In answer to this question, you should go to a Singing Teacher who HAS STUDIED HOW TO TEACH SINGING, ASIDE FROM BEING PERFORMERS THEMSELVES, and who has YEARS OF EXPERIENCE DOING BOTH! There are many performers out there who teach but don't have the requisite Singing Teaching training!
So many a Singing Teacher in Singapore are either young music graduates without much teaching and performing experience, or older teachers who do not perform much and who only do classical singing and/or have trained only in classical singing! Then they conduct singing classes that teach pop/R&B/Jazz with their classical techniques!!! THIS IS WRONG! It's like studying classical piano, then going to teach jazz piano! Pop/Jazz/Contemporary Singing call for a singing style and technique that is a modified version of classical singing techniques!
REAL, PROPER and PROFESSIONAL Singing lessons should be taught by Singing Teachers who have years of Performing experience in the genre you like, and who have STUDIED TO TEACH SINGING INSTRUCTION, with many years of teaching Singing!!! A few famous students who sing very well would also be a BIG PLUS!!
REAL PROPER SINGING LESSONS should teach you the proper way to breathe and pitch from the diaphragm, - NOT FROM THE NOSE OR THROAT, NOR ONLY FROM THE "MASK" AND NOT BELT BY SHOUTING!!! Your Vocal Teacher should be able to teach you a safe way to belt if you need to belt!!
You should have a COMPLETE VOCAL TRAINING by teaching you how to read music, too!! In this way, you learn to project your voice and make it more solid and resonant, widen your range, pitch accurately, make your voice even all throughout, clearer and smoother, and you learn to read and understand the music like real musicians do!!! YOU WILL SING BETTER IF YOU UNDERSTAND THE MUSIC WRITTEN FOR IT!!!!
The human voice is an instrument, and whatever you are singing, there are the corresponding notes to it. You should learn the notes to what you are singing!! So, aside from singing techniques, your Vocal Coach should teach you the rudiments of music, in order to know the keys to your songs, to sightsing, to count and differentiate time signatures, harmony, the different genres of music, etc.
You should be able to sing in whatever genre you want– be it pop, jazz, blues, theatre and classical - but you should be taught the techniques specific to the genre!!! Again, your Vocal Coach cannot teach pop singing with classical techniques only! Again, its like a classical pianist teaching jazz or pop piano!!
YOUR SINGING TEACHER MUST TEACH YOU HOW TO READ MUSIC!!!
If your teacher has no knowledge of reading music, and cannot accompany you on piano or guitar or organ, and is grabbing sounds from the air to teach you, this is inadequate singing training! All of the above techniques and rudiments should be taught with the teacher playing the piano/keyboard or guitar for you. She/He should teach the vocal techniques using scales, and various melody patterns, while checking your pitch against the piano/keyboard/guitar. How will your teacher and you be able to tell if you are in pitch except if you pitch it against an instrument? She should be able to accompany you while you are singing. Teachers who teach singing using only instrumental tracks and are not able read and play music themselves to play the scales and accompany you, are just teaching you TO MIMIC and COPY SOUNDS LIKE A PARROT!
CLASSICAL STYLE SINGING IS DIFFERENT FROM POP/JAZZ SINGING!!!
Classical singing techniques and tones are different from pop and jazz technique and tones! Your teacher cannot let you be doing pop/contemporary songs with your head or choir voice only. These are used mainly in classical music! Vice versa, neither should she teach you to sing with your chest voice only. Pop and jazz and R&B call more for a "conversational" style of singing, with some head voice thrown in, and that calls for special belting techniques THAT DO NOT MAKE YOU SHOUT. Shouting is bad for the throat and proper singing teachers should not let you shout and hurt your throat. Note: Please do not listen to classical singing teachers who say singing pop and belting is bad for the voice. No. 1 – there is a way to belt SAFELY and FROM THE DIAPHRAGM that is safe for your throat. No. 2 – Your classical singing teacher probably does not know how to sing pop nor to belt, that is why she says this. Just as to play classical piano has a different style and approach from playing jazz piano and pop piano, you cannot be using classical techniques and approach to sing pop and jazz songs!
SINGING EXAMS SHOULD BE MADE AVAILABLE
If you might want your singing lessons to be accredited or certified, you should have the option of taking the Trinity Guildhall or ABRSM or Rock School Singing Exams!
Vocal Lessons at $75 per session from a Trinity Guildhall-Certified teacher of 16 years teaching at local and international schools, and a seasoned professional singer of 30 years local and international performing experience. Performance/Vocal coaching is also available for semi- professional and professional singers, or for those going for a singing audition. Email at
ladybirdworks@gmail.com for any more enquiries, or call 96512921!!