<p>I am a current senior in high school. I have applied to numerous music schools/conservatories, and have already been accepted to a few. I have decided to cease my study with my old voice teacher for numerous reasons that need not be discussed on a public message board. I am looking into temporarily studying with someone locally to prepare me for college and the auditions for workshops and productions that will be occurring soon after I begin my freshman year. I was wondering if there would be any major difficulties with studying temporarily with someone who is a baritone, when I am a soprano. Assuming everything else matches up (teaching style, personality), would this be a problem? I have never studied with someone before who is not a soprano. Thanks for any guidance you can give me!</p>
<p>Temporarily, no problem. Over the long term, male/female or female/male may be an issue.</p>
<p>My son had the opportunity to meet with a voice teacher at Eastman. He said that Men don't understand (know) issues specific to the female voice, and Women don't know/understand male issues. They have to learn the difference, and some profs never receive that training.</p>
<p>What I took from that: It is safer to be with your own gender (not necesarily voice type).</p>
<p>BTW: My son switched from a local voice teacher to private lessons with a prof from a local university. World of difference.</p>
<p>This is an interesting discussion. I have never thought about the gender of my daughter's voice teachers. She had a private voice teacher for five years prior to college. The teacher was male and with a PhD and has trained many singers of both genders who have won awards such as Tonys or performed with the Met. In college, she has also had male vocal instructors, though her private voice teacher happens to be female. She has learned a great deal from the male vocal teachers at her school. She has never mentioned a thing to me about the gender of her voice teachers in relation to her skill development as a singer.</p>
<p>To add to soozievt's comments: those trained in vocal pedagogy will understand the differences between the production of sound in both genders and should be able to teach either of them. My daughter's teacher had both male and female teachers and got exactly what she needed from both at the time she was studying. </p>
<p>That said, I think it behooves the student to take this up when selecting a teacher of a different gender. Ask them directly about their approach to male and female voices and what they do differently and the same. It seems kind of natural to gravitate to someone of your own gender, but a good teacher is a good teacher.</p>
<p>The other angle is that if the teacher is the same voice type, there is more likely to be imitation, even when it is not appropriate. A good teacher is a good teacher. A good teacher knows who they can help and who they cannot. The biggest problem is repertory assignment, and if there are other people who can be consulted, the singer will be fine. Even if an inappropriate piece is assigned, it can be sung healthily. The problem comes in trying to satisfy a piece of music which is meant for more mature and/or heftier voices. </p>
<p>However, it is my opinion that jumping around from voice teacher to voice teacher is more likely to cause problems and confusion. If you have a solid pedagogical reason for leaving your teacher, OP, perhaps you could just coach with a good language/style/pianist, and leave your technique alone until you are ready to start fresh with someone else.</p>
<p>My DS has had both male and female teachers, and I don't think that it is possible to make any sort of generalization. There are some teachers that may have a reputation for not doing as well with someone of the opposite sex, but the only way to evaluate this is to do a trial lesson, see a Studio Class and make a personal assessment.</p>
<p>I actually just had a sample lesson with a countertenor! It was arranged, I didn't pick the faculty member. But, if they are talented at conveying which techniques they want a student to use, what's the difference?</p>
<p>They don't need to be able to sing your repertoire to be a fine teacher.</p>
<p>DD has had both and has gotten different things form both. I think how they taught was more important than their gender. When DD was in HS her teacher was a tenor. She said is was good that while she was just starting to learn since she could not imitate him. She had to learn it herself. Friends who were taking from the local soprano teaching were all starting to sound alike. now her teacher is a mezzo and she relates to her and the repertoire. But it is just an added dimension.</p>
<p>At a very advanced level, there is nothing like a singer in ones own voice type to know who should be doing what. No matter how well a teacher knows the repertory, to not have a kinesthetic familiarity with the demands makes it more difficult to assign appropriately.</p>