How Much Should Voice Lessons Cost?
Are you the parent of a child who loves to sing? Or perhaps you have been itching to get voice lessons for yourself! If either of these are the case, you are likely curious how much should voice lessons cost. As the director of the Maestro Musicians Academy, a music school that serves greater Boston with in-person singing lessons and the world with voice lessons online, I am often confronted with the blunt question of "How much do you charge" before a prospective client has even had the chance to learn about our own unique value proposition.
My intention is not to criticize you, my dear reader, but rather, to give some insight as to rephrase the question from "How Much Should Voice Lessons Cost" to "How do I to Find the Best Value in Voice Lessons for my Particular Situation". Why? Because merely assigning a number to a service, whether it's voice lessons or electrical work assumes that all vendors provide identical work and that all clients are asking for the same services. The basic idea is that we want to approach our search for a voice teacher with the intention of getting the experience that we deserve. Is it wise to compare the market to know what a ballpark figure is? Absolutely, but without an understanding of what one is looking for, the danger is that a random number that pops up on the internet to answer the original question will just be that - a random number, that tells you nothing of what you get for your money.
SO...Let's talk about a "good result"!
If you are fortunate to live in an area that has a vibrant choral scene or local universities and conservatories that teach the vocal arts, you will be privileged to have a wide range of vocal teachers who are looking for students. Some of these teachers might be graduate students, young professionals, or seasoned studio owners. The general rule of thumb is that the longer a teacher has been working as an educator or performer, the higher his or her value in terms lesson fees. Why is this so? Quite simply, aside from the fact that these musicians usually go through years of education in order to learn classical music to an extremely high level, the more experience they have teaching, the more they will be able to articulate what it is that you as a student need to develop your voice in the fastest and most efficient way possible.
Typical examples of vocal technique range from vocal warm ups to exercises in diction, foreign-language pronunciation, learning how to sing in-tune, and learning how to extend your vocal range. These are important skills that support the goal of projecting your voice with confidence, whether on stage, or in your day-to-day life. Afterall, how many of us would love to be more in control of what comes out of our mouths in many situations!
Because of the fact that every city is different in terms of cost of living, the real answer to the question above is actually not something I can give you. You will find that a vocal instructor in Cleveland, for instance, might be much cheaper, than a singing instructor in New York City. You could say the same thing about plumbers and electricians, due to the radically different cost of living if you compare housing prices and the rental market.
So what is one to do? It is important that you do your homework on two separate fronts. You want to call around, do Google searches, and ask for recommendations from friends. The latter point segues into my second front, which is that when you do your research in looking for the right vocal instructor, references are VERY important. For instance, does the school that your prospective voice teacher hails from have good Google reviews? Or, if the teacher is independently working, can he or she give you references from parents or adults in your situation? There is absolutely no harm in becoming an educated customer by asking for these references, the teacher's price of lessons, and then making the best decision based on the value proposition at hand. Shopping around and finding out your local options in this way will give you the best answer to the question "How Much Should Voice Lessons Cost".
Good luck in your search and happy singing!
Daniel C. Broniatowski, D.M.A.
Maestro Musicians
Voice Lessons in Greater Boston and Online