Who Is Setting Your Goals?
25/10/2013
In What’s the Role of a Voice Teacher?, I have talked about how to prepare the first lesson with a new teacher. Today, I will give you some tools for taking the course of a lesson into your own hands.
Sometimes, it’s very tempting to take a subordinate position towards your teacher during a lesson. Please, don’t! Even if your teacher is very wise and an incredibly talented singer, has years of experience, great taste and amàzing technical skills. OK, let’s be serious 😎
Why are you in the studio? Why did you pay them good money? If you’re hesitating even only for a second right now, I suggest you go back home and think about it.
Your teacher needs your input in order to be able to help you the best they can. If their approach is like mine, your lesson will start with questions like these:
- Do you have any reflections / questions on the last lesson?
- How did you work at home?
- Did you progress?
- Did you encounter any problems?
- Do you have thoughts / questions on all this?
- How can I be of service to you today?
That last question is the most important one, in my opinion. After all, your most important goal as an artist – and I hope you consider yourself to be an artist – is to develop skills to express your own personality. You don’t want to copy the voice and artistic choices of your teacher. Of course you can be inspired by it. But copying it, is something else.
Your teacher will teach you the basic technical skills that every singer needs. They should also challenge you to try sounds, styles and techniques that you have never tried, in order to broaden your view on your own voice and artistic identity. But what you do with those techniques, is completely up to you. Don’t forget, technique is only a tool.
The real goal is telling your story, and you are the only one who knows how that story goes. So YOU have to decide what you want to work on during the lesson. Of course, there are also moments when you need your teacher to take charge. Sometimes, being guided and inspired is exactly what you need.
And what about during the lesson? Have you ever had the audacity to say things like “This is not what I want to work on.”, “I’d like to go on to my next question.” or “This is not the sound I’m looking for.”?
Maybe your voice teacher sometimes gets caught up in a certain subject. Maybe in a sound that they really like – but you don’t. Or they are REALLY ambitious for you and want you to nail the sound a third higher than you need, while you want to use the remaining time for something else. Maybe it’s more important for you to work on the verse instead of the chorus (which you have been working on for already half an hour…). Or your teacher can’t stop talking about some theory and you just really want to sing…
If you share your thoughts with them, they should thank you for letting them know what you want and need. Because a voice lesson should be a collaboration, led by you, the singer.
Other times, your teacher will explain that you need to work on this particular element first, in order to make it possible to work on what you brought to the table today. And if you have expressed your doubts, you will have created an opportunity for functional communication. By speaking up, you avoid frustration after the lesson, because you mistakenly think that you haven’t worked towards the goals you had.
So, if you want to get the most out of your lessons, think about the questions I lined up and especially the last one. Tell your teacher all the things you want to work on in the beginning of the lesson, so they can plan the lesson accordingly. Stay alert during the lesson and never stop communicating.
Oh, and one more thing: Do not EVER say something like this, 10 minutes before the end of the session: “Oh, I have an audition tomorrow. Can we just go through this song one time?” At least if you don’t want to witness your teacher having a heart attack 🤨
I wish you lots of fun working with your voice teacher!
Do you want to take responsibility for your vocal growth into your own hands after reading this blog post?
Subscribe to The singsing! Sofa Library, watch the webinar You are Responsible and dive deep into what I consider the most important questions you should ask yourself, when embarking on a journey of growth. Whether it be by yourself, or with the guidance from a teacher / coach.
Fiza - Singer & Tour guide
As always, feel free to send me your thoughts, questions, and feedback in the comments below this blog, via the contact form or in the singsing! online community 
Cordially,
Sarah