What is the desired singing level you’d like to reach? Do you want to see and hear noticeable improvements in your vocals, as well as hone in on a good approach to singing?
Do you want to be better in tone and pitch, to strengthen your vocal range and stamina, and have a more professional sound? Or is your aim to sing in tune for your own personal enjoyment?
Singing lessons can be the answer to many of these questions, but what many people wish to know most of all is just how many singing lessons are needed in order to become a better singer.
The answer to this varies for everybody and is affected by your natural ability, the amount time you are willing to devote, and how much self-discipline you personally have in order to acquire newly-taught concepts.
Do you know how to best use and coordinate your vocal apparatus?
Singing lessons will help you to build an existing talent and learn imperative techniques, which, in turn, create and correct your voice development. This also changes bad vocal habits by replacing them with beneficial ways of practicing while avoiding strain and pain on your vocal cords.
It’s essential to have a deep dedication to learning and the willingness to invest a large amount of time into voice lessons in order for you to make audible and visual progress.
This will help you to set realistic personal goals which enhance your confidence and skills by you knowing what exactly it is that you want to achieve through taking singing lessons.
Where Do I Start?
Each individual’s starting point is different. The question is, why do you want to take voice lessons?
If you would like to craft a specific sound, this will help you in choosing a teacher who is not only a professional but also proficient in your chosen genre of music and singing. A teacher who is skilled, mature and intuitive will help you to determine how and where you will begin and proceed.
Find a teacher who meets understands your needs and goals, and ensure that you have a good rapport, as you will naturally be spending quite a lot of time together.
Each person will have their own preference in both teaching styles and teachers, and there is no problem with that. The best place you can be in is where you have a teacher who is supportive and who provides you with honest advice and feedback so that you know they are on your side and understand and share in your hopes for becoming a better singer.
What Will I Learn?
Voice lessons help you to unlearn incorrect practices and adopt the proper techniques. It will also show you as how to demonstrate communicative body language.
Through the continuous repetition of methods and techniques, you will learn the correct warm-up exercises, scales, and octaves.
Anatomically, this will strengthen your muscle tone, tissue structure, and muscular memory.
Just like physical exercise, if you practice incorrectly without the supervision of the coach, you will adopt incorrect techniques. If you are dedicating 30 minutes or up to an hour to singing practice every day, then you need to make sure that you are practicing correctly and literally putting into practice what you are learning!
A teacher will help you to correctly use your voice and be flexible within your range. Through frequent contact sessions, you will learn the technique of opening your throat to ensure a "full" sound. You will also become more effective in your form and communication.
With singing lessons, you will also learn the skill of sightreading, exercising your vocal cords and strengthening your memory, and acquire the vocal knowledge which is necessary to make you a better all-round singer.
You should be able to know a whole lot more than when you started from your very first lesson, and this should also inspire to continue learning more as you slowly become the "master" of your own voice.
How Many Singing Lessons Do I Need?
We all know the saying that it is all about quality and not quantity, right? This is also a good yardstick when considering taking singing lessons.You should always measure the worth of your lessons by how you have improved and not how long it has taken to get there.
By having a competent teacher, you will quickly notice whether you are making an improvement or not. What you learn can completely change the way in which you sing and also how you conduct yourself, your posture, your voice and your enunciation.
Depending on how many habits you need to learn or unlearn, this could also influence the number of lessons which you will need.
Be Prepared
Different singers’ voices develop differently, and what you put in is what you will get out. So, if you are prepared when you arrive for each voice lesson, having practiced the relevant exercises and techniques, you will be more equipped for that particular lesson.
You will be more open to making progress by being prepared and asking questions.
Acquiring The Knowledge
Do you enjoy learning, or do you find this difficult?
Acquiring knowledge takes a lifetime, so, if you would like to only take lessons for a few months, or have a slower temperament to learning and understanding, this will obviously have a different result to ongoing singing lessons.
If you are a beginner, start with weekly or bi-weekly lessons, but this is also dependent on how much you can realistically afford in both money and your schedule.
Getting The Most Out Of Singing Lessons
If you are permanently working, do your work commitments allow for extra-curricular activities, and will you be able to get the most out of lessons whilst working full time?
Are singing lessons something you are willing to take on after-hours?
You will need to schedule consistent, daily practice in order to master good singing techniques. Are you prepared to practice in-between lessons, or are you frustrated when you do not see yourself improving?
Effort is required for rehearsing every day. This will help you to form a great exercise routine, with the practice session of every second day lasting slightly longer than the previous day.
However, as a beginner, be careful not to overdo it as this can be very harmful and easily tire you out both vocally and physically.
It is also an excellent idea to record yourself during each voice lesson so that you can literally take a listen afterward to hear how you are improving and compare your progress each time.
Take notes so that you can look back at them in your own time as you will not remember everything by yourself!
When Do I Stop?
It is difficult to predict how long you will need, but your teacher should be able to get a sense of your capability as well as improvement.
There are significant advantages, however, but singing lessons do not have to be permanent. Some people only want a few lessons, whereas others want more. Once the fundamental foundations are in place, it is easier to build up around that and continue with constant practice.
Always remember, just as with physical exercise, you need energy, and you don’t want to push your body and your vocal cords when you are not feeling fit.
Avoid singing lessons when you are mentally and physically tired. And, as they say, practice does make perfect, so even once you have stopped actual lessons, never stop practicing on your own, and always keep on singing!
About the Author: Julie Adams
I am a mom, a music lover and teacher from Tampa, FL. After completing a Bachelor of Music in Performance Arts, I traveled for several years before returning home where I started offering private piano and singing lessons as extra income. I met my husband in 2009 and 2 years later moved to Dallas where we settled down and I started focusing on vocal training to aspiring singers and performance artists of all age groups. I still enjoy playing the piano very much, and in my spare time you will catch doing some horse riding, drawing, doing some light reading, or just spending quality time with my family.