Your first singing lesson: What to expect
“Whatever the student gives me is a gift...that’s where I start...”
Your very first singing lesson will not be like anything else you’ve ever done. You will make sounds you’ve never made before. You will talk about your singing goals and your fears.
You will do all this and more. But one thing you shouldn’t do is be afraid.
“Whatever the student gives me is a gift…that’s where I start with a new student,” says Tim Caldwell, retired Professor of Voice from Central Michigan University.
Singing teachers like Caldwell create a safe environment from the beginning, because they know it can be nerve-wracking to start singing lessons. They certainly do not expect an impressive performance from a first-time student.
“It can feel a little like going to the gym and working with a personal trainer for the first time,” says Alta Boover, Assistant Professor of Voice at Oakland University. “Here’s an exceedingly fit person in front of me, but they truly want to know about my fitness level.”
Conversation in your first lesson
“If you are going to voice lessons for the first time, you want to make sure the teacher is asking a lot of questions,” says Boover. “Otherwise, they’re structuring the lessons according to their own goals.”
Some singing teachers have a strong aesthetic preference for a particular kind of singing, and, if they don’t ask, they will have no idea what kind of music you want to sing. Unless you already know you want to sing in the manner the teacher prefers, look for a teacher who will respect your goals.
Caldwell puts the student at the center with a mantra: “Start with the student, stay with the student.” This means that no two lessons are the same.
“If my student comes into the lesson climbing the wall, then I figure out how to climb the wall with that student,” Caldwell says.
Be prepared to dig deep when you discuss your goals and your fears. Something brought you to the teacher’s studio, and your teacher wants to know what that is.
What do you want out of singing? What kind of singing do you listen to? Do you think of yourself as a singer? What are three things you like about singing? If you could sing anything you wanted, what would it be? Do you dream of taking an audition someday?
All of this conversation is important for the teacher to be able to meet you where you are. Your singing teacher gets to know you as a unique individual. It’s the main reason that live lessons are more effective than learning from pre-recorded content, like YouTube.
“On YouTube,” Boover says, “how can the teacher meet you where you are? That person has no idea who you are and what you want to do.”
For example, you can Google “How to sing riffs.” You’ll get lots of results, and many may come from knowledgeable experts, but Boover says that that still doesn’t mean they know about your particular voice. Do you have tongue tension? Jaw tension? Are you a high voice or a low voice? The best approach varies based on these and many, many other factors.
“On YouTube, how can the teacher meet you where you are?”
It’s OK if your motivation to sing isn’t obvious. It may be something difficult or embarrassing to admit. Caldwell remembers teaching an adult beginner who was a retired chemical engineer. The man had joined a church choir but couldn’t read music. Instead, he listened to the singer next to him and followed the printed words. His difficulty was feeling rhythm in his body.
After a year of working with Caldwell using the Eurhythmics method, the student suddenly had a breakthrough: he could clap his hands at the same time his foot hit the ground.
“You got it!” Caldwell cheered him on.
With tears in his eyes, the man confessed, “I have wanted to do this since I was a boy.”
Singing in your first lesson
Generally, you will sing in your first lesson. Choose something you like to sing, or something you want to sing. This helps your teacher get to know you and your voice. Don’t worry about how you sound.
“The goal is never to tear someone down,” Boover says. “I need to know where you are so I can help you grow from there.”
Alternatively, your teacher may ask you to sing a familiar tune, like “My country ‘tis of thee” or “Frère Jacques.’’
Again, don’t worry about singing something impressive in the first lesson. “The lesson,” Caldwell says, “is not a performance. It’s a workshop.”
Some new students really want to prove their abilities in the first lesson, and that’s okay, too. Your teacher can certainly give you the space for you to spread your wings and show off your stuff.
If you have sheet music for your song, bring it. Many singing teachers will play the piano along with you. You can also bring your own karaoke backing track and a device to record your lesson.
You will also almost certainly sing some simple vocal exercises. Your teacher will teach you these on the spot and guide you with their own voice and with the piano.
Vocal exercises help your teacher to get to know your voice. They listen carefully to fine details related to range and vocal quality. This may also be where your teacher discovers any technical hurdles that lie ahead.
Your teacher will collect diagnostic information about your voice in the first lesson. How is your voice weighted—is it loud or soft? What is your voice’s default sound—warm or bright? Where does your voice transition from one register to the next? How noticeable are the transitions? What is your breath flow like?
You may find taking notes during your lesson to be helpful. “154th of 5th 365: Preparations - I am very excited to be having my first singing lesson today” by dumbledad is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Boover likes to ask: “Do you have a secret voice that you think doesn’t count but that you sometimes use?”
“Nine times out of ten,” she says, “something very interesting will come out, and it’s not really a ‘secret voice’ at all—it’s an important part of the sound!”
Your teacher may not say much initially. You may crave immediate feedback, but Boover says keeping quiet is intentional. Your teacher, she says, needs “to hear what the voice does without instruction and what the singer does without feedback.”
Your teacher may also slip in some hearing tests during simple vocal exercises. For example, they may play two notes on the piano and ask you to sing them back. This allows them to know how well you sing in tune.
Boover believes some small improvement can happen in the first lesson. “You have to do a little work that makes you feel like a better singer,” Boover says. In this way, you will recognize the teacher’s expertise and, most importantly, you will have a positive experience.
You will likely make sounds, even in your first lesson, that in no way resemble actual singing. This is like stretching your muscles before running a 5K race. The stretch is essential for success, but at no point during the race do you stop and stretch.
Withhold your judgement while making new and unusual sounds. Making new sounds is what a singing lesson all about. Boover encourages students to think of the voice as a living thing they’re entrusted with, like a baby. You should never hover over a baby and yell “YOU BETTER GET THIS RIGHT!”
In the same way, you must also be kind and patient with your own voice.
“How else will your ‘child’ ever grow?” she asks.
