Voice Majors - Things to Consider

College Majors Music Major
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<p>I know I have said this before here and there but with all of the recent questions regarding voice I thought I would say it again here.</p>

<p>The MOST important thing in studying voice is finding the right teacher. </p>

<p>There is no governing body for qualifying a voice teacher.<br>
You would think that having degree(s) in pedagogy would be an indication of a good teacher - not necessarily so. Besides most voice teachers do not have a degree in vocal pedagogy. </p>

<p>You would think that having a great singing career and then retiring to teaching would make for a great voice teacher - not necessarily so. Just because you can do it does not mean you can teach it.</p>

<p>Do NOT assume just because a school/conservatory has a good reputation or are considered to be at the tippy top of the heap, that all of their teachers are going to be good or a good fit for you.</p>

<p>Never go to a school/conservatory and take pot luck with your voice studio. At many/most schools trying to change studios is difficult if not impossible once you are there.</p>

<p>Graduate schools are full of students trying to rebuild their voices from damage done in undergrad.</p>

<p>CC is a wonderful source of information but it is not set up to "talk turkey" regarding just who is good and who is a disaster regarding teachers. For the most part I have not seen any discussions about specific teachers.</p>

<p>There are other places on the internet where you can have specific discussions regarding specific teachers - seek them out.</p>

<p>Just because someone is a wonderful, kind person that does not make them a good teacher.</p>

<p>Learning to sing properly and healthily is a long and complicated process that is very difficult to teach due to the nature of the voice as an instrument. Being taught in a wrong way can damage the voice especially a young voice, sometimes permanently. </p>

<p>Fit. This is also a necessary component. If you have found a teacher with a proven track record of teaching good and proper technique, you must find someone who you fit with. For example a quiet and more unassuming student may be intimidated by an outspoken, dominant and demanding teacher. Where as a student who has a strong and dominate personality may love and need a teacher like that, where as this strong personality student might run over a more kind and subtle teacher and vice a verse. </p>

<p>The relationship between a teacher and student goes far beyond the transmission and receiving of information. In most cases it becomes a close mentoring situation. Many students find it difficult to leave a beloved teacher even if the training part is not working out.</p>

<p>So just how do you find this perfect teacher?</p>

<p>Research. Go to all of the voice forums and blogs. Talk to your current teacher. Read the opera magazines, they often have interviews with working professionals and they will talk about their backgrounds and who taught them. Pay close attention to the competitions and who wins them. Look the winners up and find out who is teaching them. When you get the name of a prospective teacher find out if their students are successful, have they won competitions, are they attending prestigious YAPs. Are they getting into resident artist programs. Are they working. </p>

<p>Then when you have a list of prospective teachers go have a lesson or two with them. Listen, ask questions. Do you hit it off? After a lesson or two can you see progress?</p>

<p>I know this is a daunting process. But the truth is you are preparing to spend THOUSANDS of dollars on an education so doing the groundwork and research only makes sense before making such a huge investment.</p>

<p>The truth is even after finding the perfect teacher and getting your degree(s) and working hard, learning several languages, perfecting your stage skills, having made multiple connections with working professionals, learning several roles, getting all of the stage experience you can you might, just might have a career.</p>

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<p>Great and very sobering advice srw!</p>

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<p>I think this advice could apply to other instruments as well. Great post.</p>

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<p>We’re very new at this. Our daughter has been accepted to a few programs. Her top two choices are Eastman School of Music and Northwestern Bienen School. Does anes anyone have an idea which would be a better undergraduate experience for voice (soprano)? Do you have a recommendation on a vocal performance teacher? How do I find different current blogs to follow?</p>

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<p>dmmmd109, I can’t help you with your daughter’s choice, but would like to include her acceptances in the <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/1045522-master-list-music-school-acceptances-fall-2011-a-36.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/1045522-master-list-music-school-acceptances-fall-2011-a-36.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I will assume a BM in vocal performance at Eastman and Northwestern unless you say otherwise. Do you care to share any other of her acceptances?</p>

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<p>ABlest, hi!</p>

<p>I know what I said was tough, but it is a very tough business!
dmmmd109 I have sent you a private message.</p>

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<p>Tremendous post, srw. (My son’s a vocal major: bass and baritone.)</p>

<p>I’d add one last thing: pray.</p>

<p>I could be given the powers of telepathy, precognition, retrocognition, clairvoyance, x-ray and telescopic vision (and hearing) and STILL wouldn’t be able to discern all that goes on behind the closed doors of the university. We have to let our kids go into the world to be sure (our daughter, very intelligent and a wonderfully gifted visual artist, also has asperger’s syndrome, major depression and has had a closed-head injury, and how she will “go into the world” is still being determined - I assure you, it’s a blessing when our children WANT to do this and aren’t reticent about it) but as the saying goes, you want not necessarily the best school, but the best school for your child.</p>

<p>Even with all the visits we’ve taken, all the research (which you wisely recommend) and all the rest there’s still so much I don’t know. We’ve prayed constantly before the school years in high school (and before as I recall) for God to bring the right teachers into our son’s life. BOY, am I doing so now on the eve of his (and our “D’s”) college decision.</p>

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<p>Thank you for the kind words. It’s probably obvious that I/we have been through this and we made the typical mistakes, looked for school rather than teacher first When I began to really do research after the fact I was terrified of what could happen. It took a little doing, but we got things worked out for the best, it involved a lot of luck.</p>

<p>As I read these forums it breaks my heart seeing so many people going about this process the wrong way and what could happen.</p>

<p>OTamandua, I agree, pray.</p>

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<p>You know SRW…we live too close not to get together sometime :-)</p>

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<p>opera-mom, you know you are right!</p>

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<p>your message could not be more timely for us…seems like very sage advise, and I have heard and read similar messages…but, as you mentioned it is a daunting process finding specific teachers (who are much less publicized) than specific schools.</p>

<p>You would hope the ‘better’ voice programs would employ the ‘better’ faculty to keep their reputation in check…but for neophyte researchers like me (and most probably many parents) it is a difficult process to separate the schools reputation from the faculty’s without some help/direction…</p>

<p>so, that being said here are a few follow up questions:</p>

<p>-any specific voice forums and blogs to send us to?</p>

<p>-wht is YAPs? and is this info a faculty would mention in their bio?</p>

<p>-what specific ‘competitions’ & their winners (besides the Met) should we look for?</p>

<p>-other places ‘seek them out’ ? a little help with that…</p>

<p>Your experiences can be so helpful to folks like me who kids with voices and understand the importance of wanting them in the best possible hands, to encourage, protect and get the best out of them…</p>

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<p>I hope this does not go against the forums Terms of Service, I am never sure about it.</p>

<p>You might try looking over at The New Forum for Classic Singers and you might try the Classic Singer Forum - but they fight a lot over there! Also there is a new one called Classic Voices a Forum for Singers. </p>

<p>Then you can Google opera blogs, you will get reviewers and singers. I would buy Opera News (the METs magazine) and I would subscribe to Classic Singer Magazine online. </p>

<p>The New Forum for Classic Singers (NFCS) has a lot of discussion about specific teachers, but be careful in posting, it’s not like CC at all. After you read a bit you will know what I mean - hardly any parents. I would mostly do searches. It is divided up into a main forum, YAPs and competitions, recommendations and warnings and regional forums.</p>

<p>The Classic Singer Magazine is oriented to students and they have a listing for competitions, look up the competitions websites then you can get lists of winners - Google the winners and you can find who their teachers are. They also have a lot of info on Summer Programs, which is a must for making connections with professionals. </p>

<p>YAP = Young Artist Program. It’s different from a summer program. Summer programs are usually for HS and college age. A YAP is for emerging professionals so you would find a few upper class men but mostly graduate students and recent graduates. These are usually in the summer. A couple of examples would be Glimmerglass, the Merola or Wolf Trap. These are usually paid positions and sometimes provide room and board.</p>

<p>Resident Artists programs are usually for those who have completed their education and are starting their careers in earnest. An example would be the Adler program at the San Francisco Opera or the Domingo Thornton program at L.A. Opera. Most opera houses have one.</p>

<p>PTS = pay to sing. A program where you pay to sing in a production usually with instruction and room and board. Like a summer program except the focus is on the production. These are generally done to gain stage experience and get some “roles performed” on your resume. Some of these are geared toward college students and some graduate or post college. A good example would be the Seagle Music Colony. </p>

<p>Many of these programs are in Europe and can be a good opportunity to get some immersion in a language.</p>

<p>Note on competitions, besides the big ones, the MET comp, Operailia, Singer of the World, there are a surprising number of others at all levels. Examples would be Lois Alba,
Licia Albanese Competition, Jensen competition, Connecticut Opera Guild Competition, Lissner Competition, Charles A. Lynam Vocal Competition, just to name a few. Classic Singer magazine is a great source for competition listings.</p>

<p>I know of one competition, the Crescendo in Tulsa, that gives the winner a Summer Program in Germany.</p>

<p>I hope I haven’t broken any rules!</p>

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<p>thank you so much! what useful info! We do get CS magazine, and have been reading it (her present teacher has been highlighted) and have found a couple of competitions (that she has done well in) through that. Will actually be going to this year’s convention in LA.</p>

<p>And, D will be attending Tanglewood Institute this summer…but the big project will be finding the right teacher/college, so thanks again!!</p>

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<p>If it helps, there is likely more than one good teacher for your D and more than one college in which she would do well. . It is not like searching the world over for the only one. Rest assured that there will be several that she will do well with and that the match can consider many factors including the school itself. As a matter of fact, it is better to have several good choices, including the old financial safety so as not to be in a bind come decision time.</p>

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<p>badblonde - your D’s teacher at Tanglewood Institute this summer might be a great resource for colleges to look at as well as specific teachers. I know our D’s voice teacher at Tanglewood the past two summers was a great resource for us in terms of specific teachers to look at at the various conservatories where my D was considering applying.</p>

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<p>I was thinking the same thing re: tanglewood…that would be wonderful!</p>

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<p>Bumping for jteresi</p>

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<p>srw, I wish you would think about counseling young vocalists as a side profession… those of us who are clueless about all this could use this wonderful advice on a regular basis. What you stated simply in a short post has taken me months of research to figure out on my own!! :wink: Thanks for the great post!!</p>

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<p>The schools with the best known reputation do not necessarily have the best teacher for YOUR child. My D’s voice teacher in high school has sent kids to every major conservatory and she has some horror stories to tell. She has had students who had teachers who are abusive, teachers who were so focused on the remnants of their own careers that they were not available, teachers who focused only on a few superstar students to the detriment of everyone else in the studio and teachers who had long since lost interest in teaching technique - only wanting to focus on polishing students who already have excellent technique. She had two students leave well known programs because the students were damaging their voices but were not allowed to switch teachers. Be sure to ask about the process involved in switching teachers. It should not take an Act of Congress to do so. Just because a person had an excellent career in singing does not mean they can teach. My D researched students of particular teachers and emailed them. She got great feedback that way.</p>

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<p>Bumping for Dressage</p>