Question 1

Is it possible to cancel or reschedule lessons once they are booked and paid?

Accepted Answer

I require a 48-hour notice for any cancellation or rescheduling, so that I can arrange other students to fill in your slot.

Question 2

Are your lessons in-person or online?

Accepted Answer

It's your choice.  Lessons are conducted at the Altrincham studio.  If this location is not generally accessible to you, I can offer online lessons via Zoom or Voov.

Like many other teachers, I started teaching online during COVID.  Post-COVID, some of my students decided to stay online.  They found online lessons more effective because they are more likely to take lessons regularly due to the ease of arrangement/scheduling.  There are pros and cons for both formats.

However, online is generally not recommended for children.

Question 3

What age do you teach?

Accepted Answer

Children, teens and adults from the age of 7.

Question 4

Do I need to bring my own sheet music or backing track?

Accepted Answer

You are encouraged to bring sheet music or backing track of the songs that you want to work on.  However, don't worry about it if you do not have them.  Assisting you to find the right sheet music and accompaniment tracks is part of my job.

Question 5

Do I need prior singing experience to book a lesson?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely not!

The lessons will be personalised for you, whether you are just about to start your singing journey or you have been in the industry for a while and are looking for professional development to further your career.

Question 6

Can you prepare students for graded examinations such as ABRSM, Trinity, LCM etc?

Accepted Answer

Yes if this is the path you would like to take.   But note that different people have different objectives.   Many of my students come to me for audition preparation, professional development, Estill certification preparation or simply wanting to explore their own voice and experience the joy of singing!

Question 7

How long is a lesson?

Accepted Answer

It depends!  I would typically recommend 30-minute lesson for primary school age children, 30, 45 or 60-minute for teens and 45 or 60-minute lesson for adults.

Question 8

How frequent should I have lessons?

Accepted Answer

Again it depends!

Students who are taking exams must have weekly lessons, except during major holiday/half term seasons.

For other cases, weekly or fortnightly lessons are still generally recommended, because singing is a physical activity.  Like any other physical training, it is difficult to make progress if you do not exercise your singing muscles regularly and properly.

However, if you are just looking for a vocal check-in from time to time or last-minute audition preparation or your schedule simply does not allow weekly/fortnightly lessons, I am also happy to take ad-hoc booking if schedule permits.  Priority however has to be given to students who hold weekly or fortnightly time slots.

Question 9

How do you structure your lessons?

Accepted Answer

We will always start a lesson with a short vocal warm, follows by some technical exercises.  The technical exercises will be tailored according to the developmental stage of your voice, the specific voice quality that you would like to work on, the areas that you would like to improve and/or the vocal issues that you would like to solve.  We can then work on the song(s) that we need to prepare for exams/auditions or anything that you would like to sing.   I am happy to provide song/repertoire suggestions.

If you come for Estill certification preparation, we will jump right into Voiceprint after a short warm up.

LESSON FAQs