Oct
18
Do I Need A Singing Teacher
Filed Under Art And Entertainment | Comments Off
Chris Chew asked:
Do you encounter problems hitting high notes confidently when you are singing instead of straining your voice? Do you experience uncomfortable soreness in your throat the next morning after a singing session? Do you know that constant exposure to these common singing problems can very well damage your vocal cords and sometimes permanently, putting your singing career in jeopardy?
The causes of these problems could be that you have developed incorrect singing techniques and habits that could destroy your voice. You have to take responsibility for all that is happening instead of merely giving excuses such as the food you have eaten or the smoky environment where you sing are the causes although these factors do actually to a certain degree influence your singing voice.
What I am saying is that to take full responsibility for your own voice training and in order to do that, you must find a good singing teacher to facilitate that training.
Let me ask you a question. Can you read “Learn How To Swim For Dummies” a million times, but have never stepped into a swimming pool to practice the strokes and voila, you can suddenly swim?
Just like swimming or riding a bicycle, there are many muscles that support the singing voice and incorrect use of them will make your singing suffer. Therefore you must train your singing muscles correctly so that next time, when you sing, good singing muscle support will come habitually, just like muscle memory while riding a bicycle or when you are swimming.
So the first thing you ought to do is to find a good singing teacher. Some of you will be asking at this juncture that how would I know if you are not having a good singing teacher right now. Well, my short answer would be, if that is the case, why is it that you are having the problems uncorrected in the first place? These singing problems would already have been addressed right now by your own singing teacher, isn’t it?
Okay, I have good and bad news for you. First the bad news is that anyone can just call himself a singing teacher and start charging for singing lessons regardless of whether they know what they are doing or not. Since the American Idol series begun, “singing teachers” have sprung up everywhere.
Then again, how do you know if the singing teacher you are choosing is a competent one? This may come as a shocker to you because even if someone gets a singing teacher’s degree from a university, they still may not know what they are doing. I had lessons from a university trained singing teacher that almost destroyed my voice.
So, how do you ascertain that your singing teacher is competent? Well, there is only one way to find out. You have to try their singing lessons for yourself or get a reliable referral from someone who has tried the singing lessons and achieved great results.
The good news is that we live in a free country where you can shop around until you find a singing teacher who delivers the results you want. However it can get quite expensive because good singing teachers don’t come cheap and each time you go to a new singing teacher while in your quest of finding a good one, you will have to pay for your lessons, whether or not the lessons are effective.
Now, here is an obvious tip - Don’t ever pay for a second bad lesson! Keep on looking until you find a teacher who can hand you real positive results.
Now, wouldn’t it be nice if you could have “sample” lessons before putting your money on the table? What if singing teachers aren’t so secretive and self-preserving that they would let you “try out before you buy?”
Well, there are a few very competent teachers who are very confident in what they do that they guarantee their lessons from the first lesson. If you go in for a singing lesson and don’t see some positive results or simply just don’t like their teaching style, they will not charge you–not even for that first lesson. How does that sound?
These are the teachers you should be looking for because if they dare to give such guarantees, then they must be good singing teachers. You can find some of these teachers in the internet.
Now there is a little problem though. Some of these teachers may not be from where you are living. So you may not have access to them.
Well, there is a solution to this problem. Why not look for CD programs by these established singing teachers where you can have your teacher coaching you in the comfort of your own home. You will save a lot of time and money from transportation to paying hourly fees and yet you get first class coaching.
Now that you know how to find a good singing teacher, go and get their lessons and watch your singing career soar to new heights.
ALPHONSE
Do you encounter problems hitting high notes confidently when you are singing instead of straining your voice? Do you experience uncomfortable soreness in your throat the next morning after a singing session? Do you know that constant exposure to these common singing problems can very well damage your vocal cords and sometimes permanently, putting your singing career in jeopardy?
The causes of these problems could be that you have developed incorrect singing techniques and habits that could destroy your voice. You have to take responsibility for all that is happening instead of merely giving excuses such as the food you have eaten or the smoky environment where you sing are the causes although these factors do actually to a certain degree influence your singing voice.
What I am saying is that to take full responsibility for your own voice training and in order to do that, you must find a good singing teacher to facilitate that training.
Let me ask you a question. Can you read “Learn How To Swim For Dummies” a million times, but have never stepped into a swimming pool to practice the strokes and voila, you can suddenly swim?
Just like swimming or riding a bicycle, there are many muscles that support the singing voice and incorrect use of them will make your singing suffer. Therefore you must train your singing muscles correctly so that next time, when you sing, good singing muscle support will come habitually, just like muscle memory while riding a bicycle or when you are swimming.
So the first thing you ought to do is to find a good singing teacher. Some of you will be asking at this juncture that how would I know if you are not having a good singing teacher right now. Well, my short answer would be, if that is the case, why is it that you are having the problems uncorrected in the first place? These singing problems would already have been addressed right now by your own singing teacher, isn’t it?
___________________________________________________________________
Okay, I have good and bad news for you. First the bad news is that anyone can just call himself a singing teacher and start charging for singing lessons regardless of whether they know what they are doing or not. Since the American Idol series begun, “singing teachers” have sprung up everywhere.
Then again, how do you know if the singing teacher you are choosing is a competent one? This may come as a shocker to you because even if someone gets a singing teacher’s degree from a university, they still may not know what they are doing. I had lessons from a university trained singing teacher that almost destroyed my voice.
So, how do you ascertain that your singing teacher is competent? Well, there is only one way to find out. You have to try their singing lessons for yourself or get a reliable referral from someone who has tried the singing lessons and achieved great results.
The good news is that we live in a free country where you can shop around until you find a singing teacher who delivers the results you want. However it can get quite expensive because good singing teachers don’t come cheap and each time you go to a new singing teacher while in your quest of finding a good one, you will have to pay for your lessons, whether or not the lessons are effective.
Now, here is an obvious tip - Don’t ever pay for a second bad lesson! Keep on looking until you find a teacher who can hand you real positive results.
Now, wouldn’t it be nice if you could have “sample” lessons before putting your money on the table? What if singing teachers aren’t so secretive and self-preserving that they would let you “try out before you buy?”
Well, there are a few very competent teachers who are very confident in what they do that they guarantee their lessons from the first lesson. If you go in for a singing lesson and don’t see some positive results or simply just don’t like their teaching style, they will not charge you–not even for that first lesson. How does that sound?
These are the teachers you should be looking for because if they dare to give such guarantees, then they must be good singing teachers. You can find some of these teachers in the internet.
Now there is a little problem though. Some of these teachers may not be from where you are living. So you may not have access to them.
Well, there is a solution to this problem. Why not look for CD programs by these established singing teachers where you can have your teacher coaching you in the comfort of your own home. You will save a lot of time and money from transportation to paying hourly fees and yet you get first class coaching.
Now that you know how to find a good singing teacher, go and get their lessons and watch your singing career soar to new heights.
ALPHONSE
Oct
9
How Good Is Your Singing Teacher?
Filed Under Art And Entertainment | Comments Off
Chris Chew asked:
So you have been taking singing lessons for a couple of months already. However you noticed that you have made little or even no improvements in your singing and vocal quality. Your voice is still little shaky and cracks when you attempt to sing higher notes. So, are you taking the correct singing lessons from the right singing teacher?
Since you are paying good money for your lessons and not getting good results, then ultimately the responsibility rest with you. You have to take full responsibility for your own singing lessons and you must get good singing teacher to facilitate your voice training.
So how do I know that you have the right singing teacher or not? Well, if you have chosen the right vocal coach, you would have noticed the improvements in your singing within weeks. Yes, in just weeks, you should be able to sing much better than before.
The issues regarding your singing would be getting addressed and remedied by your own singing teacher by now. This is what you should expect from your singing teacher since you are paying good money for.
So, how can you ascertain that a teacher is competent? Well, you have to try their lessons for yourself or get a reliable referral from someone who has tried it and gotten good results.
Since you have to pay for the lessons, it is your prerogative to choose and shop around until you find a singing coach who can deliver the results you desire. This method be expensive because each time you go to a new singing teacher, you will pay for the lessons, whether or not the lessons are effective.
What I am going to say next may be obvious, but people are still doing it. Don’t ever pay for a second bad lesson! Keep on looking until you find a teacher who can give you solid results.
Very few if any singing teachers will give you free trials and if they do, then that probably means that they have plenty of time and this probably translates to that they have few, if any students. Your radar should be up if this is the case.
There is another method of getting good singing lessons. In the age of the internet, many competent singing teachers are marketing their services online. Many even recorded their lessons on CDs so that students can practice their singing anytime and anywhere in the world.
As these teachers market their singing lessons online, you will be able to check their competency, credibility, surf their reviews as well as contact some of their students to verify their testimonials.
Of course, it would be ideal if you could find a competent vocal coach for one on one coaching. However, if traveling, distance, time and expensive singing lessons are issues to you, then getting pre-recorded singing lessons from a proven singing teacher is a good option.
LEON
So you have been taking singing lessons for a couple of months already. However you noticed that you have made little or even no improvements in your singing and vocal quality. Your voice is still little shaky and cracks when you attempt to sing higher notes. So, are you taking the correct singing lessons from the right singing teacher?
Since you are paying good money for your lessons and not getting good results, then ultimately the responsibility rest with you. You have to take full responsibility for your own singing lessons and you must get good singing teacher to facilitate your voice training.
So how do I know that you have the right singing teacher or not? Well, if you have chosen the right vocal coach, you would have noticed the improvements in your singing within weeks. Yes, in just weeks, you should be able to sing much better than before.
The issues regarding your singing would be getting addressed and remedied by your own singing teacher by now. This is what you should expect from your singing teacher since you are paying good money for.
___________________________________________________________________
So, how can you ascertain that a teacher is competent? Well, you have to try their lessons for yourself or get a reliable referral from someone who has tried it and gotten good results.
Since you have to pay for the lessons, it is your prerogative to choose and shop around until you find a singing coach who can deliver the results you desire. This method be expensive because each time you go to a new singing teacher, you will pay for the lessons, whether or not the lessons are effective.
What I am going to say next may be obvious, but people are still doing it. Don’t ever pay for a second bad lesson! Keep on looking until you find a teacher who can give you solid results.
Very few if any singing teachers will give you free trials and if they do, then that probably means that they have plenty of time and this probably translates to that they have few, if any students. Your radar should be up if this is the case.
There is another method of getting good singing lessons. In the age of the internet, many competent singing teachers are marketing their services online. Many even recorded their lessons on CDs so that students can practice their singing anytime and anywhere in the world.
As these teachers market their singing lessons online, you will be able to check their competency, credibility, surf their reviews as well as contact some of their students to verify their testimonials.
Of course, it would be ideal if you could find a competent vocal coach for one on one coaching. However, if traveling, distance, time and expensive singing lessons are issues to you, then getting pre-recorded singing lessons from a proven singing teacher is a good option.
LEON
Sep
27
How to Increase Your Income as a Private Music Teacher
Filed Under Art And Entertainment | Comments Off
Kevin Tuck asked:
In Private Music teaching the teacher often is forced to teach small groups or one on one lessons at low fees, which are sometimes fixed by the school or association they teach within.
In a private studio or in a school, the monetary arrangements for this kind of music lesson involves the parent paying the teacher “per lesson” and it is these kind of teachers that this article hopes to help increase their income.
In this article are four strategies for increasing income as a private music teacher - some of them may not be suitable for every teacher, but hopefully they will give you some insights on how private music teachers can improve their income.
Strategy #1 - Never refund or credit a lesson because its in the clients best interest
Students miss lessons. It’s a fact. People get sick, there are special sporting events that happen, there are times when for whatever reason students are going to miss their music lesson. The fact is that this is unavoidable. What you can do as a music teacher is have a policy that says that “lessons are always made-up, they are never refunded or credited to your account”, however the important thing that is often missed in this is the WHY of that statement… it should be because it is necessary for the student’s progress on their instrument.
If you use this philosophy you won’t ever have to argue with parents over it - because its in the students interest, not yours! If you start the arrangement with this agreement in place you’ll find it much easier to enforce it - the parents will make the effort to make up the lesson rather than you having to insist on it. If you have outcomes for the student (such as an assessment or exam) in place it makes it even easier to make sure that it happens.
You will need to make time to make the lessons up - it might be necessary to allow one or two days in the holidays or during non-contact time to do it, but you’ll find that the ability to do this will be worth it in extra income. Very often the parents will not bother making it up, and you’ll not have to credit or refund any money!
Strategy #2 - Find your Niche and make yourself exclusive in that Niche
If you have something special about your teaching you’ll find that you’ll attract more and better quality students, and you’ll be able to charge more.
For example, lets say you teach the guitar.
If you teach anyone who comes you’ll probably end up with some young children, some high school children, and maybe one or two adults and you’ll have to teach a variety of styles depending on the type of music that the students like.
If however….. you start a niche business, specializing in only one area you’ll eventually find that people will seek you out because you are a specialist, and you’ll be able to charge more for your services and you’ll be able to only take on the students you want.
Examples of a niche business for guitar might be: - A business that specializes in guitar for young children - A business that helps adults fulfill their dreams of playing guitar in a band - A business that specializes in heavy metal guitar
These are just examples - there are literally thousands of possibilities, but the niche must be something that customers actually want, it cant be something that you think might be good!
Strategy #3 - Increase your retention rate and don’t take on every student
Increasing your retention rate is vital for all businesses - but particularly for music teachers - where your income is determined by the number of students you are teaching multiplied by the dollars that you charge.
If you can cut down on the number of students you lose, while you simultaneously increase the quality of those students you’ll have a better income, and a more satisfying teaching career as well.
There is no way you should accept every student that you get offered. Not every student is going to be right for you - they often are looking to learn different things to what you offer, and they might not be as reliable in terms of paying their fees and attending lessons as your regular students, so you should always meet and interview prospective students before you agree to teach them.
By avoiding “problem” students in the first place you’ll be able to spend your time with more productive activities and better quality students.. and this will increase your income in the longer term.
Most of the problems with retention can be traced back to one thing - the students lack motivation because they don’t practice enough. We have various strategies for increasing retention rate by encouraging practice at the Fun Music company teachers blog, which you’ll find a link to at the end of this article.
Strategy #4 - Add passive income streams to your business
Teaching income is active income - if you stop teaching the income stops. That is ok.. because it is like any earned income. What you should be looking to do is also add passive income to your business.
Do you write any teaching materials which can be used in music classes or lessons?
If so you are in the perfect position to add passive income to your income mix. All you have to do is find a way to publish your materials so that your students and others can access them. It can be as simple as getting the materials printed and bound at a copy shop just for your students only.
Do you purchase books and music for your students and pass them on to them?
If so you may be able to negotiate bulk discounts from suppliers and then add the full retail cost of the books to the students account. Parents will appreciate the convenience of not having to go into a shop to purchase the books if you put it through your business.
Can you sell leads to other teachers or businesses?
For example students all need to purchase instruments. Sometimes possible is an arrangement where you can can get a monetary commission from a music store if you refer your students to purchase their instruments there. This is certainly possible on the internet, via the use of affiliate programs.
I hope this article has given you some ideas of ways that you can improve your income as a private music teacher. I was a private music teacher for over ten years, and I’ve used all of these strategies during that time. Private music teaching should be fun and rewarding, and it gives you freedom to practice what you love, which is sharing the joy of music with others.
MARY
In Private Music teaching the teacher often is forced to teach small groups or one on one lessons at low fees, which are sometimes fixed by the school or association they teach within.
In a private studio or in a school, the monetary arrangements for this kind of music lesson involves the parent paying the teacher “per lesson” and it is these kind of teachers that this article hopes to help increase their income.
In this article are four strategies for increasing income as a private music teacher - some of them may not be suitable for every teacher, but hopefully they will give you some insights on how private music teachers can improve their income.
Strategy #1 - Never refund or credit a lesson because its in the clients best interest
Students miss lessons. It’s a fact. People get sick, there are special sporting events that happen, there are times when for whatever reason students are going to miss their music lesson. The fact is that this is unavoidable. What you can do as a music teacher is have a policy that says that “lessons are always made-up, they are never refunded or credited to your account”, however the important thing that is often missed in this is the WHY of that statement… it should be because it is necessary for the student’s progress on their instrument.
If you use this philosophy you won’t ever have to argue with parents over it - because its in the students interest, not yours! If you start the arrangement with this agreement in place you’ll find it much easier to enforce it - the parents will make the effort to make up the lesson rather than you having to insist on it. If you have outcomes for the student (such as an assessment or exam) in place it makes it even easier to make sure that it happens.
You will need to make time to make the lessons up - it might be necessary to allow one or two days in the holidays or during non-contact time to do it, but you’ll find that the ability to do this will be worth it in extra income. Very often the parents will not bother making it up, and you’ll not have to credit or refund any money!
Strategy #2 - Find your Niche and make yourself exclusive in that Niche
If you have something special about your teaching you’ll find that you’ll attract more and better quality students, and you’ll be able to charge more.
___________________________________________________________________
For example, lets say you teach the guitar.
If you teach anyone who comes you’ll probably end up with some young children, some high school children, and maybe one or two adults and you’ll have to teach a variety of styles depending on the type of music that the students like.
If however….. you start a niche business, specializing in only one area you’ll eventually find that people will seek you out because you are a specialist, and you’ll be able to charge more for your services and you’ll be able to only take on the students you want.
Examples of a niche business for guitar might be: - A business that specializes in guitar for young children - A business that helps adults fulfill their dreams of playing guitar in a band - A business that specializes in heavy metal guitar
These are just examples - there are literally thousands of possibilities, but the niche must be something that customers actually want, it cant be something that you think might be good!
Strategy #3 - Increase your retention rate and don’t take on every student
Increasing your retention rate is vital for all businesses - but particularly for music teachers - where your income is determined by the number of students you are teaching multiplied by the dollars that you charge.
If you can cut down on the number of students you lose, while you simultaneously increase the quality of those students you’ll have a better income, and a more satisfying teaching career as well.
There is no way you should accept every student that you get offered. Not every student is going to be right for you - they often are looking to learn different things to what you offer, and they might not be as reliable in terms of paying their fees and attending lessons as your regular students, so you should always meet and interview prospective students before you agree to teach them.
By avoiding “problem” students in the first place you’ll be able to spend your time with more productive activities and better quality students.. and this will increase your income in the longer term.
Most of the problems with retention can be traced back to one thing - the students lack motivation because they don’t practice enough. We have various strategies for increasing retention rate by encouraging practice at the Fun Music company teachers blog, which you’ll find a link to at the end of this article.
Strategy #4 - Add passive income streams to your business
Teaching income is active income - if you stop teaching the income stops. That is ok.. because it is like any earned income. What you should be looking to do is also add passive income to your business.
Do you write any teaching materials which can be used in music classes or lessons?
If so you are in the perfect position to add passive income to your income mix. All you have to do is find a way to publish your materials so that your students and others can access them. It can be as simple as getting the materials printed and bound at a copy shop just for your students only.
Do you purchase books and music for your students and pass them on to them?
If so you may be able to negotiate bulk discounts from suppliers and then add the full retail cost of the books to the students account. Parents will appreciate the convenience of not having to go into a shop to purchase the books if you put it through your business.
Can you sell leads to other teachers or businesses?
For example students all need to purchase instruments. Sometimes possible is an arrangement where you can can get a monetary commission from a music store if you refer your students to purchase their instruments there. This is certainly possible on the internet, via the use of affiliate programs.
I hope this article has given you some ideas of ways that you can improve your income as a private music teacher. I was a private music teacher for over ten years, and I’ve used all of these strategies during that time. Private music teaching should be fun and rewarding, and it gives you freedom to practice what you love, which is sharing the joy of music with others.
MARY