Contacting College Voice Teachers

Once you've decided on your top 5 music schools, the next step is to start contacting voice teachers for a lesson/interview.  This is extremely important for two reasons: one, your voice teacher is the most crucial component to a successful music career in college and beyond, and two, if the voice teacher likes you a lot, they will fight for your admission.

There is a very simple etiquette to contacting voice teachers at college.  Here are the steps.

1) Figure out who you want to have a lesson with.
2) Call or email the teachers.  State that you will be auditioning in the near future and would like to have a trial lesson.  Ask how much they charge for a half-hour or hour lesson (they may do it for free, but it is polite to ask and not expect a free lesson) and if they have any availability before the audition. 
3) Give the voice teacher a week to respond.  If they do not respond in a week, try again by email or phone (whatever method you did not use at first) and repeat step #2.
4) When you have your lesson, dress professionally and be warmed up BEFORE the lesson starts.  First impressions are critical.  This is a job interview for all intents and purposes.

Hopefully, the teachers will respond promptly and you will find a great teacher for your college.  If they do not respond, do not be disheartened.  They may simply not have the time or offer trial lessons to incoming freshmen.  Try some other teachers and see if anyone else suits your learning style.

DWS