At your first lesson you will receive a vocal assessment. Below is a brief description of how we assess each new student, and typical lesson structure.
Intro & Meeting
“What would you like to get out of this lesson?”
This question is important for you to think about. CPMS understands that every
singer has different challenges, needs, and goals, so we approach each
student and lesson as a unique experience where the student’s most
pressing needs will be addressed.
Vocal Assessment and Lesson
A 60-minute lesson is recommended to give
us the most accurate assessment of your vocal abilities. In your first
lesson, we will get to know you by asking for your vocal history,
influences, goals, and style. This helps us determine how best to serve
your needs.
We may ask you to sing a song — you can sing anything just so we can get an
idea of your voice and style. Then we will take you through a few
vocal exercises to quickly assess your strengths and
challenges.
We’ll give you an honest idea of where your voice needs to grow
— and then give you the guidelines to get there! You will get a personalized
lesson plan to practice with. Like a gym workout regime, these exercises
will target your weak areas to correct bad habits and build a strong,
balanced instrument.
Most clients prefer to study regularly on a weekly or biweekly basis.
If you cannot commit to a recurring lesson schedule, you are welcome to
book casual lessons, but understand you will see the most consistent success with recurring lessons. “Tune up” sessions are
also available for those preparing for performance or recording dates.
At every lesson, your instructor double-checks what you’ve practiced and then offers additional exercises
that cultivate vocal dexterity, range, and ease of production. Each
exercise builds logically on the one previous, developing the skills you
need to sing what you want.
As your technical abilities grow, you need to apply them to songs.
The key is to maintain the same easy feeling in your songs that came out
in the exercises. Bring in your original or cover repertoire to work
out the problem areas. We can also suggest appropriate material in your key and
style that will build upon the successes of your exercises. Stylistic
and performance coaching is available, but ultimately we focus on
technique…if you don’t learn HOW to sing, WHAT you sing will always be
limited.
