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Let’s talk about voice lessons.
Voice lessons (also known as singing lessons or vocal lessons) are provided to teach you the proper techniques in order that you may sing better. This is generally the aim of all voice lessons offered (if it isn’t, what truly is?).
If you have never taken voice lessons before, I want to share you with some insight on how to go about finding a vocal coach. As you may already know, there are many different vocal techniques within the discipline of singing. However, not all vocal techniques are healthy and not all vocal techniques will provide you with the results you desire. So before you spend thousands of dollars on lessons that may never work, I want to save you some cash (and heartache) by offering some guidelines to approaching voice lessons.
Voice Lessons Guideline #1: Make sure voice lessons are the right place to start!
“What are you talking about??!?”, you may say. “I thought you had to get voice lessons in order to get better!” Thankfully, guess again. You do not necessarily have to take voice lessons when you embark on your journey in learning how to sing better. In fact, you can do quite well without them in the beginning. Why do I say this? I say this because I have tested some singing programs and they do produce results!
Brett Manning’s Singing Success is by far the best quality vocal program currently on the web (with Singorama coming in second). It offers an unprecedented 6 month money back guarantee and boasts an increase of an octave in your vocal range. My own experience with Singing Success has been wonderful. This vocal program saved me thousands of dollars in voice lessons. After talking with a previous vocal coach, he openly admitted that it would’ve taken me over three years to grow as much as I did in 6 months. This is a testimony to the power of this program, so I would suggest you check it out before you look into voice lessons. It may be the right first step for you!
**Now I want to be sure you understand that a vocal program should not take the place of voice lessons from a vocal coach. A vocal program will give you a good foundation for the proper vocal technique, but you should find a vocal coach to help you with the details and diagnostics of your voice. Vocal programs will give you an excellent voice, but vocal programs coupled with voice lessons will give you a polished and refined voice.
Voice Lessons Guideline #2: When going to a new vocal coach, only pay for one voice lesson upfront!
Do not, and I mean do not, pay for a voice lesson package upfront when you have never met with the vocal coach before. I highly recommend that you pay for a single one hour voice lesson first to determine if the vocal coach is right for you. A good vocal coach will begin to unlock your voice in the first voice lesson. If you find the voice lesson is profitable, then seek to purchase a package deal. If the voice lesson does not go well, consider finding another vocal coach.
Voice Lessons Guideline #3: If the lessons make your vocal cords hurt, stop immediately!
If you vocal coach is constantly telling you to push harder or give it more breath support and your vocal cords end up hurting, stop taking voice lessons from that vocal coach. You should never leave a voice lesson with your vocal cords hurting. Vocal health is extremely important, so you may want to begin looking for another vocal coach if you experience pain after your lessons.
Voice Lessons Guideline #4: Start off slow, then work your way into a more aggressive schedule.
When you first begin taking voice lessons, remember that your vocal cords will not be used to all the new attention they are receiving. They will get tired and need to be rested often in the beginning. After you begin to build your vocal cord strength, seek to add lessons more frequently into the mix.
I hope these guidelines save you some time, money and heartache! I would love to hear your thoughts!
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Hi Guys,
Ken Tamplin here, vocal coach for KenTamplinVocalAcademy.com
For a very limited time I will be offering a free download of a strong vocal warm up I have put together to get you warmed up for shows, recording, auditions, contests and vocal competitions.
If you are interested, e-mail my assistant Rob Hart at KTVAInfo1@Gmail.com and you will be sent a free download link for the Basic KTVA Vocal Warm Up Exercises. (this is a $20.00 value absolutely free!!! No stupid tricks or upsells).
If you are interested in taking your voice to the next level, consider checking out KenTamplinVocalAcademy.com.
-Good singing to you!
-Ken Tamplin
KenTamplinVocalAcademy.com
Thanks for making my morning a little bit better with this great article!!
You make some very good points. Many beginners get started in the wrong direction and then quit in frustration. All due to bad advice. It is important to have quality instruction and consistent practice.
I have taken singing lesson with a teacher who has Masters in Music and Diploma in teaching. Despite those impressive sounding qualifications, I felt frustrated learning taking singing lessons from him.
From anyone’s perspective, the most common sense would be to try out a lesson and see if it is the right deal. However, there was no such option for this lesson which implied that there’s no option of finding out if it’s right for you or not without paying hefty amount of cash upfront.
Just to name a few things that didn’t go well:
1. Risk of developing bad habits – I experienced sore throat during practice and I was told to take the responsibility of my technique instead of being diagnosed about what I’m doing wrong.
2. Understanding the concepts – even after finishing all my lessons, I had no idea why I was sounding bad. It was like searching in the dark to find the answer.
3. Lack of troubleshooting – I’ve paid a singing instruction DVD from another coach for $25 USD and I was free to ask her any questions regarding singing through email which was helpful. In contrary, I couldn’t get advice from the teacher outside the singing lesson at all.
It is a sad reality there are people out there like this everywhere even though I learnt to safeguard myself against such people.
I would love to become famous and a great singer so my family doesn’t consider me as the youngest.[I'm 11]and I also really injoy singing.
Hi there. I just wanted to give you my experience of finding the right vocal coach. I am so lucky to have found an amazing coach and mentor, who is definitely not in it just to get money out of you.
At the same time he does analyse, feedback, support, and encourage you to take responsibilty for your practice. I struggled for a good few weeks to find him, trying out various tutors in my area, but non of them “felt” right. A lot were piano teachers who added singing into their repertoir but did not really understand or explain about singing.
I eventually found a coach, an aussie who performs all over Europe singing, acting and has been for the last 20years after graduating from the Melba Conservatorium. There was just one minor set back, at first he politely said no, he was very busy touring and not taking students. I called him to say thank you and explain it was just a thought as my work would take me to London (some 200 miles from home) once a month. Surprisingly he said ok, lets try a lesson, and we have never looked back. 6 months on and my voice is so different, we get a lot done and barely stop singing for the duration! (he is quite surprised how hard I work)
He always explains clearly what we are trying to achieve, always discusses and asks what I would like to work on that session.Like a good mentor, he guides, supports as well as giving you the tools to analyse and self assess.
I also understand it is a two way thing and if he didn’t think he was the right teacher for me, he would not have continued the lessons. This is the sign of a great teacher. You both need trust respect and confidence in each other in order to develop and progress.