The Catoctin School of Music

 What is the minimum age for voice lessons?
Our school begins female voice lessons at age 11-12 and male voice lessons at age 13. These age limits are in place to prevent vocal injury or undue stress to the throat. Younger students may be considered after an evaluation by one of our instructors. To schedule an evaluation, please email  CSM's Studio Manager.

What can I expect when starting voice lessons?
At CSM, our vocal instructors are committed to teaching students to develop a healthy vocal technique. Each student will be evaluated on an individual basis and be encouraged to sing in a way that will allow them to use his/her voice for life-long music making.

Prospective voice students should be ready to use their abstract thinking skills and have fun broadening their horizons with new genres of vocal music. This can include the pop songs they hear on the radio, but will also focus on classical foreign language pieces and musical theater. All of our vocal students will be given instruction in music theory, sight-singing, and ear-training essential to successful musicianship.

We use recordings, CDs, the internet and DVDs to make lessons fun and teach you how to grow while helping you to enjoy music on your own! We sometimes record the lessons and email them to you for ease of study at home. We even have an in house video and audio recording studio to support projects, auditions and much more with our voice and instrumental students.

What books are required for voice lessons?
Your teacher will determine what methods and books to use in the first few lessons and will reevaluate as necessary. Usually we sell you books from our studio inventory but you will occasionally be asked to order something for yourself.

If you are interested in starting voice lessons, please click HERE.