bloomers who initially didn’t set the world on fire. Michael Jordan comes to mind along with countless others. What does that have to do with singing, you ask? Well, singing really is a quasi-athletic endeavor. You are learning how to master very specific muscles in your body and you deserve the best possible trainer for that task, no matter what your objectives are.
The tragedy that I see is that when students are shopping for voice teachers, the number one criterion on their list is price. That is an ill-conceived strategy. Voice lessons are a bit of a buyer-beware industry. I don’t mean to scare you, but there is no regulation out there regarding teacher quality or training. Anyone who wants to put out their shingle can say they are a voice teacher and it’s up to you to sift through the lot and separate the wheat from the chaff. Please hear this clearly. The best teachers are not the cheapest. It doesn’t work that way with any other product so why would it work that way with singing lessons? You get what you pay for. Read the rest of this entry »