The Highs and Lows of Online Singing Lessons (no pun intended.)

I remember the first time I had an online singing lesson. It just happened to be my birthday, and my singing teacher was being assessed by a well known master vocal coach who was based in Las Vegas. She needed me to be her ‘guinea pig’ student, so we Skyped the master coach from the studio where she was based in Central London. I had used Skype before for the occasional chat with overseas friends, but wasn’t very familiar with it, so this was a novel and exciting experience for me (that I still remember almost 10 years later.)

I’m lucky that my first experience of online vocal coaching was by choice, and under pretty cool circumstances. It inspired me to offer online singing lessons when I became a vocal coach myself. This has allowed me to hone my skills, try out different platforms and prepare effective resources for online vocal coaching. As a result, I’m very aware that adapting to the lockdown restrictions that we’re experiencing right now has been easier for me than it has for many others.

I love people, and if I could choose, I would meet up in person every time. However, I also love that working online allows me to support people who might not get the opportunity to grow if they had to travel to see a vocal coach. It also helps me to connect with amazing like minded people in other countries, who I would never have known if it weren’t for technology.

Right now, I'm pleased to be busy supporting all of my amazing clients to keep their voices in good shape whilst we are using them very differently to usual. Last week I was very happy to hear that some exercises I had given to a client have improved some chronic neck pain that he's been struggling with. I certainly did not expect that, but will take it!

A few of my clients are completely isolated- working from home and living alone. So, we are working together to structure their time and finding the right balance of self care and goal setting.

Some of the singers that I work with are key workers who travel into London every day. I'm so grateful to them for doing that when I'm lucky enough to be safe at home.

Meeting people's pets, peeking at cute wedding photos in the background and seeing them drink from their favourite mug, while we chat about the weirdness that is life right now, is a huge privilege that is strengthening many of our working relationships.

Working online has also showed up some areas for technical development that we might not have noticed otherwise. The positioning of one client’s camera gave me a better view of her neck than usual, and we were able to work on easing the tension that was now visible. Many of my clients have made huge leaps with pitching and memorising phrases due to the call and response style of our new lessons. They will be stronger musicians by the end of this, for sure.

Thinking back to my lesson with the coach in Vegas all those years ago. I remember seriously impressing myself by managing some tricky phrases better than I usually would. The master coach was awesome and put me at ease and my teacher had taught me so many skills that prepared me for that day, but I also think the newness of it all helped me to approach singing with a different mindset and to break some long held habits. It was a real turning point in my singing life.

Despite the warm and fuzziness of these memories, I do miss giving face to face singing lessons in London, and I definitely have days where I think about how crap this all is. To my clients, your commitment in the face of such stress and uncertainty is inspiring, and I am so happy to support you right now.

You can find out if I might be the right vocal coach for you by clicking here.