> I've seen you mention that you teach music, including
 > voice. What is a good age to start voice lessons?
Personally, I don't believe in rushing it. For girls, private lessons 
shouldn't start much before age 13 or 14. For boys, I'd wait another year or 
two past that. I'm very conservative when it comes to this.
Here's a file that I wrote on that subject, for PARENTS echo, a couple of 
years ago. It's from a complete file called Music Education for Your Child. 
This is the clip about voice lessons:
VOICE LESSONS
Now, suppose your child wants voice lessons. The voice is a delicate
instrument, and it's the only one your child will ever get. It's
difficult to repair if damaged, and is easily damaged. Therefore, it is
paramount not to be in too much of a rush for voice training. At a young
age, before age 12 or 14, damage can be done by "pushing the voice" to
do things it's not ready for. Adults may remember Andrea McArdle, the
little girl who played Annie in the musical "Annie" during the 1970s on
New York's Broadway stage. Ms. McArdle has been plagued by vocal problems 
uch
as nodules, from incorrect voice handling at a tender age.
        At a young age, the child can be taught to breathe from the
diaphragm by "breathing from the tummy" instead of inflating the lungs.
Diction can be taught, and proper posture. If the child has a problem
finding the voice (pitch), that can also be helped. However, most of
these techniques can be taught less expensively in a choral or group
environment like general music, if available.
        After the age of 12 (for an early developer), voice training
including control of the diaphragm and other adult vocal techniques can
be taught. Care should be taken to find a teacher who stresses singing
from the diaphragm (versus the throat) and who will not stress the range
(but rather, stretch it).
        Most of the questions that one would ask a piano teacher can be
asked of the voice teacher, changing the answers to fit of course. A few
extra questions can be asked, such as:
        1) I'm a (soprano-etc). Where would you have me vocalize? (Within the
comfort range, of course, not straining too low or too high.)
        2) What kinds of literature would you be teaching? (Some
teachers are classicists, others prefer Broadway and pop. Techniques are
same, basically, but the style is different.)
        3) I don't have a piano. How will I be able to practice? (Most
voice teachers will use cassette tapes to tape your vocalizations,
literature, and exercises.)
        4) How long are lessons? (For a student who reads music a
little, 30 minutes is adequate at first. If there's no musicianship, 45
minutes might be more adequate to cover a little of that, too.)
        5) About the pay...this question is the same as for piano.
However, be aware that in many areas, voice lessons are slightly more
expensive than piano lessons.
--- GEcho 1.00
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