Hey y’all,
I’m starting to work on my research for schools preparing to apply/audition in Fall 2016 and start school in Fall 2017. Everyone always talks about how the teacher is the part that really matters, but I was wondering what to look for in a potential teacher and how to find out that information. A lot of people don’t post in their bios what their students have accomplished, only about their own careers. Are there any other factors I should look for in a voice teacher?
Or for that matter, what did YOU look for in a music school? I’ve begun by casting a wide net and have found all the potential schools with opera programs. Now I need to find different characteristics and questions to ask about those schools to narrow down a very long list. What should I think to look for other than number of operas performed a year?
Any other advice would be greatly appreciated.
Is this for grad school or undergrad? (I ask this since the number of operas produced is more pertinent to grad school)
Sorry, this is for undergrad although by the time I get to school I’ll have just turned 21. Took some time off to work on myself as a person and a musician.
If you have interest in a teacher, you can ask directly what their students have gone on to do. My D did, and received a “what my students have done” resume a yard long! Professors do keep track of this kind of thing and are happy to share.
First find out about what sort of teacher you require. By the time that you are 21 you should be able to know what you are looking for. Any problems you need “fixed”? Broader rep? Someone who specializes in big voices? I would have a frank discussion with your current teacher and get a fix on what you need. Not what other folks need. Then possibly network with other students and professionals who are recent grads.
Most students get recommendations about the appropriate level of schools from their private or high school teachers. They won’t list all but if you are told that Oberlin would be good and/or Univ of Michigan, you can start looking at similar level schools and check out their program to see if it’s what you want. You won’t know that until you start looking at different programs.
You may also want to spend a bit of time looking at LACs vs public universities vs conservatories to decide the right environment for you. Being an older student, you may actually want grad students around. Or maybe a city environment would be good. Some LACs require students to live in student housing for 4 years. If you are 25, would you be OK with that? Teacher is important but so is the program and environment to assure you are happy.
Then you can go on-line and start researching teachers. Some have short bios mainly about themselves and some have long bios that do talk about where former students have gone. You can also contact the voice dept head and ask them the best way to find the “right” teacher. But I would do that after I had picked some good programs/schools.
Don’t think there is one good teacher for you out there. There will be a few at programs that are a good match for you. Even I stress the teacher but am the first to admit, we did a lousy job in assuring that bc it was so difficult to figure it out. It really came LATER in the game for us. And I don’t think that is uncommon for vocalists.
But in making that final decision AFTER auditions, it will be important - if not before.
So start asking your teachers and friends in music for recommendations.
Hope this helps.
Had to actually do some work…my comment above assumes you take what musicamusica says when you contact a teacher or voice dept. You should, at 21, know something about your voice, your needs, your repertoire. Are you looking for a technical teacher, a polisher/finisher (probs not yet but you never know), a teacher who specializes in tenors for Mozart, baritones for whomever or just a teacher to help you discover that? Only your current teacher can help you with that.
Something important, and it is not an easy one, what are your needs? As an instrumentalist, for example, some students are looking for a teacher who is more about the musical side of things, others may feel they need a teacher that is more on the technical side of things (I used instrumental music because I don’t know the equivalent in voice:).Teachers tend to have things they emphasize over others, so part of the fit is going to be in that. Finding out about that usually is finding a list of teachers you might think are good, then asking around (and as others have said, your current primary teacher probably knows your weakness and strength, and may be able to help you find a list of possible teachers). There are other questions as well, like what kind of performing opportunities does the school itself offer?
The other thing is that I strongly recommend trying to see the teachers before deciding, while people often pick teachers via the methods mentioned in this thread, and do okay, I highly recommend trying to see how they teach, because this is such an individual kind of thing, it really is more like an apprenticeship than a standard teacher/student one IMO, and a great teacher for one student doesn’t work for another, it includes things like focus, but also in teaching/learning styles (for example, my son had a violin teacher before conservatory, who didn’t quite understand that not everyone worked the way she did, she would blurt out a string of comments on what he had been playing, but it literally was like a machine gun going off, and that didn’t often work well with my son, whereas other kids probably liked that. I have heard some teachers will do sample lessons via Skype if you cannot get to them in person, which may be an alternative. I don’t think it is useful to do a sample lesson with every teacher you think might be a fit, but once you narrow the list down based on other criteria, I would encourage you to try and see as many of them as possible.