Would you like to join a choir or just improve your voice?
A private singing teacher or vocal coach can help you improve your voice, boost your confidence, and learn more about the music theory behind singing.
Students of any age or level can benefit from private singing lessons.
With private vocal coaching, you can get lessons when you want, where you want, and on exactly what you want to learn because in one-on-one lessons, you'll be the only student so everything can be adapted to suit you.
Unfortunately, the downside to all of this is that you do have to pay for it. Private tutoring of any kind is often thought of as expensive, but the truth is that there are so many private tutors out there that there's actually vocal coaching for all budgets.
The same is true for the level of tutoring. Whether you're completely new to singing, looking to prepare for an audition, or need to learn more music theory as part of your degree in music or performing arts, you can find private vocal coaches and music tutors to help you.
In one-on-one classes, you can focus on specific techniques like breathing exercises, proper posture, controlling vibrato and using your diaphragm or simply gaining self-confidence to become a better singer and performer.
To enjoy these benefits, though, you'll need to find the right voice coach for you at the right price.
How much should you expect to pay for private vocal coaching?
The Cost of Private Music Tutoring on Superprof
While singing is part of music, there is a risk that singers won't learn enough music theory to excel. It's recommended that any singer with lofty aspirations get lessons on music theory or on how to play a musical instrument, which can also accompany your singing if you don't have a backing track, band, or orchestra.

If you're starting a music career, it can also help to play a musical instrument because when you're on your own, you could always busk, take part in talent shows, or attend auditions as a singer-songwriter, for example.
The instrument you choose to learn will also affect the price of private tutoring as you can see here:
- Piano: $47 per hour
- Guitar: $43 per hour
- Trumpet: $40 per hour
- Violin: $53 per hour
- Drums: $44 per hour
Even if you choose not to sing and play an instrument at the same time, learning a musical instrument will help you learn more about music theory and the music that you'll be singing along to.
By playing a musical instrument, you'll also be introduced to a wider range of musical genres beyond just picking songs that you'd like to sing. You might find that you love pop, rock, classical, opera, or jazz.
A private vocal coach could do the same and it's quite common to show students a range of musical genres both to help them find their voice, but also as part of their musical education.
Focusing on just one genre of music can be limiting for students so by learning about different styles of music, you'll also learn about different ways to sing and perform as well as discover new vocal techniques.
The Cost of Singing Lessons on Superprof
For anyone wanting to improve their singing, private vocal coaching is the obvious choice. There are plenty of vocal coaches and private singing tutors on Superprof offering their services to students of any age or level.

While the services offered by the best tutors are almost priceless, they're not miracle workers and it's important that the student fully participates during their private singing tutoring and also practices singing and vocal exercises between each session.
No two tutors are different so you'll probably see a lot of different rates. Many factors affect the cost of private tutoring, including the cost of living where the tutors operate. As you can see, the average rates for singing tutors differ across New Zealand:
- Singing lessons in Auckland: $45
- Singing lessons in Christchurch: $65
- Singing lessons in Wellington: $52
- Singing lessons in Dunedin: $52
- Singing Lessons in Rotorua: $45
- Singing lessons in Tauranga: $45
- Singing lessons in Queenstown: $52
- Singing Lessons in Hamilton: $45
- Singing Lessons in Nelson: $52
The cost of living isn't the only thing that affects the cost of private singing lessons as supply and demand can also play a big role. In towns with very few singing tutors, rates tend to be higher because there's less competition. However, in towns with very few tutors and very few students looking to get singing tutoring, tutors have to lower their rates to draw in potential students.
In places with very few tutors, it might be worth looking for online tutoring, especially if you need to learn a specific kind of singing and there aren't any local tutors with that specific specialisation.
Before you start your search for private singing tutors, make sure you outline your goals and ambitions. Once you've found some potential private vocal coaches, consider the following factors when making your decision:
- The kind of singing they teach
- The level they teach
- What professional experience they have
- How far they/you have to travel
- The teaching qualifications they have
- Your personal goals
- Reviews and feedback left by their other students
You'll tend to find that the more specific your learning objectives, the more you'll end up having to pay for private vocal coaching. If you're getting ready for a specific exam, for example, you'll have to pay a premium for a tutor that's familiar with the exam format, the exam content, and the best ways to teach you.
How to Reduce the Cost of Private Vocal Coaching on Superprof
Are you finding that most potential private vocal coaches are too expensive or beyond your budget?
There are a few things you can do to save money. For one, a lot of private tutors offer the first session for free so you can use this like an interview for potential tutors before you spend any money.
You can save quite a bit of money by opting for group tutoring. While you won't get all the benefits of one-on-one private tutoring, you'll find that these sessions are much more affordable because the cost of the tutor's time is split between all the students. This can be a good choice if you're just getting started with singing.
On average, group tutoring takes place between 2 and 10 students and can be a good way to meet new people or learn with people you already know.

With group sessions, you won't usually get as many choices in terms of what you study or even when the sessions take place because they need to be suitable for the group over the individual.
To benefit from group vocal coaching, you'll want to find groups with a similar level. The singing levels may line up with official music exams or be defined in a more general sense like:
- Complete beginners
- Novices
- Intermediates
- Advanced singers
- Professional vocalists
With group sessions, you can enjoy the feeling of camaraderie and learning together. You can also discover what voice type you have while also learning and spurring each other on.
Group sessions also give you more opportunities for singing in harmony, choral performances, etc. It also helps that they are usually around half the price of one-on-one private vocal coaching.
Another way to save some money is to simply ask when looking for a vocal coach. There are ways to go about doing this as you don't want to start on the wrong foot with your private singing tutor because you insulted them.
Ask them if there are any changes to the tutoring that could make it more affordable. For example, you could pay for several sessions at once for a discount. Paying for 10 sessions at once rather than one at a time provides the private singing tutor with peace of mind and they may offer you a discount for being reliable.
You could also ask for longer sessions, too. Since tutors have to travel between each session, it might be better for them to teach longer sessions and discounts may be possible for choosing 90-minute or even 2-hour sessions.
Intensive courses are also a good option and there may be reductions available for getting several sessions each week.
Online private tutoring also tends to be cheaper because the tutors don't have to travel to their students. If you don't live near any suitable tutors, you can broaden your search to include private tutors from all over New Zealand and around the world!
As long as you have a decent internet connection that's fairly reliable and a good microphone, you could look into private online singing lessons!
There are lots of great reasons to get private singing lessons, but the cost shouldn't get in the way of you becoming a better singer!









