Voice students come in all sizes and flavors-from the lady who doesn't read a note of music but sings country duets with her husband to the shy fifteen-year-old who wants "to be in a show" (and has ten years of piano behind her) to the guitar-player who sings vocals with his rock band (he wants to get those high notes) to the eight-year-old whose mother thinks "she has a nice singing voice." What they have in common is that they've never taken a voice lesson before and that, unlike a beginning piano student, they can already sing-some of them quite well. My goal is to build on the talent and skill they've developed on their own, and to eliminate bad habits.

Since I teach out of a music store, I don't have the hassles described in other articles (billing, abusive parents, siblings who wander into the private spaces of my home). The store recruits, schedules, and bills the students, and provides a studio equipped with an electric piano. Of course they take their cut, but it works for me.

The vast majority of my students are young (age 8 to 17) or adults. College-age voice students are usually taught by a faculty member at their University. This article is directed at teaching young (mostly female) voice students. Although some of the recommendations apply to adult beginners, most adults have very individualized goals and different vocal problems than children.

You'll notice that I use a lot of humor in my lessons. This is because the students come to my studio with big desire (voice students are very self-motivated!)-and sometimes they come with big dreams--but they also bring their fears. I want them to relax (no tension in your throat, right?) and to develop the confidence and the "presence" to be a soloist.

Equipping your studio
As I said, the store provides a small room with an electric piano. I also have
· A Karaoke machine (this is better than a boom-box)
· Tape-recorder (and extra batteries)
· Hand-held mirror, unless there is a mirror in your studio.
· Drum-head, drum-sticks and metronome (best if you can get the kind where the down-beat sounds different)
· Envelopes and cellophane tape (used in the 2nd lesson)
· A small digital clock that shows seconds
· Pencils
· Your own copies of all music and CDs that you assign to students
· A sight-reading book (my recommendation is below)
· A music manuscript book
· Music stand (the sturdier, the better)
· One chair

In addition, I have a large bin full of music and Karaoke tapes and CDs that I have collected through the years, Broadway music, country music, Spanish music, Vaccai, Clippinger, you name it. It's often fun for the students to sing a Karaoke version of their song with full orchestration.

The First Lesson

The student arrives-a stranger to me, since the store arranged the lesson-accompanied by a parent. We introduce ourselves and usually the parent asks a series of questions. If the parent seems very uncertain, I offer one trial lesson, for which they pay me directly. Otherwise, they sign up and pay the store for the first month before we start. Then I take the student to my studio. I strongly discourage parents from sitting in on the first lesson but in rare cases I do permit it. Often the student will not speak up when the parent is present.

The student signs the roster sheet (sometimes asking, "in cursive?"), and I invite her to sit down-for the last time. After the first lesson she will never sit again. I ask the student a series of questions: "Have you studied any musical instrument, if so, for how long?" "Do you sing in your school or church choir?" "Why do you want to take voice lessons?" "What kind of music do you like, name some of your favorite singers." The variety of answers I get is amazing.

Then I describe how the voice lessons will be organized. It is a ½ hour lesson, the first fifteen minutes consist of vocal technique and development of musical skills. The second fifteen minutes consist of learning repertory (a word I must often explain).

Although I invite the student to bring a song she wishes to sing for an audition or choir solo, I inform her, that, in general "I will choose your repertory for you." This is because one of my jobs is to expand musical horizons. Next, I explain the policy for credits, make-up lessons, snow days, etc. Finally, I ask if the student has any questions for me. Usually they don't, but sometimes they will ask something like, "Do you really sing jazz?" (Yes.)

Talking to the parent and the interview with the student takes about fifteen minutes, and now it's time to hear the student actually sing. ROSE'S RULE 1: You're not chewing gum, are you???

I have the student stand and show her the singing posture. Handing her a mirror, I show her the mouth position for the vowel "Ah," telling her, "Put three fingers in your mouth, see how wide your mouth is open, take the fingers out. Keep your mouth that wide open, keep looking in the mirror and at your audience." ROSE'S RULE 2: Cultivate vanity.

My studio is sound-proofed with purple carpeting, so I tell the student, "those thousands of purple people out there are your audience, great audience, they pay attention perfectly and never boo." ROSE'S RULE 3: my hands know how to play the piano and the floor does not need your supervision-nor does the wall need your support.

At this point I take the student through a few vocal exercises so that I can judge her ability to match pitch, her vocal range (students will often resist going into the head voice, but I take them there anyway), her ability to sing legato and staccato, and her ability to hear and understand my corrections and to make adjustments. Then I have the student learn (by ear) a simple song so that I can judge how well she listens to pitch and rhythm, and how accurately and expressively she pronounces the text. This is usually enough for me to judge which book I will use for repertory.

Finally, I outline the requirements for the next lesson. To the second lesson the students must bring a blank cassette tape and a music manuscript book. They must memorize the syllables for the major scale ("Do-re-mi")--which I have written out for them on a page of manuscript page--forwards and backwards. ROSE'S RULE 4: Memorize, memorize, memorize.

If the book that they will use for repertory costs under 25 dollars, then they must buy it and bring it to the next lesson (see below). If the book is more expensive, then they must buy it by the beginning of the second month of lessons. In other words, they have a month to decide if they are committed to voice lessons before they must lay out a lot of money.

Repertory Books for Beginners

Age 8 to 11
· Solos for Kids, compiled by Louise Lerch (Hal Leonard). Comes with CD, each song is sung by a child on one track, and a second track is accompaniment only. (Some of the songs are pretty silly!)
· Solos from Musicals for Kids, compiled by Louise Lerch (Hal Leonard). As above, comes with CD. WARNING: Never let a child sing "Tomorrow" from the musical Annie. Very damaging to the voice unless you have a natural belter, and what 9 year-old is a natural belter?

Beginners with "challenges"
Most students 12 and older have rudimentary vocal skills, but some don't (same with adults). Also, I have students for whom English is not their native language. For these students I recommend Teach Yourself to Sing by Karen Farnum Surmani (Alfred Publishing Company). It comes with a CD, with melody and sometimes singer recorded on a separate track, so you can cut out the melody (or singer) with your Karaoke machine as the student develops her skill. I've looked at many "teach yourself" books, and this is the best of the lot.

All other beginners
I use Basics of Singing by Jan Schmidt, Fourth Edition (Shirmer Books) for my older students-and the younger ones when they "graduate" from the children's books. It comes with two CDs. The student (or parents) will be forking out 80 dollars (US) for the book and CDs, so I don't require it until the second month of lessons. However, it will last about two years (till they are ready for the 24 Italian, or some other "classical" repertory book for their voice part.

Sight-reading
In addition to exercises that I developed myself, I use Successful Sight-Singing - Vocal Edition by Nancy Teller (Neil A. Kjos Music Company, San Diego, CA). The student starts off with "Do-sol" songs in various keys, then "mi" is added, then "re," etc. The rhythmic difficulty also increases gradually. Most of the exercises are in two parts, so I sing one part and the student the other. This also helps the student with voice independence, with hearing intervals, and with listening to other singers for ensemble.

Rhythm
I'm kind of a fanatic about teaching rhythm ("How do you know when a female vocalist is knocking at your door?" Answer: "She never knows when to come in.") I use Joel Rothman's Teaching Rhythm (JR Publications, Fort Lauderdale, FL), together with the drum head, sticks and metronome.