Learning to sing is a process that students invest both passion and precious time into. Throughout the course of their journey, students need a teacher who respects their investment and takes their efforts seriously. Sadly, not all voice coaches fit the bill, and you want to make sure you pick the right one to suit your needs from the start. To help in this endeavor, we’ve compiled a list of the qualities and characteristics to look for in the best vocal coach.

Their Style Matches what you Want to Learn

Vocal coaches, like their students, have style preferences when it comes to singing. Therefore, a coach’s professional training and skillset will best benefit students who match that style. While many vocal coaches can teach a wide range of styles, not all coaches are equipped to teach all styles. Thankfully, an honest vocal coach will list their preferred vocal techniques and genres on their website. It’s always good to check if they teach what you are interested in learning. 

Check Their Training and Education

While traditional training is not a necessity for a good vocal coach, it can certainly help you determine their credentials. Good signs to look for are bachelor’s and master’s degrees in musical theory or a verifiable track record of teaching in the music industry. Checking to see if your coach’s qualifications are valid can be difficult, but most worth their salt will list their years of experience on their site, host student testimonials, awards, or have a sizable pool of online reviews you can research. 

Make Sure Your Coach Respects Vocal Health

While rare, there are coaches who are inexperienced in vocal anatomy or otherwise ignorant of proper vocal health. Coaches like this, who are regrettably more common in the pop, rock, and metal scenes, will outright ignore the importance of taking care of your vocal cords. A good vocal coach will never push you out of your comfortable range, never encourage you to overuse your vocal cords, and should always encourage proper hydration, utilize vocal rest, and place the safety and health of their students above all else. 

A Good Vocal Coach Will Curate Your Lessons

Each voice is different, and each singer’s path is unique. Good vocal coaches recognize this and will cater private voice lessons to each student’s strengths, weaknesses, and personal needs. A vocal coach should create lesson plans that highlight and amplify a student’s strengths while also challenging and improving their weaknesses. 

Look for a Teacher Who has a Good Attitude

Learning to sing is a personal and often emotional experience. Therefore, your teacher should be someone you feel comfortable with. You should look for an attentive teacher who has positive energy and respects your interest in improving your voice. 

Conclusion

Finding the best vocal coach can require a bit of research, but the investment is well worth it to have a vocal coach who fits your needs and that you feel comfortable with. No matter what you’re looking for in a vocal coach, you’re sure to find someone who fits your style, needs, and offers you the lessons you’re looking for.

There are dozens of possible extracurricular activities you can sign your kid up for. Of course, basketball, baseball, and soccer are all popular choices. However, few offer as many benefits as singing lessons for kids. From teaching discipline to supporting cognitive growth, here are some of the ways singing lessons can benefit your kids for their whole lives. 

Singing Promotes Cognitive Growth

Several studies have conclusively shown that practicing musical instruments and singing boost cognitive growth in children. Singing and playing instruments utilize the same areas of the brain as mathematics, and by working out these areas, singing creates new neural pathways and thereby increases cognitive growth. In addition, music has explicitly been shown to improve cognitive and non-cognitive skills twice as effectively as activities like sports, dance, and theatre.

Beyond increasing mental growth, music has also been shown to improve children’s interest in school. According to The National Association for Music Education, music classes have boosted attendance, attentiveness, and interaction in schools, compared to schools with no music classes. 

Singing Builds a Better Memory

Similar to promoting cognitive growth, singing and voice lessons for kids help boost memory function. Learning to keep rhythm, memorize lyrics, memorize tune, and connect sound with thought are all habits that promote memory growth. In addition, studies have shown direct links between singing and both short-term and working memory, especially in the memorization of a language.

Learning to sing also promotes habits that help children concentrate. Learning musical notes, connecting written signs to physical actions, repetitive pitch control, and various phonetic exercises help boost concentration, memory, and speech. 

Singing Helps With Developing Communication Skills

In singing lessons, kids learn to control pitch, dictation, articulation, and tone, along with a host of other skills that help in communication. In addition, by teaching your kid to sing, you are subtly teaching them how to grow and control their voice and express that voice creatively and healthily.

Many voice actors and public speakers often take singing lessons for these very reasons, as singing helps them gain the mastery over their voice needed for intensive professional speaking.

However, for communication, the most beneficial element of singing is the ability to teach the connection of written and memorized words with speech. Remembering lyrics and reading sheet music when singing helps children practice articulation of written and memorized words; this has been shown to help with general communication, expression of thought, and public speaking. 

Singing Lessons Build Social Skills

Singing lessons can be a fantastic social activity for children of all ages to participate in. Be it in private singing lessons, receiving mentorship and education from a teacher, or lessons with other students. Singing lessons teach harmonizations and allow kids to interact with others in a fun, socially healthy environment.

The best thing about learning to sing is that it will enable children to express themselves socially, creatively, and constructively. This helps children build powerful social connections through artistic expression. 

Singing Helps Build Self Esteem

Vocal coaching helps children build self-esteem through positive reinforcement of personal expression. When working with a singing instructor, students will be taught proper breathing techniques, pitch control, range control, voice exercises, and lyrical memorization. These skills will help their voice grow in power and inflection over time. As the student’s voice and vocal control increase, the visible improvement will boost their self-esteem. 

While private singing lessons certainly help self-confidence, group lessons and public singing can be equally beneficial. By participating with other students, kids benefit from a controlled social circle that reinforces their creativity, expression, and growth. This helps them grow social skills while also building their confidence through positive public expression. 

Singing Lessons and Practice Boost Self Discipline

Singing requires time, dedication, and diligent practice. By taking part in singing lessons, children will be responsible for finding time to practice and study. However, even for children who have trouble with self-motivated practice, the continual improvement and growth many find through singing can be an excellent motivator and help hone these skills. Better yet, singing is a fun, expressive activity that often drives them to want to improve and grow. 

Singing Lesson Reinforce Their Natural Talents and Teaches Growth 

While not everyone has an apparent, natural talent in singing, just about everyone can sing with time and practice. Taking part in singing lessons can help show children that there is a payoff for work and that natural talents can blossom and grow if fostered. This can be great for children who already have the ability to sing, as it helps promote growth and self-improvement, but it can be equally beneficial for children who don’t know they can sing.

There is nothing quite as magical as seeing someone’s eyes light up for the first time when they hit a note or discover that they can carry a tune. For children who have never tried to sing or have tried and failed due to lack of direction, this moment can be eye-opening and inspiring! 

Conclusion

Singing lessons are highly beneficial for kids of all ages. These lessons promote cognitive growth, improve memory, foster better social skills, teach diligence along with self-motivation, and cultivate natural talent. These skills help children learn and grow in more ways than just how to use their voice. As children gain the skills taught in voice lessons, you’re likely to see them start to improve in other areas of their lives, as well.

In addition, singing lessons from Greg can help your child grow their voice and help them artistically express themselves. If you would like to sign up for singing lessons, you can follow our link here to find out more.

There is nothing worse than a strained voice. Not only is it painful, but it can prevent you from performing and even cause permanent vocal cord damage. Whether you’re just beginning to learn to sing or you’re a practiced soprano, you need to know how to take care of your vocal cords.

What Causes Vocal Damage? 

Most damage to vocal cords comes from either misuse or abuse. Misuse refers to using your vocal cords in a way that is unnatural or strenuous, such as excessive exertion when singing or talking. On the other hand, vocal abuse is when you are exposed to something that damages your cords, such as inhaling smoke or other irritants. 

How Do You Prevent Vocal Damage? 

The best vocal coaches will tell you that preventing damage comes down to a combination of practicing proper singing techniques and taking conscious care of your vocal cords. Here are some of the best habits you can adopt in order to keep your voice healthy and clear: 

• Do Warm-Up Exercises: Your vocal cords are muscles, and just like any other muscle, you should do warm-up exercises before working them. Performing brief vocal exercises before practicing or performing not only helps you reach further on your range but also reduces the likelihood of damage or strain. 
  
• Don’t Push or Over Exert: Knowing your limits is invaluable. Overexerting yourself is the easiest and quickest way to damage your vocal instrument. So, try not to push your range, limit your speaking before and after performances or intensive practices, and incorporate vocal rest into your daily schedule. 
  
• Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate!: If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times – well, make it one thousand and one. Proper hydration is critical for maintaining healthy vocal cords. Having a dry throat causes increased strain and risk of damage, so keeping hydrated is a requirement for both practice and performance.
  
• Avoid Coffee: This may be painful for some to hear, but coffee is one of the worst drinks you can ingest before and during any vocal activity. Coffee dries out your throat, so if you want to stay hydrated and reduce damage, you should avoid it before and during performances or practice. This applies to alcohol and soda as well.
  
• Avoid Smoking: Smoking in any form should be avoided for anyone looking to exercise their voice. This is because smoking dries out the throat and causes damage to the throat and vocal cords over time.
  
• Have a Good Performing Environment: If you are performing with a band, make sure you use a mic and never yell over your fellow performers or crowd. The less you have to strain to be heard, the better! For at-home or studio practice, make sure you utilize a mic, a mixer, and a space geared for good acoustics.
  

Taking care of your voice ensures that the world can hear you, so it should be any singer or vocal performer’s top priority to keep it as healthy as possible. If you are interested in learning to sing for the first time or want to hone your skills further, you can schedule private singing lessons here.