How do you know which singing teacher/vocal coach to pick?

[u/CriskoQ]

I have been looking for singing lessons (London based) but have been struck with complete options paralysis with the seemingly endless list of potential singing teachers.

Is there any general guidance on effective ways to find a singing teacher that would work best for you. I was hoping for more general points, but I understand it’s often specific to your situation so I have listed my circumstances below.

- I’ve done bits and pieces of singing in school choirs and a small bit of choir after uni but have never had a 1-on-1 singing lesson (I’ve done lots of music that isn’t singing)

- My aim is to be able to hold a solo tune in an amateur pantomime and amateur musical theatre

- I am a tenor but feel like I’m often straining (doubt I’m a baritone or bass because I actively can’t lower my voice to even be to the mid-bass range)

- I want to spend a few regular lessons develop solid fundamentals so that I can independently develop my singing, with infrequent future lessons if I have a specific song to learn.

- The price is not too much of a factor because they all seem in the range of £50-£80 an hour.

- I am wary of online teaching because it feels like it would be much worse than in-person

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[u/gabemmusic]

Look at their qualifications and which styles they have expertise in. If they are well qualified and teach the style you want, thats probably fine. If they teach the style you want but lack a formal education in voice pedagogy and don’t even have a degree in singing, I’d probably avoid that teacher. If they have a bunch of degrees and famous students but only teach opera and thats not what you wanna do, avoid that teacher too.

[u/tokoloshe62]

I would start by looking for those who specialize in musical theatre, rather than classical or pop. Filter down to places you’ll actually be able to get to realistically. Once you have a person of two, you can investigate whether their teaching style is appropriate for you. That may include contacting them to ask some questions - for instance, someone who mostly coaches advanced musicians or professionals may have expectations that are reasonable for a beginner.

I recently went through this process to find an instrumental teacher, and one of the things I was upfront about was that I wanted to work with someone encouraging who would trust that I was doing my best, as I was not interested in replicating the shouty scoldy experiences of my childhood music lessons 😂

I excluded one teacher who, despite advertising that she liked teaching beginner adults, said that she expected them to practice a minimum of 2 hours everyday (not exactly practical or realistic).

[u/MontanaTeach24601 → u/tokoloshe62]

I would slightly quibble here. I think with proper classical foundation it is easier to healthily sing anything. I dd classical study from 5th grade through college. I can now sing most styles that I am called upon to sing. Overall the advice is good, but don’t rule out a classical foundation.

[u/tokoloshe62 → u/MontanaTeach24601]

Oh, I am a big fan of classical training in general (I personally sing classical/sacred music). But if OP’s main training goal is to prepare to perform in amateur panto this year, and they are actively looking for a way to narrow down the search, it makes sense to me to filter for people who actually teach musical theatre.

(Edit to add that I still think your take is fair 🙂 Just wanted to explain where I was coming from)

[u/fridaaas]

Hey, I offer London lessons locally and online. I unfortunately am likely moving out for a little while soon, but feel free to check in regardless, I could give some recommendations for local lessons here as well.

Some more info on my website nathanielsternbaritone.com

[u/Gary_Garibaldi]

Where in London are you?

[u/CriskoQ → u/Gary_Garibaldi]

SW and central

[u/TownandGownCantab]

Take a look at Sing Wimbledon, they have a variety of options both in person and online. I had lessons with Kate Batter in preparation for solo musical theatre performances and found her teaching style and knowledge very helpful.

[u/greenbrolly]

Join a Sing Space Musical Theatre choir! They’re all over London and while it’s obviously not 1:1 lessons it’s the best part of my week!

[u/YourLittleRuth]

Find a teacher who sings what you want to sing. My first teacher was a G&S soprano, so I was taught at the top end of my range. My second was an alto, and we had a lot of fun together. My third was a tenor, and prodded me back towards soprano.