How to find a singing teacher
In 1925 in New York, it was possible to find a singing teacher in the yellow pages.
The initial search for a singing teacher may be a relatively straightforward task, but, if you’re a beginner, the difficulty lies in knowing what qualifications the teacher should have.
Searching for a singing teacher
A local university or college makes an excellent place to start your search. Kristen Seikaly, writing for Operaversity, points out that a department of music will have at least one faculty member who specializes in the singing voice. Often these professors teach privately, but if they don’t, they may know someone who does.
A friend’s recommendation doesn’t guarantee the teacher will be skilled. Teachers are not “one size fits all,” Seikaly explains. This advice agrees with the American Academy of Teachers of Singing (AATS), who caution that a student “may not be objective about their own instruction.”
Singing teachers also often advertise in online classifieds like Craigslist. “Make sure they give their credentials, as these sites do not screen for quality,” advises Seikaly.
Online listings for singing teachers
The National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) is an international professional organization which maintains a searchable database of over 3,000 member listings. Members must work in the profession and adhere to a Code of Ethics. Use the keyword search to find teachers who mention, for example, “rock” or “jazz” in their profile:
National Association of Teachers of Singing - Find A Teacher (nats.org)
CS Music, publisher of Classical Singer magazine, offers a small directory of teacher listings, searchable by “styles taught.” Many of these teachers include “musical theater” and “pop/rock” in their profiles:
The Voice Foundation, “the world’s oldest and leading organization dedicated to voice research, medicine, science, and education,” is also a potential source for listings. Even if the member doesn’t teach singing—they may be a voice scientist or doctor—they will likely know reputable singing teachers in your area. I have attended their annual symposium, and the expertise of the participants I met was impressive. Their member listing is here:
Membership Listing (voicefoundation.org)
Estill Voice™ and Somatic Voicework™ are training programs offering certification in their methods. They maintain online listings of their certified teachers:
What level of trainer is right for you? | Estill Voice Training
Teacher Directory - Somatic Voicework™ Teachers Association
Before contacting your singing teacher
Once you have found a teacher, consider their qualifications carefully.
Unlike lawyers, doctors, school teachers, and even hair stylists, teachers of singing are not required to have a license. AATS warns that “…private teachers in general are subject to no formal evaluation or peer review of their practices other than of public opinion.”
The NATS Code of Ethics offers some guidance for consideration: Does the teacher have a university degree? Have they maintained professional growth throughout their teaching career? For example, do they attend singing conferences or workshops? Are they members of professional organizations, like NATS? Do they seek out additional training?
AATS agrees: “Participating in these…organizations gives all teachers of singing…the opportunity to interact with colleagues, grow professionally, develop new skills, refresh previous learning, and exchange ideas and practices.”
Experience with related therapies can also be an important marker of a voice teacher’s qualifications. Alexander Technique, Feldenkreis, or yoga are examples.
Academic pedigree may not be all-important, Gregory Brookes, Associate Professor of Voice at Texas Tech University, explained to me. Brookes received a doctorate in music from Indiana University and a master’s degree from the Eastman School of Music, both top music schools in the United States. His undergraduate degree is also in music, but from the relatively lesser-known University of Calgary.
Brookes said he got quality instruction at all three schools. “I don’t think that you need to have somebody who comes from [top schools] because I received good education at both kinds of institutions. But I do think an education is important.”
A community connection is important. “Members should be artistic resources for their communities,” states the NATS Code of Ethics. Are the students of this teacher singing in the community? Are they professional singers? If so, where have they sung? If they’re amateur singers, are they active participants in local choirs? AATS suggests that teachers who isolate themselves from their community may have something to hide. Perhaps they are “afraid of negative peer review and input, while still others may feel that their pedagogy is so superior to that of their colleagues that no interaction is necessary.”
On the other hand, students should not expect even a very well-connected teacher to guarantee them singing engagements. AATS puts it simply: “teachers do not serve as agents.”
Brookes, front left, celebrates with his students at Texas Tech University.
Talking to your singing teacher
When you contact a teacher, ask them about their teaching approach and philosophy. “Classical training will certainly give you a good foundation in healthy singing,” Seikaly observes, but she adds that “many classical teachers also do not feel comfortable teaching contemporary music.”
AATS describes five kinds of vocal development to consider when searching for a singing teacher, and teachers may employ a combination of these approaches:
Technical – vocal drills and exercises
Literature-based – vocal growth through strategically chosen new songs
Musical style coaching – exploration of stylistic elements unique to a genre
Diction instruction – lyrical pronunciation of foreign languages
Dramatic interpretation – acting and presentation skills
They encourage new students to observe “the work of a number of teachers,” implying that a teacher should be open to this request. Are the students of the teacher making the kind of progress you would like to have?
Avoid basing your decision on the performance of a single singer, advises AATS—perhaps that student is naturally gifted. And it may be a red flag if the teacher avoids taking students who have no obvious vocal flaws. “Good teaching takes place at all levels of accomplishment,” they explain.
Brookes criticized teachers who make exaggerated claims or who purport to have a proprietary method. “The problem with that,” he explained, “is that if the student isn’t successful, then it’s the student’s fault because the student hasn’t been able to grasp the secret knowledge that the teacher possesses.” He compared this attitude to multi-level marketing schemes designed to earn money only for the top 3% of sellers.
“The parallel here is the same psychological game played by some teachers so as to avoid blame or responsibility when a student doesn’t find success,” quipped Brookes.
You may notice wide variation among teachers’ fees. AATS warns you not to “assume that lesson costs indicate the quality of instruction.
John Kramar, Chair of Voice Studies at East Carolina University, told me you can tell a lot just by the way the teacher interacts with you before your first lesson. How responsive are they? That initial connection and feeling that you’re important to them can be set from the timeliness of the teacher’s responses and the care they take in making those responses. “The most important thing is that initial feeling of connection between teacher and pupil,” Kramar said.
Kramar poses with student Bailey Sutton after a successful performance.
What to expect during your first singing lesson
AATS says a teacher of singing should have:
Broad knowledge of repertoire
An ability to classify a voice
An ability to demonstrate with their own voice
Some piano skills
These might be considered “hard skills.” Both Brookes and Kramar talked to me at length about other traits, or “soft skills,” like personality and demeanor. If you’re a complete beginner, you may know nothing about singing pedagogy, but they say you should expect from your singing teacher certain basic behaviors.
You want a teacher who embodies trust and respect. “It’s really important for students to have trust in their teacher, because their teacher is inevitably going to ask them to do things that surprises them,” Brookes told me.
Respecting the student is of highest importance for Kramar, and he encourages his students to trust their instincts when choosing a teacher. “It’s your voice, and you know it better than anyone,” he said.
You may like a teacher simply because they are famous, Kramar told me. “I had a few teachers where I knew from the first five minutes of the first lesson, ‘this is wrong for me,’ and yet I stayed because of reputation,” he recalled. A sensitive teacher will acknowledge a poor fit and respect you enough to say, “I’m not the right teacher for you.”
Beware of exaggerated comments in your lesson, negative or positive. AATS calls flattery and promises “unethical professional attitudes.” It is your teacher’s job to make you aware of problems, but “it is equally important that the teacher’s discussions of them be regarded as objective and analytical, not as personal attacks,” they write. Kramar wholeheartedly agrees that “the teacher’s job is never to squelch the dream of the pupil.”
Your learning should be collaborative and measured. In a private studio, AATS explains, “requirements, for the most part, are determined by the students themselves and their motivation for lessons.” Brookes stressed that learning to sing takes time and that skilled teachers foster patience. “The new student has to give themselves time to see improvement,” he told me.
What to talk about in your first singing lesson
A certain amount of dialogue is necessary in your first lesson. The conversation should be comfortable and supportive.
You will hear jargon in your lesson. In the same way that there is no licensure for teaching singing, AATS explains “there is no standardized vocabulary for the evaluation or learning of singing...Even the words that seem most clear in their meaning may signify different things to different teachers and singers…Students must feel free to ask for descriptions and definitions.”
Responsible teachers will ask many questions, especially in the first lesson. Asking questions, Brookes explained to me, allows the teacher to “understand the goals of the student, the experience of the student, and, not only that, but the aesthetics of the student.”
Kramar agrees, and told me that the teacher should be asking questions “all the time.” He remembers his mentor and teacher, Jan DeGaetani, whose greatest strength was seeing multiple routes to achieve an end goal, always knowing “exactly when to change course.”
Kramar painted a portrait of his ideal teacher, someone who always considers the student’s perspective. For him, this open-mindedness is especially important in teaching voices not like his own. Here is where a teacher must be able to connect a hard skill—vocal anatomy knowledge—with a soft skill—empathy. “It is the teacher’s job to understand other voices,” he said.
Trust your instincts when you have your first lesson
Finding a singing teacher will take care and time, but even a beginner should feel empowered to be choosy. In Kramar’s words: “After all, you know why you want lessons. It’s up to the teacher to find the spark—your passion—and to make that happen for you.”
Sources
American Academy of Teachers of Singing. “NATS Visits AATS: Finding the Perfect Teacher.” Journal of Singing 59, no. 1 (September 2002): 5–6.
———. “NATS Visits AATS: Qualifications for Teachers of Singing.” Journal of Singing 58, no. 2 (November 2001): 103–4.
———. “NATS Visits AATS: The Private Voice Studio.” Journal of Singing 63, no. 1 (September 2006): 9–11.
NATS. “Code of Ethics,” June 2018. https://www.nats.org/code-of-ethics.html.
Seikaly, Kristen. “5 Places to Find a Good Voice Teacher.” Operaversity, September 7, 2015. https://operaversity.com/performance/5-places-find-good-voice-teacher/%20.
———. “6 Ways to Find the Right Voice Teacher for You.” Operaversity, September 21, 2015. https://operaversity.com/teaching/6-ways-find-right-voice-teacher.
