Do Adults Take Singing Lessons?

The most often asked question I receive from new voice students is: do you teach adults?

My answer, of course, is YES!

While there are obvious differences between a child and adult voice, the reality is that we all have the same instrument that operates on the same vocal technique - good breath support, posture, resonance etc...there is no real difference in how we sing, but in what we are capable of producing. A child’s instrument will have less power and range than a typical adult. However, children’s voices recover more quickly when the instrument is used poorly, and children also tend to have less bad habits that need to be fixed. 

For adult students, the most critical question is “what are your goals?”  With a child, it is my responsibility as a voice teacher to guide their learning and set appropriate goals for auditions, songs and so forth.

For my adult students, they are truly in command of the lesson.  While I certainly lead on teaching good vocal technique, I give my adult students complete control over the music we work on IF that is what they want. I’ve worked on contemporary Christian, pop, country, rock, you name it...it makes for a very fun and enjoyable lesson because I’m learning about new styles and artists from different genres.  The same goes for auditions: while I can certainly recommend ensembles to audition for, adult students can guide their own music career based on their interests and passions. 

Adults also differ from children because they have greater attention spans.  Whereas I am cautious to make a voice lesson about just one topic for a younger singer, most adults love that sort of detailed work.  Spending ten minutes on perfecting one high note or making a long phrase in one breath is no issue for an adult.

DWS