Mark JW Graham - Singing Lessons Nottingham

May 9, 2017February 27, 2020

Are Skype singing lessons effective? Is online better than in person?

“I can’t find a voice coach I want to work with locally – are Skype singing lessons effective and worth it? Is studying online with someone better than in-person?”

Are Skype singing lessons effective? Yes (as with all things, instructor dependent).

Skype vs In-person is not necessarily a better/worse thing, as they both have distinct advantages.

In person

For example, in-person breeds natural rapport with people as soon as you in the room with them. You can get a feel for someone pretty quickly in person, and there are subtleties to the human voice that are most evident when you are in the room with the singer, which is very helpful for the coach and their coaching method.

Skype lessons
In contrast, studying via Skype has it’s own advantages. There is no travel time for a start, so you can literally be keeping your voice warmed up and singing songs right up to the start of your lesson, and then as soon as it finishes you are “back” at home, mainly as you’ll never have left home in the first place! The compression effects of the microphones used in Skype also help bring out other subtleties that are most obvious when heard over a microphone.

The cons of each are obviously the reverse of the pros of the other, so whereas you don’t have to travel for Skype, you do have to travel for in-person lessons. Skype lessons also can have a slight time delay. These are usually too slight for singing to be an issue, but it does sometimes mean you’ll occasionally talk over one another briefly, but no differently to the same thing that happens when you are talking on the phone to a friend.

Conclusion – it’s up to you!

Personally I don’t think there’s a clear winner. I personally study with coaches overseas, so Skype is an instant winner for me, because to get the education I need to continue developing, there’s not really anyone even within the country that would be helpful in the way that I need right now. I also have clients who live within travel distance that prefer the convenience of Skype lessons once they’ve started with me and we’ve generated that rapport off-line, and we can continue that via Skype.

What I’d suggest is that if there’s a coach in particular you’d like to study with and the only way you could work with them is over Skype, give it a shot. If you don’t like the format after a lesson or two, you don’t have to continue… but I think you’ll find the results with a good coach online are worth learning over Skype.

As always, any questions just let me know.

Learn More: Related Articles

If you want to learn more about singing lessons, you may enjoy these related articles:
Learn more about how our voice lessons work
What MOST singing teachers get wrong about teaching voice
Our Vocal Technique Explained
I think I sound bad: Can singing lessons help?
Are singing lessons effective?
Famous singers who have had singing lessons
What do singing lessons involve?

May 9, 2017February 27, 2020

How can singing lessons help? Are voice lessons effective?

“How can singing lessons help? Are voice lessons necessary? What exactly can I expect to get from singing lessons? Are they even effective?”

How can singing lessons help anyone? Whenever we seek to start something new, it’s natural and right to question whether that new activity is going to be beneficial.

In short, YES! Singing lessons from the right coach should be extremely effective. In terms of what they can do for you and how that works, that is dependent on the exact approach the coach takes (for example, you can read more about structure of lessons relative to how I run lessons right here).

Good singing lessons should be seeking to establish balance in your voice, to enable you to sing from the bottom of your range to the top, in a smooth, even, consistent and connected manner. There should be no breaks, flips, disconnects or inconsistencies as you ascend or descend. Power, control and range are all natural by-products of an efficiently co-ordinated voice, and your singing teacher should be seeking to establish this throughout every lesson.

How effective lessons are will depend on the skill level of the coach you are working with, but you should expect to hear a difference within the first lesson if the coach is doing their job right.

If you want to learn more about this topic, have a read around on my blog… you’ll find a lot of other topics related to this.

Learn More: Related Articles

If you want to learn more about singing lessons, you may enjoy these related articles:
Learn more about how our voice lessons work
What MOST singing teachers get wrong about teaching voice
Our Vocal Technique Explained
I think I sound bad: Can singing lessons help?
Famous singers who have had singing lessons
What do singing lessons involve?

May 9, 2017December 2, 2017

Where do you get singing lessons? Where can you take singing lessons?

“It seems that there might be some people close to me who offer lessons but there’s others further afield that also provide singing lessons. Where do you get singing lessons? Where is best to go to get singing lessons?”

Where do you get singing lessons is an oft-asked question, so well done for starting to look for someone to help you on your way. It’s always difficult to know exactly where to go to get exactly what you’re looking for.

In terms of where to go, there’s two main options location wise:
1) In-person – These are typically one or one, or may sometimes be group classes. In some cases the coach will travel to you, but in most cases (certainly the higher skill level coaches) you will travel to them and their dedicated studio.

2) Online – These are typically held via online conferencing tools like Skype, Facetime, etc, sometimes even over the phone.

To get going with lessons I generally recommend at least trying to find someone that is available for in-person lessons that would be good for you first, then as you progress it is natural to look for someone that can take you to the next level (possibly over Skype).

First Step
The first thing to do is type in ‘singing lessons <your location>’ into Google and see who is local to you – remember to replace <your location> with your actual geographic location.

Second Step
Now you may get lucky and find there is a good coach in your area, but if you’re not happy with your options, you may want to try looking further afield. Try replacing <your location> with more major centres of activity, major cities or bigger towns etc.

Third Step
Now let’s say you’re still struggling to find someone locally, or maybe you’ve set your sights on someone elsewhere in the world (I get that a fair bit, and I too study with high level coaches in other countries), then online sessions via Skype or the like would be a good bet. I’ve discussed the pros and cons of Skype lessons in this blog article right here.

This can enable you to study anywhere you have a device connected to the internet with a microphone and video camera, and it means you’re not restricted to those immediately local to you. This can get you access to much higher level coaches and singing teachers than would be feasible just within your general geographic location.

In short, “where do you get singing lessons?” – Ask Google. Use the format above to phrase your query and you should find a plethora of options. Just remember to vet your choices carefully.

May 9, 2017December 2, 2017

When should my child start singing lessons?

“I’d like my child to start to singing lessons. They love singing and I want them to get better. When should my child start singing lessons? How young is too young? Is there an ideal age to start singing lessons?”

I get called up a LOT and asked this “when should be child start singing lessons?”. The honest answer is, it depends. It depends on the age and suitability of the child as well as the temperament and approach of the teacher you might be looking to engage for lessons.

Personally, I’ve taught children as young as 6 who have been incredibly receptive to working hard on their voice in and out of lessons, but I’ve also tried to teach 16 year olds who barely seem to be paying attention – it honestly does depend.

That said, my personal experience is that 6 years old is the youngest I’d consider teaching, but even that is subject to meeting the child (and parent) and having an initial consult lesson. That way both you (as the parent) and myself as the teacher can get a clear understanding of where that’s going to go. One of the most important things is that the child themselves wants to get better, whether they are the one that suggests lessons specifically or not.

As a general guideline I’d say if your child is aged:

Between 6-12 – Give the coach a call and have a quick chat, then (if appropriate) book an initial session and go from there. Kids are so different developmentally in that age bracket it’s very hard to make a clear judgement until you’ve had an initial session.
Between 12-15 – This is probably totally fine to go ahead and book. If you’ve got an overly mature 11 year old (or younger) then you could probably consider yourself in this category. By this age generally kids have a bit more robustness about practicing and taking instruction, but again, it’s on a case-by-case basis.
16+ – I’d suggest that any desire for lessons has to come from them. The older teens I’ve taught with less of an interest have usually been persuaded by someone else rather than them wanting to do it off their own backs.

Hope you find that helpful! Feel free to drop me a line if you need any further help with this topic.

May 9, 2017April 6, 2019

How much do singing lessons cost?

“How much DO singing lessons cost? I’m thinking about taking singing lessons, but I’m not sure how much they should be “

How much do singing lessons cost? Great question. In short, it varies from coach to coach, which in turn depends on the skill level they possess. Generally the breakdown is that those who are of lower skill level charge around £30 or under, medium skill level £50-80+, and higher/highest skill level £100-200+ (all of these are per hour).

Things to be aware of when looking for singing lessons?

There’s a reason for the phrase “buy cheap, buy twice”. Be wary of both the crazy cheap coaches, as calling yourself a “singing teacher” or “voice coach” is not a protected term like “doctor” or “nurse” – you’d be amazed how many people are out there labelling themselves as a voice coach/singing teacher and have no idea what they are doing. As such, often (though not always) a lot of these cheaper coaches are just people who fancy teaching singing and have nice voices, but don’t have much skill in the way of making their clients’ voices better.

At the other end of the spectrum, be wary of celebrity or YouTube coaches trading on having appeared on TV a few times or because they’ve got some glossy videos on YouTube. Judge them based on the results of their coaching, not how many followers they’ve got on Instagram. The celebrity effect often leads to a massive over-inflation of their price relative to their actual ability.

“You get what you pay for”

At the end of the day, it shouldn’t be about price, it should be about you getting what you specifically want out of your lessons, i.e. VALUE. You’ve got to ask yourself, what are YOU looking to get out of singing lessons, then try out the coach you think would be best for your needs. If you just want a bit of a sing song and a laugh, then chances are a lower end coach may well be a good start. However, if you’re serious about making big improvements in your voice, don’t give in to false economy and buy many lessons from cheap coaches – find someone credible that gets good results, and factor it into your budget.

If you’d like to read more about where costs come from for singing teachers, just have a read of this related article, “Why are singing lessons so expensive?”

Best of luck finding the right teacher for you!

May 9, 2017December 2, 2017

Why are singing lessons so expensive?

“I’d like to take singing lessons, but I’ve had a look around and the people I’d like to study with are quite expensive. Why are singing lessons so expensive?”

This is a great question, because it helps to highlight the importance of particular teachers.

The short answer to the question is:

Because you get what you pay for.
The long answer:

Let’s do some basic mental maths. Let’s start thinking of some costs for the following, then we’ll make sense of it all. Think about the following:

A good teacher will have spent THOUSANDS of hours on their teaching, their own voice, their musical understanding, their communications skills and ability to educate people in their specific disciplines. This may be in the form of a university/college degree, or post-graduate certifications, but either way, good teachers will have put in thousands of hours to develop and hone the skills they are providing to a given client. Even if you only assign a value of a few pounds/dollars per hour to the dedicated hard work they’ve put in (which is still unfair), this VERY quickly adds up.
A progressive and progressing teacher will STILL be studying, getting regular private lessons, attending events to continue their professional development, meeting other teachers, seeking out mentors for themselves to increase their knowledge and ability. This all costs a vast quantity of money. I don’t know about other coaches, but the amount I personally expend on professional development per year is not far off what some spend per year at university for their fees.
A well-equipped teacher will have access to relevant teaching materials, recording equipment to at least record your lesson, a high quality piano/keyboard to teach from, online support and downloadable information to help you learn in and out of the studio, as well as various other bits of equipment and studio gear to help provide their services.
Any business (like a singing teacher) needs premises, which costs money to hire/own, and will generate utility bills, upkeep, repair, appropriate decor to suit the environment they want their singers to be able to grow and develop in. The better business, the nicer the premises, and the greater the cost.

The skinny…
When you go in for a singing lesson, you are getting access to ALL of the above, on tap. As such, the cost of different teachers generally reflects the skill level and expenditure associated with operating at their specific skill level – i.e. if a teacher is cheap, just by maths alone, you can more or less guarantee they are not doing all of the above to a high standard. All of the above listed areas need to be paid for by the teacher in order to deliver that level of service to those who wish to study with them.

What do YOU value?
Ultimately it comes down to whether you value or desire the level of service that a given teacher is operating at. If you’re just looking for someone to play piano whilst you bang out a tune, then maybe a dirt-cheap teacher will do you fine… but don’t expect dramatic improvements in your voice. Referring to the short answer, you ultimately get what you pay for.

However, if you are genuinely looking to noticeably improve your voice, you should seek out the most qualified person of repute that you can find and try and initial session. Yes, the coach you may specifically wish to work with might be expensive, but remember this: it’s far more expensive and less productive to regularly go to someone cheaper but who isn’t developing you as quickly/at all, than it would be to visit some more expensive less often, but who delivers bigger results faster.

Final Thoughts

Whatever your reasons for getting singing lessons, you need to decide what it is you’re looking for in a coach. Don’t think about the price, think about what you want to get out of it, and bear the above in mind when picking your first coach. And remember, if you don’t get on with them, or think it’s not worth the money (whether you started with a cheap or expensive singing teacher for lessons), you can always try somewhere else! My recommendation would be to start with the best in your area, or whoever it is you want to specifically work with, and taste and see what their goods are like.

Best of luck with finding the right coach for you!