It is challenging times we are living in, and as I sit here quarantined in my New York City apartment I am grateful to be able to teach voice lessons to my students through the power of the Internet. Teaching voice lessons online allows me to work with students all around the world. Online singing lessons may be a new concept to a lot you and you may have some reservations, so that’s why I wanted to share with you the Top 5 Reasons Why You Should Take Online Voice Lessons:
1. Learn From A Voice Teacher from Anywhere
One of the best advantages of taking online singing lessons is that you have the power to be super selective in choosing the right voice teacher for you because you are not limited by location. You could live in Texas and work with a voice teacher in New York City or California or London; the possibilities endless.
Some of you may have found the perfect voice teacher in your hometown, in which case, congrats! But some of you may find it challenging to attain that perfect voice teacher. You may be a musical theatre professional but can’t find the right teacher who specializes in both technique and vocal performance. You may just want to take voice lessons for fun and love singing pop/rock music but can’t find a voice professional who can help you belt out those songs in a healthy way. Whatever genres you are interested in, online voice lessons give you the power to work with top professionals.
I know how hard it can be to find the right teacher because singing lessons can be a very personal and emotional endeavor. Take the time to do your research, speak with your prospective voice teacher on the phone, and ask them questions. Find the right teacher for you without location being a barrier!
2. Sing From The Comfort Of Your Own Home
The beauty of taking online voice lessons is that you can take the lesson from the comfort of your own home. You don’t have to get in your car or take public transit to get there, you can simply open up your computer in any room at home and you are ready to go!
Now, to make sure that you can fully take advantage of having a lesson from your home make sure that you have a strong Internet connection; check to make sure your Wi-Fi is solid, or plug in directly with an Ethernet cable. Next, find a space in your home that is quiet where you won’t be interrupted – you don’t want to be belting out your favorite part of a song had have your kids, your dog or the phone interrupt you mid note. And lastly, download the appropriate online app before your lesson starts. If you are using apps such as Zoom, Skype or Facetime for your singing lesson, make sure you have tried it out beforehand so that no time is wasted in figuring out technical details during your singing lesson.
3. Save Time & Money
Another advantage of being able to take a singing lesson online is that you get to save time and money. You don’t have to spend a half an hour (or more) commuting each way to your lesson. You don’t have to spend money on transit or parking or gas for your car. If you are a professional performer and are running around auditioning, working your day job etc. saving an hour or more out of our day is a big deal. Or if you are a beginner singer who is taking lessons for fun, but have a family and a full time job, you definitely know that your time is valuable. Whatever your scenario is I think we can all agree that saving time and money is a huge bonus!
4. Record Your Lessons With Ease
The great thing about using an application like Zoom for your singing lessons is that you can record your lessons within the app. It’s a wonderful tool to have the option of recording video and audio. This can be incredibly helpful because it allows you to look back on your lesson and refer to a specific part of the lesson that you made a big vocal discovery or revisit an exercise that was incredibly beneficial. Online lessons allow you to record your singing lessons with ease.
5. Work Your Ears Like Never Before
The main difference between having an online voice lesson as opposed to an in person lesson is that the voice teacher cannot play the piano “live” with you. This is because there is a very small delay when using applications like Zoom or Skype and your singing teacher can’t play the piano in time with you as you sing. You may be thinking that this is a huge drawback, but it is actually a huge blessing as a singer because it is forcing you to work your ears like never before. So, when you are working on technical exercises in an online lesson the singing teacher would demonstrate the exercise and play the melody of the exercise, then you would sing it acapella (meaning on your own without any instrumental accompaniment).
I actually have a perfect example of how online lessons benefited a student of mine. This student has been coming to me for in person lessons for the past 7 months. As a beginner/new to voice lessons she would rely on me playing the piano to help her out with her exercises, and when it came to singing her songs I would need to play out the melody for her. She liked to call this her “training wheels”. Since moving our lessons to online, she is doing all of our technical exercises on her own and is singing her songs to karaoke tracks without the “safety” of me playing the melody. This is huge for her and is building her strength and confidence as a singer. Thanks online singing lessons!
Whether you are taking singing lessons to hone your craft, to advance your career or you just want to escape for an hour of musical fun, just know that you have the option of taking a voice lesson with a wonderful teacher from the comfort of your own home. If you are still unsure about online singing lessons then I encourage you to reach out to a singing teacher, ask questions and give it a try. Happy singing everyone!