ISO voice/music lessons/teacher for sorta shy music-loving 12 y.o.

December 22, 2023 8:56 AM

In search of recommendations for teachers (especially, but not exclusively, voice) doing virtual lessons. Voice, theory, piano, and trumpet leads would all be welcome ..

Looking for someone that could really help my 12 year old nephew feel comfortable and confident..
maybe become a bit of mentor one day (?) ..

Here’s a list of factors I have a hunch will matter:

- he loves music. Plays piano (has private lessons), plays upright bass (in orchestra at school), is starting trumpet after being inspired by a single TikTok video of a college age guy playing a jazz standard on his trumpet alone in a parking garage for acoustics and wants to switch to band.

- as a kid he loved a stage but ..being 12 and recent times (covid isolation etc) have lead to some insecurities/confidence changes .. I guess what we all went through in pre adolescence to some extent but add in all the academic challenges of the pandemic

- really takes on the vibe of the teacher (though this might not be immediately apparent) .. for example his piano teacher is good but very serious and not super playful .. he’ll occasionally try to make a joke or ask a question but especially now since the ..idk.. kinda gendered boys-aren’t-supposed-to-be-effusive-or-enthusiastic cultural teenage etc pressure has set in, he’s pretty flat with the piano teacher.. BUT when he is working with a math tutor who is bringing that BIG ok this is awesome I am psyched and you are psyched and everybody’s psyched (and it’s OK to be psyched) and you are awesome let’s do this teacher energy.. I know from asking him, he really likes this teaching style.. And I get it, if your teacher believes in you and themselves and is in love with their subject and your ability to kill it, it’s .. the best.

- someone who adds in serious theory is required, who can integrate the piano (if they are primarily a voice teacher or a trumpet teacher, say) into the lesson a bit. This is with an eye towards him being able to do AP music theory and mayyybe be academically prepared to have competitive music schools/departments among his options for college.. we have some lost time to make up for.. and, truth is .. I know he will be shy about vocal stuff .. so if it’s framed as just another part of theory class.. or an adjunct to a piano lesson, that would be ok.

- bonus points for anyone in NYC, Houston area, or New England that does some IRL teaching for young people in the summer, that would be a possibility.. or anywhere if they do it as part of a camp type situation

- this is a kid that gets ahead of himself sometimes .. he’s suuuper excited by crazy hard pieces but the baby steps to get there are tricky .. I mean maybe that’s a lot of us at 12.. but someone who really gets this and will hold him accountable but with love and very specific normalizing learning how to learn stuff would be great.

- just to reiterate, fancy degrees and accolades and a solo career etc are cool but not as important as really loving to teach and inspire.

- anyone who does annny kind of even small group teaching as well would be awesome so we could start with one on ones and then try adding in group element for confidence building..

Ok so this is perhaps wayyy to specific but really, any leads would be great - even if you know someone who you think might know someone and wouldn’t mind being asked for recommendations, that would be terrific.

If the teacher is on a big platform like outschool, etc, that’s also cool! If you got any leads for piano, theory, or trumpet teachers, in addition to voice teachers, that is equally desirable .. I just headlined the voice lesson part because it’s the area where he’s the least confident so teacher personality and approach matters more ..

Thanks in advance .. I check my messages here as well if it’s easier to me mail me : )

posted by elgee to Education (2 answers total)

MeMailing you, since this fits the description of a close relative of mine!
posted by hovey at 11:29 AM on December 22, 2023

As someone who was singing professionally by your nephew’s age, I’m going to recommend against any kind of voice technique lessons. That sort of thing is meant for mature voice instruments and the unhealthy vocal habits that inevitably will come along with making vocal goals and demands on the voice can be hard to detect due to the fact that growing young people have a much higher healing factor. Those can come back to bite you in the ass later in life and can be really hard to get rid of when you’ve been doing it for a decade or so. Does he enjoy singing? Is there a choir at school? Also, what about acting in a school play?
posted by slkinsey at 5:02 AM on December 23, 2023