Being a voice teacher takes a lot of know-how. As voice teachers we don’t just teach music as it pertains to singing. When we teach voice, our instrument is a part of the human body. For most of us Voice Teachers, we are being asked to teach younger and younger students and the tools we learned in Music College don’t always prepare us for what we see in teaching voice lessons.
Teaching Fun Music Voice Lesson Students Will Love
When teaching private voice lessons in Atlanta we find it best to start with Fun! If something isn’t fun you can bet that you won’t want to do it. Fun is a state of mind. It starts with the student wanting to learn, then corroborated by the teacher, and lastly concreted in positive lesson that reinforces success and failure as a learning tool.
Just because lessons are fun doesn’t mean that learning isn’t going on. Learning and liking what you learn just might instigate a smile, be prepared.
Be The Inspiration
Teachers should inspire students to learn. The inspiration comes in many shapes and sizes. Demonstrating is the easiest to think about. Singing a song or an exercise and letting a student hear your tone, expression, and voice, can leave a long lasting impression.
Teaching “how to” learn can also go a long way to inspiring others. Our favorite lessons are working hand in hand on a technique or section of piece that voice lesson student needs help on.
Make the most of your time!
So many lessons are 30 minutes these days. Ideally as voice teachers we want to see all students have a 45-minute lesson. Budget though has the final say and we will take what we can get. Making the most of our time is key. Preparation for the lesson cannot be undervalued. Have your books ready, anticipate the arrival of your teacher.
Vocalizing is a very important part of the lesson. In fact it’s the most important part. Even if you have a short lesson length, don’t rush this part of your lesson. During this time we teach tone, listening, technique and breathing.
Recording Lessons Has Benefits
Almost every smart phone has a recording app on it and we believe in taking advantage of them. We can learn so much from listening to ourselves. We don’t want the voice recorder to become a crutch but we can use it as a tool too!
First we record ourselves as an example, maybe even an inspiration. This can serve as a reference for the student to help with voice practice throughout the week. We can email the recording to the student or parent.
Recording a student can teach two things. The first is a recording of how a student sounds. Voice students give a lot of funny faces when they first hear themselves and the key is to be positive. What’s really cool is to re-record even after one listening and see the difference. Listening is key. Recording can be a challenge and that’s the second thing a student learns when recording. They may say “how come I can’t get that part correct” and then the teacher can point out that that’s a part of the song they really don’t understand.
Encourage Concerts
We can’t know how we want to sing and use our voice without example. We need to become fans of great vocals. When teaching Atlanta Voice Lessons we always encourage going to a concert. There are so many places and events to see singing. I think good teachers give a list of concerts and shows on a monthly or bi-monthly basis.
Understanding Your Body
Your voice is part of your body. I always use the example of working out. You wouldn’t try to run a marathon without a plan, information on how to follow the plan, and time to see the plan through. Your voice is no different. There are songs and techniques that are marathons. Keep in mind that there are many great athletes that can’t run marathons. Not every vocalist can sing every piece of music. Listen to what you body tells you and you won’t go wrong.
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