A Day in the Life of a Voice Teacher

So many people in my life ask what I do, but once I tell them there is a certain color of confusion. I can tell they have head of voice teachers and know it has to do with singing, but telling them I am a voice teacher gives them no insight into my day to day life. So here it friends: a play-by-play of the average day in my life. This may or may not be similar to other voice teachers you know - we all have our own processes and run our businesses in our own way. Enjoy!

I wake up every day around 8 - meaning I get to sleep in compared to most - yay! Perks of making your own hours I guess. Plus, no students want to come in and sing for an hour at 6am. The first thing I do is workout, have breakfast, then get ready for my day. Every day that I have students coming (which is basically every day), I clean the house. I adore my dogs, but they shed and make puppy-prints all over the house, without fail.

Once the sweeping, mopping, and vacuuming are done, I look at my schedule to see who exactly is coming that day. Every student has their own goals and specific skills they are focusing on, so I like to be prepared. I get out any sheet music I have gotten for my students, all their music theory worksheets, and anything else we have discussed that they need. I then teach a lesson or two, then comes a break.

It is a great day when I have a bunch of lessons back to back, but with school back in action, I have adults and homeschoolers earlier int he day, then a break until school gets out for my late-afternoon/evening students. During this break I do administrative duties that are definitely the least fun part of my job. I look at finances, when payments are due, set up marketing plans, write follow-up emails, check in with any leads, get my next newsletter ready, etc. These tasks differ by day and I try to get as many done at once as possible. If the list is shorter, that’s when I send out my lesson notes, get any sheet music for the coming days’ students, plan music theory work, and mull over any student that may be having trouble with something in particular, trying to find ways to help them make the progress they are working towards. My students would probably be shocked to learn how much time I spend thinking about them and their journeys outside of their lessons. I desperately want each and every one of my students to succeed, so I spend a lot of time planning just how to help them do that.

Once lessons are done for the day, I finish sending out lesson notes (notes to the student and/or parents about what we did in the lesson, what songs and techniques we are working on, and any homework the student may have), emails, etc. and make sure everything is ready for the next day. Either in the evenings after lessons or between lessons, I look up local auditions and email them out to my students in the proper age groups who might be interested. I do vocal warm-ups and cool downs for myself to keep my voice healthy. I look up auditions for myself (being in the industry and having a network is a big part of why some clients come to me). If I have the time I research voice and speech, new vocal techniques, and the like to keep myself well-informed. I try to expand my musical knowledge by listening to musicals, new artists, etc. And I try to make a habit of practicing piano at least an hour a day, since I am not as skilled at it as I would like.

Most days I spend some time working on my own music theory curriculum that I am building and working on a musical I am writing (it’s in its VERY, painfully early stages). If I am in a show, I head to a 4-5 hour rehearsal in the evenings. Finally, I have my dinner (usually before rehearsal if I can) and hopefully spend and hour or two relaxing with my husband and pups before I go to bed to do it all again the next day.

I hope this helps you understand a bit more of what it’s like to be a voice teacher - some days are full of lessons so the admin and creative things must wait, other days only have one or two lessons, so the plate fills with solitary duties. I love the whacky life I live and I’m happy to answer any questions you may have about it!