I’ve written a lot about what a voice lesson is, what it can be, and even what it should be, because I try to present a positive view of most things. But the time has come to talk about what a voice lesson is NOT.

Why take voice lessons? I get asked this question frequently, especially with regards to the cost. Here are some of the reasons voice lessons are important and potentially life changing. (They certainly did all this for me!)

The process of singing: aka. the generally slow, usually painstaking, often beautiful, and sometimes exciting development of our voices so that they sound the way we want them to sound, do what we want them to do.

I have a confession:

In July, I had my first audition in 8 years.

I had a callback in January.

I did not get cast.

How can the loss of something you never had be so devastating?

Spoiler Alert! This story has an extremely happy ending!

Let’s talk Rejection: It sucks.

You put your heart and soul into auditioning. You put your time and energy and money and psyche into auditioning. You put yourself out there to be judged, critiqued, scrutinized, and ultimately either rejected, or, preferably, chosen.

Sopranos get a bad rap in Musical Theatre today. This makes me mad. I confess, I am myself a soprano, but that is not the only reason it irks me. I’m not quite sure how it came to be that we sopranos are so maligned these days, but here are 10 reasons I think sopranos have the right and need to exist!

I frequently talk with my students (and frankly, myself) about having the courage to believe in themselves and their talent enough to audition. Interestingly, I have noticed that most of the people I have this conversation with are above average, definitively talented students/singers who, for a multitude of reasons (both known and unknown), feel unequal to the task, unqualified to put their voice out in the world. Fear rules them: fear of rejection, of being found out as a fraud, of failure.

LET. IT. GO. Out into the universe. You’ve prepared, you’ve practiced, you’ve done your best work at that time, in that place.

the process of finding great repertoire is like shopping for a great outfit to wear. Yes, a song is like a good piece of clothing; one size does not fit all. The question is: what “fits”?

So, how does one choose the right repertoire?

1. You do NOT get points for trying, meaning: Always choose a song completely within your ability level.

the multi-layered topic of choosing repertoire, for young singers in particular. This is a subject near and dear to my heart as both a singer and a teacher because I know first-hand how incredibly important it is; song choice can make or break an audition or a performance, or a voice for that matter.