Frequently Asked Questions
Why should you take singing lessons?
Singing lessons are great for people of any age – it gives you the freedom to develop an instrument you carry around with you, and learning how to sing helps you develop confidence too. Every person deserves the right to learn a musical instrument and what could be a more personal or unique instrument type than your own voice?
Can any person learn to sing?
Most people CAN learn to sing.
That person, more often than not, is going to learn to sing just as well as — if not better than — someone who didn’t have to work at it and was born with so-called “natural talent.” Singing is an athletic endeavor. It is physical.
“Everyone who can speak can learn to use a singing voice,” says Joanne Rutkowski, professor of music education. “The quality of the voice is dependent on many factors; however, barring a physical vocal disability, everyone can learn to sing well enough to sing basic songs.”
How often should I take singing lessons?
Once you are at an intermediate level, most students can move from ear training to focusing all on singing during your weekly lessons. One lesson a week however, does not excuse you from practicing for at least 30 minutes every day!
How do I prepare for my first singing lesson?
- Have a vocal goal. This will help your instructor focus your lessons and aim for particular benchmarks in your progress. …
- Be prepared to talk. …
- Be prepared for the basics. …
- Have compassion with yourself. …
- Do the work. …
- Enjoy yourself!
Does singing improve your speaking voice?
The relationship between singing and public speaking: Singing not only helps open the throat but also induces us to listen to the pitch and rhythm of the sounds we are producing. This makes us more attentive to our speech and voice modulation patterns. … Furthermore, singing also helps boost your confidence levels
Must I practice everyday?
If you want to make changes to your voice within a few months, practice as often as you can. Every day or every second day or maybe 4-5 times a week. Give yourslef a couple days rest and do some listening to your pieces instead! At least 15-30 minutes is suffiient but schedule what you can. If you’re working on increasing your stamina for regular performances, you’ll need to increase the length of those sessions.
For piano, it will be the same thing – depending upon what stage of learning you are currently working. Some proper amount of study and memorization of key concepts will be vital and expected. Like all instruments, information and knowledge is accumulative, therefore what you have learned previously build upon the next concept and so forth. Nothing is lost and the skill sets learned must be retained as you move forward!
What types of music are covered or encouraged?
For voice, I typically begin with easy folk songs, followed by many Artsongs in various languages like but not limited to: Italian, Spanish, German, French, English, Russian. I also teach a great deal of Musical Theatre, and Opera, (if the singer is advanced enough and interested in this genre.)
For piano, I typically use but not limited to the Faber & Faber Piano Adventures Books, starting with the Primer and working our way up through to Level 5. I have also used Thompson Piano Books, Leila Fletcher and books from the Bastien series. I also frequently use RCM books, and will cover scales, ear-training and sight-reading.