Hi Matthew,
Although I'm not able to give you a straight solution to your problem
an although I can't listen to your voice, I can perhaps give
you some insights I gathered from my lifelong struggle to
become a good singer and my experience with voice teachers.
IMO there are two major 'pitfalls' w.r.t. voice teaching:
- It is very difficult to give direct instructions to a student
on what to do with his vocal organ. Most of the time the teacher
resorts to teaching by imitation or by imagery. If you misunderstand
the imagery of the teacher you will never accomplish what he asks
you to do and he himself may not even be aware of the fact that you
do not grasp what he means and he (and you) will eventually think
that you lack talent. This is not your fault, but the teacher's.
- Many teachers are primarily trained as musicians and some of
them are grossly misinformed about the workings of the voice.
What they have to say may sound very impressive and it may even
be indistinguishable to a less advanced student's ears from what
a good teacher has to say. I have met several of these teachers
in my life and I'm pretty sure that they have delayed my
development as a singer by more than the seven years you say you
are studying.
So here's a couple of points to consider:
- You definitely need a good teacher, who makes sense to YOU. Maybe
someone on the list can recommend you a good teacher in NY ?
- You are 25 which is still quite young. Provided you can find a
good teacher, there is still plenty of time, so don't worry about
that. It is not uncommon for someone to need a long time to
'get started'.
- If you have a healthy voice and you're musical, you should be able
to learn to sing well. Whether you will be a star is another
matter. Unfortunately there is no guarantee for that.
- Be critical. You have to become your own voice teacher as well,
otherwise taking lessons is not very effective. Don't believe
everything you're told. Give feedback to the teacher (in a non-
offensive way of course ;) ).
There is no voice teacher in the world that will make you a good
singer if you just passively do what you're told.
I wouldn't throw in the towel just like that :).
Hope this helps.
Wim Ritzerfeld
baritone, engineer and aspiring voice teacher
Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Matthew wrote:
> to accomplish in my adult life, but have not yet. But, as my
> financial situation has changed within the last year, I've started
> thinking about whether or not it is a good idea for me to continue
> with this. I'm a little wary of continuing to throw hundreds and
> hundreds of dollars at my voice trying to make it work, when it
> just never seems to want to do anything the teachers try to get it
> to.
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