When’s the Best Time of Day to Take a Voice Lesson?

Several of my students are IT or biotech workers, graduate students, or office workers with high-stress jobs.  Some of them have experimented with taking lessons on their lunch hour, after work, later in the evening, and on weekends.  Most find that the calmer they are when they walk into the lesson, the more they get out of their lessons.

So here are some things to consider when you schedule your voice lessons:

– In the morning, many people find that the voice isn’t as “ready to go” as later in the day.  (However, it is generally lower in the morning.)

– At lunchtime, if you are jetting quickly out on your lunch hour, fighting traffic and worrying about coming back to work late, your stress level will probably affect your voice and your ability to be calm when trying new things in the lesson.

– Likewise, in the afternoon, if you leave a stressful work day a little early to get to your lesson just in time, you may have to spend the first 10-15 minutes of the lesson just centering and calming down.

– In the evening, if you have time to wind down between your workday and your lesson, that’s probably the best time to take a lesson.

– Weekends, of course, can be even better, if those are your days off.

If you are a student or anyone else with an irregular schedule, consider the likely mental state you’ll be in when you arrive at your lesson.  You might not want to schedule a lesson right before or right after midterms or finals, for example.  You might not want to schedule a lesson after a 7-hour shift on your feet in a cafe or retail store.  You might not want to schedule a lesson the day or two before leaving on a long trip.

The voice, more than any other instrument, is affected by stress.  So get the most out of your valuable lesson time by ensuring you’re calm and alert when you arrive!

(c) 2011 Adrienne Osborn

Adrienne Osborn is a vocalist and performance coach based in Colorado.   For more free articles and tips, visit https://PerformanceHigh.net.