The Biz
PASSiNG iT ON
A
re
you
are
considering taking
up teaching? Maybe
you’ve started and
are realizing that there is
more to it than you first
thought, or maybe you are a
teacher with many years of
experience just curious to
see how others do it. No
matter where you are in the
process I hope this column
will either help you get
started, fill in gaps in your
teaching practice or open a
dialogue about the craft of
teaching singing.!
!
Being a private singing
teacher can be a bit of a
lonely job. Teachers often
crave the stimulation of other
like-minded folk as well as !
seek opportunities for
ongoing professional
development. Hopefully this
column will be a useful forum
for singing teachers!!
!
The why"
Taking up teaching is a
common occurrence for
jobbing singers. It’s a great
way to earn money whilst
staying within the profession.
There is also the
convenience of being able to
work a teaching schedule
around gigs, family, holidays
and other commitments,
offering much more flexibility
and stimulation than a soulsacrificing day job. You can
TEACHING
SINGING
target a wide variety of
student levels, ages, vocal
styles and performance
needs based on your own
experience and know-how.!
!
Some, like myself, decide that
they want to dedicate their
career to teaching; others use
it as a means to supplement
their income. Both are valid.
The first hurdle is learning the
craft. Sadly there are not
many places you can go to
study the process of
becoming a singing teacher.!
!
Many teachers start out by
either copying their own
teachers’ style and method;
some ‘wing it’, to varying
degrees of success; others
find a specific technique with
a training process. The
appalling truth is that there
are many teachers out there
have who have little or no
understanding of the teaching
process or how students
learn, let alone the skills to
develop another’s voice or
how to correct vocal issues.
Even worse is there are times
when an uneducated teacher
actually does harm to their
student’s voice or psyche.
This, in my mind is
unforgivable.!
!
Ensuring singing students
have access to high levels of
teaching expertise has been
my driving force as a teacher
trainer. I want to help educate
singing teachers in the craft
and process of one2one
singing teaching. I believe
that singing teachers should
have a high level of
understanding of the vocal
instrument i.e. anatomy and
physiology, how to assess it,
train and develop it, as well
as an understanding
of
performance, vocal health,
student personalities and
learning styles and good
business practices.!
!
This column will cover many
of these topics and more. !
So let’s go!
Swipe to read more!
iSing | issue 1
isingmag.com
»