Hello,
I'm turning 40 this month and as such feel that I'm going through some significant internal shifts. Firstly I want to say how utterly grateful I am for every one of my students. Working with you guys really helps me to become a better person. You challenge me, delight me and surprise me but above all you brighten my day.
I've been a singing teacher now for 16 years! I honestly don't know where the time has gone. It feels like yesterday I was making the transition from beauty therapist to singer/teacher! It continues to be an amazing journey constantly evolving depending on where I'm at in my life.
I recently did an interview with a BIMM student about being a singing teacher for her Professional Project. Here it is.
How do you plan or construct each lesson?
If I’m meeting the student for the first time I won’t be able to plan, which is actually quite refreshing because you can’t control what you’re going to do, so you’re leaving it open. By open I mean, open to those magical ideas dropping into your head. I often find myself teaching stuff that I didn’t know I knew! That’s always strange but good. For students who are taking exams, planning is paramount. I create a shareable google docs spreadsheet with a tick list so that I know where we’re up to and the student knows what they need to practice. For resources I dig into my old course notes and books that I’ve collected over the years and online resources. If I’m not putting a student through an exam I will usually divide the lesson between warm ups, vocal workouts and then song application or repertoire learning. Sometimes I get bored teaching the same scales over and over again, but if it’s what the student needs I forego my own needs for the student. At the moment I’m very partial to doing call and response exercises as warm ups, this way it challenges ME as well as the student, it’s also good for their melodic and rhythmic recall.
What do you think about during each lesson?
I’m constantly calibrating and tuning in to what I think the student needs. I’m always fine tuning what I’m doing to make the level not too easy or not too difficult. I cannot tell you how I do this, it just comes from years of experience and practice. I like to think of it as a sixth sense now. There is a lot going on mentally for me during each lesson and if I’m not careful, I can exhaust myself.
So, how do you manage your energy?
Well I don’t teach more than 4 students a day and I make sure I take breaks… breaks away from the screen and the studio, you know….fresh air is good. When I’m teaching, I use mindfulness to make sure I’m not tensing my head, neck or shoulders and I make sure I talk slowly and carefully without getting too animated. I believe in the power of the imagination too, so I use a lot of nice visualisations when I’m teaching to open me up to kindness, patience and compassion… I visualise rainbows, sparklers and beautiful things around the students when they are singing. When I am connected to these feelings I seem to have boundless energy.
How do you deal with it if a students wants to learn a song that you don’t know?
That’s fine, as long as I can learn the song 10% quicker than my student then I’m fine. I teach songs using the original tracks on a line by line basis, then apply what we’ve learnt to backing tracks. So I play a line, re-iterate it myself, then re-iterate it to my student. They might take 5 goes to get the line, but I might take 2! This ability comes from being able to learn 40 songs in 2 days in prep for a short notice gig. Once you develop a strategy for learning a song, it stays with you!
What do you do about cancellation fees?
This is a tricky one. Most people are lovely and pay for missed lessons. I think it's important to try to make the client understand that unpaid cancellations sabotage your business and they should be paid for if they want to your services to continue being available. I try and re-iterate my policy on all my correspondence so it’s clear. On the flip side, I try and keep myself healthy and balanced so that I’M not having to cancel students because I’m poorly or overworked. I hear all sorts of excuses as to why people can't or don't want to attend their lessons so I try and offer alternatives like mindfulness sessions instead.
What do you like about being a singing teacher?
I like witnessing people who are scared of using their voice feel the fear and do it anyway. it’s a real honour to be a facilitator for this kind of change. Breakthrough tears have even been known.
What don’t you like about being a singing teacher?
I wish I could teach in a field with no equipment. Sometime I feel restricted by the studio environment even though it is absolutely necessary.
That's all folks... thanks for reading. Wishing you abundance, joy and song. xx
I'm turning 40 this month and as such feel that I'm going through some significant internal shifts. Firstly I want to say how utterly grateful I am for every one of my students. Working with you guys really helps me to become a better person. You challenge me, delight me and surprise me but above all you brighten my day.
I've been a singing teacher now for 16 years! I honestly don't know where the time has gone. It feels like yesterday I was making the transition from beauty therapist to singer/teacher! It continues to be an amazing journey constantly evolving depending on where I'm at in my life.
I recently did an interview with a BIMM student about being a singing teacher for her Professional Project. Here it is.
How do you plan or construct each lesson?
If I’m meeting the student for the first time I won’t be able to plan, which is actually quite refreshing because you can’t control what you’re going to do, so you’re leaving it open. By open I mean, open to those magical ideas dropping into your head. I often find myself teaching stuff that I didn’t know I knew! That’s always strange but good. For students who are taking exams, planning is paramount. I create a shareable google docs spreadsheet with a tick list so that I know where we’re up to and the student knows what they need to practice. For resources I dig into my old course notes and books that I’ve collected over the years and online resources. If I’m not putting a student through an exam I will usually divide the lesson between warm ups, vocal workouts and then song application or repertoire learning. Sometimes I get bored teaching the same scales over and over again, but if it’s what the student needs I forego my own needs for the student. At the moment I’m very partial to doing call and response exercises as warm ups, this way it challenges ME as well as the student, it’s also good for their melodic and rhythmic recall.
What do you think about during each lesson?
I’m constantly calibrating and tuning in to what I think the student needs. I’m always fine tuning what I’m doing to make the level not too easy or not too difficult. I cannot tell you how I do this, it just comes from years of experience and practice. I like to think of it as a sixth sense now. There is a lot going on mentally for me during each lesson and if I’m not careful, I can exhaust myself.
So, how do you manage your energy?
Well I don’t teach more than 4 students a day and I make sure I take breaks… breaks away from the screen and the studio, you know….fresh air is good. When I’m teaching, I use mindfulness to make sure I’m not tensing my head, neck or shoulders and I make sure I talk slowly and carefully without getting too animated. I believe in the power of the imagination too, so I use a lot of nice visualisations when I’m teaching to open me up to kindness, patience and compassion… I visualise rainbows, sparklers and beautiful things around the students when they are singing. When I am connected to these feelings I seem to have boundless energy.
How do you deal with it if a students wants to learn a song that you don’t know?
That’s fine, as long as I can learn the song 10% quicker than my student then I’m fine. I teach songs using the original tracks on a line by line basis, then apply what we’ve learnt to backing tracks. So I play a line, re-iterate it myself, then re-iterate it to my student. They might take 5 goes to get the line, but I might take 2! This ability comes from being able to learn 40 songs in 2 days in prep for a short notice gig. Once you develop a strategy for learning a song, it stays with you!
What do you do about cancellation fees?
This is a tricky one. Most people are lovely and pay for missed lessons. I think it's important to try to make the client understand that unpaid cancellations sabotage your business and they should be paid for if they want to your services to continue being available. I try and re-iterate my policy on all my correspondence so it’s clear. On the flip side, I try and keep myself healthy and balanced so that I’M not having to cancel students because I’m poorly or overworked. I hear all sorts of excuses as to why people can't or don't want to attend their lessons so I try and offer alternatives like mindfulness sessions instead.
What do you like about being a singing teacher?
I like witnessing people who are scared of using their voice feel the fear and do it anyway. it’s a real honour to be a facilitator for this kind of change. Breakthrough tears have even been known.
What don’t you like about being a singing teacher?
I wish I could teach in a field with no equipment. Sometime I feel restricted by the studio environment even though it is absolutely necessary.
That's all folks... thanks for reading. Wishing you abundance, joy and song. xx
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