What's the Best Age to Start Singing Lessons?
- Susan Davies
- Oct 13
- 5 min read
One of the most common questions people ask is, “What’s the best age to start singing lessons?” Parents often wonder if their child is too young, while many adults worry that they might be too old.
The truth is, there isn’t a “best age” to start singing lessons. Singing is a learned skill that can be nurtured at any stage of life, whether a child is discovering music, a teenager is finding their voice through big changes, or an adult is finally giving themselves permission to sing.
In this post, we’ll explore the benefits of starting at different ages and share what matters much more than age when deciding the best time to begin voice lessons.
The Benefits of Starting Young
Starting voice lessons when a child is young can help them foster a lifelong love of singing and provides them with a strong foundation for speaking up, communicating, and self-expressing with confidence.
Your child does NOT need to possess that sought-after “talent” people like to talk about in order to take lessons. (The myth of talent is for another blog post!) You also don’t need to determine whether your child is even “good enough” to start lessons. Taking voice lessons is what helps them improve their vocal abilities!
Like reading and math, singing is a learned skill. If your child loves to sing (even if they sing off-tune), they already have the essential ingredient needed to take voice lessons.
The biggest benefits of starting voice lessons young:
Fosters a lifelong love of singing
Builds curiosity, confidence, creativity
Increases enjoyment, brain development & academic fulfillment
Builds sustainable singing & practice habits
Enhances health & well-being
Teaches efficiency & balance
If your child is working with a teacher who understands young voices and has the skill sets to work with young people, then they’ll be set up for a lifetime of singing, creativity, curiosity, and confidence!
Teens and Singing: Finding Their Voice During Change
Ah, the teenage years, where self-expression and peer approval are paramount!
From voice cracks to growth spurts, there’s a lot going on that affects how a teen might feel about their voice. Skilled teachers understand that singing and self-expression can be vital for a teen’s mental well-being and will be able to provide a judgment-free space where the student can truly explore their developing sense of identity.
Working with a skilled voice teacher during adolescence can help bring clarity to all the physical and emotional changes that play into the voice and keep a teen singing well beyond adolescence. Voice teachers who understand how to work with the changing voice can provide personalized guidance to support the student’s vocal coordination and artistic growth.
Voices go through a LOT of change during the teenage years, and without guidance from a voice teacher, these changes may feel confusing, embarrassing, and isolating. This may a) cause the teen to stop singing altogether, and b) build shame around their voice that lasts a lifetime.
Confident singing reaches far beyond the voice studio. When a teen feels confident and comfortable to use their voice and has the skill set to express their inner world through song, they are much more likely to be able to speak up in situations outside the studio. Rather than shrinking down and seeking approval, teens taking voice lessons have the opportunity to build confidence, self-compassion, self-expression, and autonomy, all while engaging in an activity they love.
Learning to Sing as an Adult
While society may have convinced us otherwise, we actually never outgrow the need for play, imagination, creativity, and delight. In fact, there’s an entire National Institute for Play devoted to research and application in this very topic!
All the benefits of starting voice lessons young and singing through the teen years also apply to singing as an adult.
Singing as an adult:
Increases enjoyment & fulfillment
Enhances health & well-being, including stress relief
Encourages meaning-making, self-expression & healing
Builds connection & creativity
In short, singing is good for your brain, and it’s good for your body.
Sadly, it’s all-too-common that adults will write themselves off as “bad” singers who can’t carry a tune. But here’s the thing: adults who think they’re “bad” singers were probably the kids who were told to stop singing. Of course you’d feel like you’re a bad singer if you’d always been told to be quiet!
Here’s the great news: you haven’t missed your window. Remember how singing is a learned skill? You just need to build the coordinations required to sing in the ways that you want.
And you don’t need to be on a professional track to take voice lessons. Adult singers come to Susan Davies Voice Studio for many reasons:
To build the confidence to join a chorus
To reconnect with a core part of themselves
To explore a healing outlet for creative expression
To understand why & how their voice behaves in certain ways
To prepare for community theater auditions
To receive support after illness or injury
To learn the language of music
Many people habitually silence themselves – which includes denying themselves singing. It’s (sadly) common for the shame soundtrack to be the loudest voice in the room.
But it’s never too late to change that story.
Factors That Matter More Than Age
Singing lessons aren’t just for kids. They can be deeply meaningful to cultivating health, well-being, and a sense of identity in people of all ages.
There are many factors that matter far more than age when it comes to starting voice lessons. Here are the top 3 we encourage folks to consider when deciding whether or not to begin voice lessons:
Finding a teacher who’s a great fit. Consider their personality, skill sets, and communication style.
Consider the emotional readiness & intrinsic motivation of the potential student. Pressuring anyone to take voice lessons will never end well.
Support on the home front is imperative, whether the student is a child, teen, or adult. Singing is vulnerable and takes consistency to build confidence, and a support system matters!
So, what's the best age to start singing lessons?
In short, there’s no “right age” to start singing lessons. At Susan Davies Voice Studio, we believe that the right age is the age that works for you.
If your teen is showing an intrinsic interest in learning to sing, or if you’re an adult feeling called to reconnect with this core part of yourself, then Susan Davies Voice Studio can help! We offer high-quality online voice lessons to students of all ages, helping students confidently connect with their voices and express the music that brings them joy. Simply email susan@susandaviesvoice.com or schedule a free, no-commitment Discovery Call to put faces to names and coordinate next steps.
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