So many people love music and plenty of people also love singing.
However, singing is becoming decreasingly popular in schools and while it used to be quite common for school students to have regular singing lessons, choral practice, or even vocal training, it's no longer the case.
It isn't hopeless, though! While there mightn't be many opportunities to sing at school, private tutoring is an excellent option for those that want to sing and you don't even need to be in school to enjoy it; your private tutor can come to you!
Private singing tutors, especially in one-on-one tutoring, will plan their entire session around a single student. This makes the lessons a particularly effective way to learn to sing since every minute of every lesson is spent focusing on what you need to learn.
Whether you want to learn to sing in key and become a professional or just want to do it for yourself, here's our guide to private singing lessons!
The Benefits of Private Singing Lessons
Why should you take private singing lessons?
The answer to this question really depends on what your goals are and the reasons you want to sing. The first reason is that by learning to sing, you can improve your self-confidence and learn to sing to the best of your ability.
Music is great for your personal well-being, too. By learning to sing to the best of your ability, you'll find your mood will also improve a lot.
Singing isn't technically a sport, but it can be quite physical. When you sing, you need to work your abdominal muscles, diaphragm, larynx, and vocal cords. Since it's recommended that you sing for an hour a day to keep your voice in shape, it can actually provide a nice workout. Of course, this won't fully replace any other exercise you need to do and you should live a healthy lifestyle both for yourself and for your voice.
Here are some of the other advantages of taking singing lessons:
- Develop an ear for music
- Improve your self-esteem
- Develop stage presence
- Work on your emotional range
- Discover new musical genres (opera, jazz, rock, classical, pop, etc.)
Singing lessons are useful for anyone who's interested in a career in music, not just as a singer. If you want to become a singer, a conductor, or work in musical theatre, singing lessons can help.
With some singing lessons and courses, you may also get opportunities to work in a recording studio, learn more about the recording process, and familiarise yourself with commonly used recording equipment.
With private singing tutorials, there are as many different kinds of tutors as there are students. For example, if your child wants to learn to sing or is doing singing exams, you can find private singing tutors who specialise in these very exams.
How to Find Private Singing Tutors and Voice Coaches
Private singing tutors and voice coaches can help you better understand your voice, work out your timbre, work on new songs to expand your repertoire, or even just improve your diction and pronunciation. By doing some research first, you'll be able to find your ideal singing teacher.
Learning to sing isn't just about learning to sing in key (though it is an important part of it). Private singing teachers will also work on other aspects of singing with you such as breathing techniques, vocal warmup exercises, and how to properly use your diaphragm in more advanced techniques such as vibrato.
You can look for private one-on-one singing tutors in a variety of ways:
- Word of mouth
- Classified ads in local newspapers, magazines, etc.
- Social media and online classifieds
- Notice boards at primary and secondary schools (for kids' private singing tutorials)
- Music schools and conservatories
While it's quite typical for private singing lessons to last an hour, you can also find shorter singing lessons lasting 30 minutes or even lessons that last close to 2 hours, though the latter is unlikely to involve a full two hours of singing as you won't want to overwork your voice.
Finding private singing teachers through local ads is quite good if you're only available in the evenings or at weekends. Remember that it's all well and good finding the perfect private singing tutor, but they have to be available when you are or you'll never be able to enjoy their tuition!
How to Pick the Perfect Private Singing Tutor
Before you start looking for a private singing teacher, you need to think carefully about your own singing goals and ambitions.
By clearly outlining your goals, it'll be easier to find a suitable private singing teacher because you'll know what you're looking for. Having clear goals in mind also makes it easier for your private singing tutor to plan their lessons around you and what you want to achieve.
On Superprof, for example, private singing teachers can upload their CVs, outline their experience, list their specialisations (opera, choral, classical, pop, etc.), and how much they charge per hour.
Students can browse different tutors' profiles and get a much better idea of who they are and the kind of singing tutorials they offer.
When choosing a private singing tutor, you should look carefully at the following:
- The tutor's qualifications
- Their experience both in music and teaching
- Which genre of music they teach
- The musical instruments they play (if any)
- The level they teach
- Where they're located
- How much they charge for their lessons
The singing teacher's experience is hugely important for any student. It doesn't matter whether you're learning to sing just for yourself, training for an audition at a music school or conservatory, or improving your technique for an upcoming performance, you still need to consider all of these things.
How Much Singing Lessons Cost
Private singing lessons will obviously be great for your singing and your self-confidence, but they aren't free.
That said, there are singing lessons for all levels and budgets and private tutoring (in any subject) has never been more accessible.
Unlike private music schools and conservatories, you can get private singing lessons without breaking the bank. You just need to look online for more affordable singing teachers.
Private singing teachers can use their experience and knowledge of singing to help students improve their vocal talent and the most experienced and prestigious teachers still charge a premium.
When you start your search for private singing tutors, you'll likely see that location will affect the rates. After all, the cost of living varies from town to town and tutors working in more expensive places to live will have to charge more per hour just to cover their living expenses.
Some students, especially those with limited experience in music, may want to consider also learning from a private music theory teacher.
While there are certainly some very talented musicians and singers who made it without any formal training in music theory, it can hugely help when learning to play a musical instrument or improving your voice.
For example, if you learn music theory, you'll be able to read sheet music while you sing and even learn to play a musical instrument further down the line.
By learning to play a musical instrument, you can provide musical accompaniment for your own singing. This can help a lot if you don't have a band or orchestra to perform with and it'll also make you a more well-rounded musician.
How You Should Practise Between Your Singing Lessons
Your singing training doesn't end the second your private singing lesson does, you have to use the time between your singing lessons effectively.
Pretty much every private singing tutor will expect their students to study and practise between each singing session.
While you should be careful not to strain your voice by practising too much, your private singing tutor will likely give you activities to do outside of class.
They may have you practise what you were doing in your previous lesson or prepare something for an upcoming lesson so that you can get the most out of every minute spent with your tutor.
You can continue to develop your vocal skills outside of your private singing lessons by:
- Practising the songs and pieces your singing teacher has given you
- Working on your listening skills for singing exams either online or with a CD
- Working on your breathing techniques
- Practising vibrato control and effectively using your diaphragm when you sing
In addition to your private singing lessons, you can also find plenty of resources such as books, websites, and apps to help you continue to work on your singing skills outside of your lessons.
While you're hiring a private singing tutor to help you improve your singing, it's still up to you to get the most out of your lessons.
With any private tutoring, both parties are responsible for the success of the student. The tutor can only get the most out of the student if the student also puts in the effort, participates in each session, does their homework, and practises when they're supposed to.
You should spend at least 30 minutes each day working on your singing. It doesn't matter if you do this all in one go or work on your singing several times throughout the day.
While you might think that singing means you can't play an instrument, your voice is your instrument and like with any other musical instrument, you need to take care of it, practise regularly, and study how to best use it.
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