Take lessons with a singing teacher in Derby

Finding the Perfect Singing Tutor in Derby

While there are some incredibly talented self-taught singers, most of us mere mortals will probably want to look at singing lessons or vocal coaching to help our voice reach its full potential.

Let's look at why singing lessons are that important, the challenges aspiring singers will face, what you can learn about singing whilst still at school, how private singing tutoring can help, and how to find private singing tutors in Derby and around Derbyshire.

Why It's Important to Study Singing

Much like any other musical instrument, you need to learn how to use your voice and singing lessons can ensure that you learn the proper technique required to hit every note and sing well to different musical styles.

There's also the music theory that singers should know. You can't guarantee that you'll always have access to a recording of the song you have to sing so you must learn how to read sheet music and understand music theory so that you can easily sing in any key required of you.

It's also very common for singers to be accompanied by other musicians and most classically trained musicians essentially speak the language of music. To effectively communicate with your fellow musicians, you'll need to have studied music and singing.

Challenges in Singing

While everyone might believe they're an excellent singer in the shower or a karaoke bar, singing well can take years of practice, experience, and training. Your first challenge is to hit the right notes and unlike an instrument like a piano or a guitar, you can't tune your vocal cords to a given note but rather have to learn how to hit the notes within your vocal range.

Even if you can control your voice enough to hit the notes, you also need to control your breathing to ensure that when you do sing the right notes, you sing them well and powerfully. Few things sound worse than a singer running out of breath!

For many families and aspiring singers, there are also financial concerns. Since most singers are required to pay for lessons at a music school or private tuition, this can create a financial barrier that many can't afford or aren't willing to pay for, especially if they're not sure of whether or not they're that interested in singing.

Learning to sing well can also take years so it's a big commitment in terms of time, too. Before you start singing lessons or practising at school, you'll probably want to think about whether you can afford to commit the amount of time required to it.

Areas of Singing Studied at School

School is the one place where students can learn about music and singing for free. A music GCSE is the first real opportunity they have to gain a qualification for their singing so let's see what they can learn.

We've used the AQA music GCSE as an example so keep that in mind if you're studying a music GCSE with another exam board as there may be minor differences.

Music GCSE students will see a lot of music theory including melody, harmony and tonality, structure, tempo, metre, and rhythm, time, texture, and dynamics.

They'll also learn about different musical styles including classical music, contemporary music including pop and rock, and traditional music. The exact styles, songs, and pieces studied differ between exam boards but AQA seems to have a soft spot for The Beatles.

Performing is part of the GCSE exam and students have to do a solo and ensemble performance. These performances can be done using a traditional musical instrument like a piano or a guitar, sung, or even performed using modern music technology like a keyboard with samples or even DJing.

Private Tuition in Singing

Private singing lessons are arguably the best way to improve your voice. After all, everyone has a different voice so you need to ensure that each lesson is tailored to you, your voice, your level, your experience, and your preferred learning style.

Private lessons allow your teacher to listen carefully to your singing, provide personalised feedback, and provide you with the kind of vocal training that mightn't be possible in a class filled with other students.

Private lessons are also an opportunity to focus on the genres of music that you like. It can be hard to enjoy your music lessons if you constantly focus on styles that you hate or songs that you don't like. Whether you're interested in classical music, musical theatre, or rock and roll, you can search for a vocal teacher that specialises in a given genre.

Finding a Singing Tutor in Derby

If you're looking for private singing lessons in Derby, Nottingham, or around Derbyshire, search for them on the Superprof website. There are plenty of tutors ready to help you with music theory, singing, or classical instruments like piano and guitar.

A lot of tutors on the website offer the first hour or lesson for free so try a few different ones out before deciding on which one is right for you, your experience, and your budget.

A face-to-face tutor is the most common type of singing coach and while they tend to charge more than online or group tutors, they also tend to offer the most cost-effective tuition as every minute is spent focusing on their student's vocal needs.

If you can't find any suitable tutors in Derby or Nottingham, you can always broaden your search to include online vocal coaching. As long as you have a decent internet connection, webcam, and microphone, you can learn from tutors all over the world.

For those on a tight budget, group tutoring is an affordable option since the cost of your vocal coaching is shared amongst the other students in attendance. While the tutoring won't be as tailored as the other types of lessons, this can be useful if you're learning to sing in a group like a choir, for example.