Whether you’re musically inclined, were told you shouldn’t sing as a child, or anywhere in between, everyone should take singing lessons. Here are some reasons why.
- Making music evokes emotional responses. Do you ever sing in the shower and pretend to put on a concert? How about in the car? Singing along to the radio? Making music helps us to feel our feelings and can help to change how we feel as well. In the past whenever I needed a pick me up I would throw on the Nor’easters version of “You’re Nobody Til Somebody Loves You” and jam out to it, but when I need something bigger to help me let out sadness or frustration I belt out Josh Groban’s “You Raise Me Up.” Music moves us!
- You can receive real time feedback. No need to wait for the social media comments to come in, your teacher is on the job. You’ll likely receive more constructive criticism as well. I often catch my students in bad habits and help them to recognize the habits and break them.
- You can be a storyteller. Singing is a form of storytelling. What is the message you’d like to present when you sing? That’s ultimately your choice and a good vocal coach can help to guide you in a positive direction. Great vocal coaches are well versed in pedagogy as well as performative aspects of making music.
- You can build new relationships. The likelihood is that your teacher will have a studio (multiple students) which means there’s the potential to create a relationship with your teacher as well as with other students. Forming relationships with other students is great because you can discuss the content with someone besides your teacher and since they are learning from the same source they should know what you’re talking about!
- Taking lessons is (should be) enjoyable. If you aren’t having fun taking lessons, unless you’re specifically looking for that kind of environment, it may be worth searching for a new teacher. In my opinion it’s supposed to be fun! Laughing while learning and keeping a positive attitude helps with knowledge retention. You’re much more likely to remember to not breathe in a certain section if I say something like “No breathing allowed! Would you take….. a breath in…… the middle of a sent…ence or phrase when you’re spea…king?” than just saying “remember don’t breathe between ‘I’ and ‘said.'”
And that’s it! If you’d like to sign up for a singing lesson trial email me at corymhecht@gmail.com.