Sing Anytime, Anywhere.

We were kind of been thrown into this whole online thing, weren’t we? We weren’t allowed to sing properly in public for months, & we were more or less forced to start singing online. But it has been a real eye-opener for a lot of people. I am personally a huge advocate for the benefits of online singing lessons, having started learning with Dave Stroud back in 2010!!! (yes that was when NZ Still didn’t have unlimited internet capacity) Here are a couple of reasons why I am still advocating for online learning, because it just works. 

YOU DON’T HAVE TO LEAVE YOUR HOUSE.

I know this can seem to some people like a very hermitty kind of reason to want online singing lessons, however a number of my clients work full time. When they get home the absolute last thing they want to do it turn around again to hop on the train, bus, tube or bike. They calmly sort themselves a snack & sit down ready to warm-up their voices. They arrive at their lessons rested & ready to learn. 

MORE SUPPORT

I am not meaning that someone is there holding your hand, but with online classes, there is a greater need for supported learning. Your teacher will send over tracks, sheet music & learning material electronically so that you have the tools you need for your learning at your fingertips. Need a lower version of your karaoke? No sweat, it only takes a minute and viola! You will have WhatsApp with your new track.

YOU CAN SING FROM ANYWHERE!

There is nothing worse than being away from home & having to miss a vital singing lesson. If singers are on tour, or even on holiday it gives them the perfect opportunity to squeeze in a couple of hours of practice. Don’t let geography get in the way of your singing, so take your teacher with you! 

BETTER MUSCLE CONNECTION.

Most importantly for your online learning, is that you have less aural ability to copy the way your teacher sings it (They haven’t come up with 100% music making online just yet). You are going to be required to internalise the movement of the voice, the feeling of the muscles in your larynx & pharynx in order to practice the technique in your own time. This is excellent for your body awareness & not just building up your copy cat skills. 

IMPROVED AURAL SKILLS.

As I mentioned above, because you can’t make music live your teacher will either have to play the scale, song or note in advance & you will have to sing it afterwards. This is an incredible skill to learn because your brain often tricks you into thinking you knew the note when you sing along with the piano, when you did in fact hear the note a micro second before you sang it. Our brains are wonderful, but building up this kind of call & response aural skill will pay off dividends in the future. It will just make you a much better listener. 

LESS HELP.

It isn’t quite as it seems, I have just been banging on about all the help you are going to get. Hear me out. Because your teacher can’t sing along with you, you will have to listen to your tracks much more closely. Listening to the corrections & executing them the second time around. This is all about strengthening your aural skills. You will be required to sing along with pre-recorded tracks so this supports you for your own self-study overall. 

WHAT DO YOU NEED FOR ONLINE SINGING LESSONS?

• Microphone.
• Earphones.
• An Ethernet connection if possible (when you are home)
• A second device to play your tracks from (phone does the trick)
• Printed text & sheet music, or you can use your iPad.

RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT FOR ONLINE SINGING LESSONS.

• Open Back Earphones: These are a must so that you can hear yourself sing & you can hear your teacher. It also reduces feedback.
• USB or plug-in Microphone: This is really a game changer, your ears will explode with the quality difference. I recommend the Rode NT-USB Mini mic, because it comes with a neat stand. You could opt for a headset system, but make sure it has a cable. Bluetooth can get funny with the signal, not to mention having to charge ANOTHER device. Actually the Apple Ear Pods have great sound quality though – a number of my singers use them.
• Small Bluetooth speaker: I like to pair my phone with a speaker so that I can concentrate on my singing rather than struggling to hear the music. I recommend the Anker Sound Core Boost. Great sound quality for the price!
• An Amazon Fire Tablet: For a whopping €53 (& even less on prime day) you can save a tree & have all your music to hand. I understand you can buy 2000 sheets of paper for the same price but the printing ink alone will be saved in 2 years! Any android tablet will do actually, but Amazon tablets are pretty cheap.
• A good internet connection: don’t worry if yours is a little slow, most internet speeds work well with the Zoom conferencing calls that I teach with. You do need to make sure that no one is streaming while you have a lesson though. Sharing isn’t as caring for the internet speed. Download your tracks in advance to save on speed too. Hey! who doesn’t love just being more organised?  

You can check out most of this equipment over on my “recommended gifts for singers” post.

The truth is, you don’t need the latest of anything to take online singing lessons. You can also make do with the earphones that came with your phone & you can print off your lyrics. Online singing lessons are in a nutshell accessible, convenient & flexible – but that is just my opinion, how about you take a leap of faith & try it out?