A Brief History of Voice Lessons

Voice lessons and singing instruction have probably been around since music was invented, but the idea of formalized, one-on-one instruction emerged with opera in the early 1600s.  Before opera, singing didn’t require in-depth vocal training.  As people do not naturally create such resonant tones, singing lessons became necessary for aspiring opera singers.
 
Initially, singing lessons (and training for an opera career) were only for the nobility and wealthy.   Voice lessons were a part of overall music education given to children of the nobility, along with song-writing, piano, and other instruments.  But as industrialization created a solid middle-class in Europe, singing lessons (along with piano instruction) became a fixture of middle-class life. 
 
The spread of sheet music, a middle-class with money to spend on music education, and mass entertainment such as opera and vocal recitals created the demand for professional voice teachers who could focus solely on voice lessons for income.  While most music professionals still branched out and taught other instruments and subjects, the idea of a voice teacher solely focused on teaching vocal lessons was no longer an impossibility.  The same evolution was occurring within all music careers.  Composers, instrumentalists, singers etc...were all able to become more specialized and devoted to one aspect of their profession because middle-class Europe was able to support a large class of professional artists.
 
What is perhaps most surprising is that the actual singing lessons and exercises used today have not evolved that much from instruction in the 1600s.  The vocal exercises and warmups are basically the same because the human vocal instrument has not changed.  To create resonance and a beautiful tone, certain elements of breath control, vocal tract shape, and projection must be produced in a certain manner.
 
What did change was technology.  The invention of microphones and artificial amplification changed two aspects of voice lessons.  First, voice teachers did not have to focus so much on creating resonance to power over orchestras and large concert halls.  This opened a huge realm of possibilities on how a person could sound and still be heard by an audience.  In addition, amplification allowed new genres of music to emerge, which would require different styles of singing lessons.  Rock and roll, country, big-band, you name it…none of those would exist as commercial music without microphones. 
 
The market for singing lessons is now massive due to the different styles of singing.  Whereas voice lessons were once the realm of only opera singers and rich patrons, most middle-class families can afford lessons and tailor their instruction to widely different music genres.

DWS