Adapting Voice Lessons To Suit Children with Dana Lentini – Vocal Advancement Podcast #017

How old should your voice students be before they start taking singing lessons? For many instructors, the idea that only prodigies with natural singing talent should start training as children continues to influence which students they choose to work with.

But for child singer expert and voice teacher mentor Dana Lentini, teaching kids how to sing doesn’t mean giving college-level instruction to children. Instead, Lentini, whose online classes include teenagers she started training at the age of five, feels that imparting the fundamentals of singing is something that can be done at any age. More importantly, she feels singing lessons can help all young students — not just future opera singers and pop stars.

In our talk with Lentini, she shares why working with young pupils is beneficial for both students and instructors. She offers resources for creating age-appropriate singing lessons that allow students to leave classes filled with joy. And she explains how choosing the right songs is fundamental to help young singers discover not only what their voices can do but also what music can accomplish.     

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. How teaching college courses and elementary school classes simultaneously showed Lentini that singing instruction can be adapted to suit younger students 9:46
2. Why more voice teachers should consider taking on young pupils who aren’t pursuing a singing career 17:11
3. Lentini’s response to voice teachers who believe children shouldn’t be taking voice lessons 19:08
4. What teaching “singing technique” means when instructing young children 24:47
5. The advantage of being able to work with young students for several years 28:32 
6. What Lentini looks for in a song that can help young singers develop better oral skills, personal expression, and singing technique 30:38 
7. How singing instruction can be as much about opening minds up to other cultures as it is about teaching singing technique 40:34
8. How a game of “carpool karaoke” can reveal much about student preferences and musical awareness 42:04
9. Classroom techniques that make singing classes for engaging for young learners 45:22

Find teaching resources (and freebies!) by visiting Dana’s website and sign up to receive her blog updates. Follow her on Instagram and join her Facebook forum, “Voice Teachers for Young Singers”.

Need help choosing an age-appropriate song for your young students? Dana’s songbook Singing Kids’ Songbook is filled with music choices for students of all ages.

And don’t forget to download Dana’s IVA webinar “Teaching Singing Techniques to Children” where she addresses the unique physical and mental aspects of teaching singing techniques to young children.