Method Two
Singing is certainly for fun and personal pleasure. To many it is also their work. Complete beginners to very technical singers will need help, guidance or structure at some time or other…
enter: Absolute Singer
You can't know how to sing if you don't know how to sing!
There are 1000's of books dedicated to the voice & singing. I've been studying for 20+ years and I'm more fascinated than ever. Learning from books and internet sites is useful but practical learning is considerably more rewarding. Singing is a very physical and hands-on 'activity'.
I really enjoy the challenge of training people to sing. It IS a process and experience has shown me that even those who say that they can't sing, usually can. To whatever level.
The important thing is to just sing.
Learn not be your own worst enemy and clam up.
Expressing your 'self' means using your voice, which is a MAJOR part of your identity.
So be proud of it.
Train it.
Maximise it, your enjoyment of it and therefore your ability to express yourself with it.
Accordingly, many people's speaking-voices change, too. They are often far mellower and suit the person better. The individual gains in presence, in stature.
Teaching singing often involves a lot of freeing-up, loosening mental and vocal blockages and finding out how the voice lost it's way in the first place.
‘Vocal Technique’ is the key
Your singing voice is a stronger, fuller, higher and lower version of your spoken voice.
Each voice is unique but can be systematically trained to achieve it's fullest potential.
Whether beginner or advanced, the principles are the same, the exercises similar but the intensity and detail will be different.
I believe in this approach, follow it myself and have certainly not reached the end of my vocal 'learning-rainbow'.
At this stage of my career, training is more to do with extending power with range, but I still need external ears whom I can trust to guide me.
How much training?
What do you want to sing?
Of course, the level of technique-training depends upon the degree to which you want to sing 'fully' and the condition of the voice when you first come to me.
Lighter, popular and some classical singing requires comparatively less physical training, rather fine-tuning or interpretational work.
All students choose the level they wish to achieve and I train their voice to achieve that.
Every voice is different because every 'body' is different but there is a core technique that is common to all voices.
There is no way of predicting how many sessions are necessary to achieve your immediate or long-term goals,
however:
within the 1st session you will already feel changes occurring;
within 3-5 sessions you will have practical knowledge of lots of basic principles;
within 10 sessions, you will be able to feel how that
transmits to your singing.
Teaching singers to sense their voice-body is paramount because the teacher cannot always be there. The singer must learn to evolve using their own learnt 'sensations' away from the teacher, otherwise the process takes too long and is too costly.
It is a steady process of 'building', rather than a quick-fix overnight process.
Who do I train?
Beginners who want to learn how to sing from scratch.
Beginners/Intermediates who want some guidance but less pure-technique.
Advanced singers who already have a good knowledge of technique but need some 'ears' or who may have wandered off of their 'path'.
People who want to try a few sessions or those who want regular sessions.
Objectives
That you:
learn how YOUR singing-body works;
develop your 'real', fullest voice, increase your range of notes and power;
enhance your confidence and 'will' to sing;
achieve greater core-strength and improve as soon as possible;
enjoy the session and are be inspired to self-train as well!
I believe that there is little difference between technically training a beginner and an advanced singer.
The intensity of exercising, the duration and the complexity may differ, but the 'raw' derivation and training of sound-emission is very similar.
More detail
Air control is THE key to singing.
Strong air supply under control.
Strengthening the diaphragmatic muscles supports the voice by keeping the throat open and the cords free to ripple and swing.
This resonation within your skeletal structure, is your sound, your voice.
Voice building is a process of building and co-ordinating the appropriate muscle-sets that make-up and control the mechanism and their 3 zones:
Abdominal (lower body: diaphragmatic)
Thoracic (chest: intercostal/rib muscles)
Cranial (head: the voice-box and throat)
Such control is required for full-bodied singing and takes a varying amount of time to train depending on the natural asset of the individual, their own rate of learning and the substance of their muscular make-up.
In short, some learn faster than others!
Finally, how to 'grow' control
Exercises are selected that are relevant to each individual's needs.
Repetition until muscle-memory is achieved.
Co-ordinating your physical body with music, text and interpretation, achieving what you were looking to achieve.