So my singing lessons are £10 for half an hour but I'm not sure if my singing teacher is just ripping me off because i don't feel like they're helping me improve.
My teacher is a very good, powerful singer so she can sing.
In the lesson, the first 10(ish) minutes we do warm ups on the piano, so we do scales like 'la la la' and 'dew dew dew' etc. and we also then do extended scales or something where instead of 'dew dew dew' it would be 'de-e-e-e-ew'.
Then the next 20minutes is spent just singing songs while she plays the piano, i'm learning new songs with her but the songs we do, i really don't enjoy. They're really old songs but she says she doesn't like to do modern charts stuff because they are too repetitive. She has never taught me anything about breathing, no breathing techniques or spoke anything about the diaphragm. Also, when i'm home and singing there's nothing i can think of that she has taught me to remember to do when singing.
I don't really feel like the lessons are doing much but i've never had singing lessons before so i can't really compare them.

Your views?

oh and i forgot to add, we do a little sight singing notes along with the piano

Hey,

I'm currently taking singing lessons as well, at the same rate (£10 for 30 Minutes), and I can assure you, it isn't a waste of time. I've been going to my lessons for nearly 2 years now, and I can't tell you just how much my voice has improved. I wouldn't worry about the breathing to begin with, concentrate on the scales, as breathing and technique tends to come naturally with that (also if your not aware... though I'm sure you are, breath from the diaphragm/tummy, as that will control the voice easier).

As for your old songs, a teacher tends to assess where your voice lies before pushing on to difficult things. My teacher for example, found I'll excel at musicals and jazz, and worked with me there, before tackling pop and rock.

And give it a few more weeks, and if your still unhappy take a look around for a different teacher. Sometimes it takes the right teacher for the right person

Emmi

Lol, I missed your bit about the diaphragm... I'm a div.

There are a lot of amazing voice coaches out there but you really need to get the right one for you. The problem is, all the really good ones charge a lot.

If you don't feel satisfied with the progress (or lack thereof) that you are making, I'd suggest you look elsewhere. Whilst it's not a completely wasted experience for you, if you're serious about your singing and if you're not making any improvements with your tutor you could probably learn a lot more from someone else.

Check out this article on Top UK Voice coach Kim Chandler's website about finding a singing teacher that's right for you:
http://www.kimchandler.com/vocal-coach/choosing-the-right-vocal-teacher/

To me, £10 for half an hour sounds very cheap. I pay £60 an hour for my singing lessons and I feel like I walk away from my lessons knowing a heck of a lot more.

Hope that helps!

The more you practice, the better you get. So your lessons aren't a waste of time. However, most the time, it is a case of the better teacher, the more they charge. a bad teacher could be giving you bad advice, and thus be damaging your voice.

I also recommend singing in a choir or some sort of group - friendly support and advice can go a long way in helping you directly - and in helping you find the right coach.

Also - singing with other people has to be the most uplifting thing you can ever do.

By the way - -f you are interested in reading music and singing, check out my App..
..a sight reading exercise game called Note Hitter

www.notehitter.scalehelper.com

It's addictive. (iPhone only - sorry)

I'll check out your App. It sounds interesting. I've been using an iPhone App called Provocalz. It's helping me a great deal. It's also fun.

My singing teacher came recommended via my 'Sing for Pleasure' class tutor, and I hit lucky straightaway. Although she's an operatic soprano in her own right, she teaches mainly adults and encourages us to sing a wide range of songs in all sorts of different styles and genres. Most of what we sing in lessons is by mutual choice. Sometimes she will ask me to try stuff that I'm not keen on but then we're still at the 'finding out what you like' stage and you never know what you'll like 'til you try. She charges me £15 for half an hour and I consider it excellent value.

I understand what your teacher means about the repetitiveness of some modern songs, and many of them have very little to challenge the developing singer. Still, if your teacher is intent on your singing 'her' choice of material all the time then you're not going to enjoy your singing. And it's meant to be enjoyed! Why not try and do a deal with her? For every two of 'her' songs that you master, ask her to let you sing one of 'yours'. If you want a good guide to material that has a little musical merit then you could do worse than take a look at the ABRSM and Trinity Guildhall syllabi.

If you are not happy then your money is being wasted.
Before anything else your teacher should ask what you want to learn. And breathing should be addressed before anything else. I can work with you on old music or new music, it doesn't matter if it is repetitive I will work on your technique regardless of the content.

Warm ups?! I expect students to warm up before the lesson. Now and then we will go over the warm ups so I can verify the student is doing them correctly but not each and every lesson.

Take two or three lessons from several different teachers and then decide which one you like best. Beware!!!! watch for what you are learning not who is the nicest.

I don't think I've met any teacher, vocal or instrumental, who didn't begin a lesson - certainly at the earlier stages, without a few minutes' warm-up at the beginning. It's vital that we warm up correctly and safely, and teachers can show us how to do this. They can also use the time to assess a pupil's strengths and areas for development. I'm an experienced enough musician to be able to do a gentle warm-up in the car on the way to my lesson but we always do a 'proper' one when I get there.

Neither would I advocate trying out two or three teachers and picking the one you like. A good teacher is as much about building up a working relationship as the lesson content. It could be that this isn't happening in Molly's case and she therefore may well want to consider another teacher who teaches in her learning style. If she does that then she'll need at least few lessons in order to establish any kind of relationship (remember 'forming-norming-storming-performing'?). But teachers in an area tend to know one another and anyone who tries out a series of teachers for couple of lessons at a time will soon get a reputation as a time-waster and will find other teachers are reluctant to take them on.

I would suggest that if Molly does decide to change her teacher then she asks around for recommendations - singing friends, choir directors, school/college music teachers etc.

Every lesson starts easily and boring. Be patient. I think you‘ll get better.
For example my teacher‘d launchec lessons boring, but than, we‘ve started enjoying activites like musical intelligence tests etc.

It's important to find the right teacher. There are so many teachers to choose from. My first teacher was not helping me and we took too long to find another. I wish we (parents and I) had looked sooner but we didn't know that other teacher could be so different.

My second teacher was great. His classes were over skype and I learned a huge number of techniques for singing. Then when I focused my style to classical I had to find the right teacher for that. Now I learn from a retired opera singer and he has taught me tons of stuff for singing opera and classical arias.

I guess my point is that you need to get the right teacher ASAP. Look around. Don't settle on the first teacher you find or the most convenient one. Search through the internet and then search for reviews on the ones you find. It's worth the effort.