Where do I start as a beginner & what classes should I take? (Q&A session)

Hey everyone! First of all, I’d like to apologise. I haven’t been keeping up with the weekly content. You might have seen some of the lesson archives.

I’ve been quite ill over the past month so I’ve been focusing my energy on teaching my private students. I’m going to try to get back into here and to kickstart off today, I want to do some quick-fire Q&A to tackle some of the questions that have built up.

I get this. Not knowing what to do/work on is a tough part of singing.

Now beyond booking a lesson with me and having me listen to your voice.

The best thing I can suggest is paying attention to what you find hard when you’re singing a song.

Is it staying on pitch? Is it singing with strength? Is it keeping time?

See if you can focus on observing your weaknesses for your next practice session. Sometimes we can get so caught up in feeling lost when the answer might be there right in front of you.

Now beyond this, in general I find most people can benefit from working on understanding and really building the fundamentals of the voice i.e.

1. What does it feel like to adjust pitch?

2. What does it feel like to adjust volume/power?

If you just mastered these 2. You’d already be ahead of a lot of singers.

Now I won’t go into detail but some episode to check out.

1. 148 - How To Learn To Sing in 2024

2. 129 - Isolating the Stretch

3. 132 - A simple Approach To High Notes

Now I can see this question being interpreted in many ways but if you’re asking about the different formats of singing lessons for example

1. Private lessons

2. Group lessons

3. Choirs

4. Doing an online course.

I think really the question here is how serious are you about singing? And also do you have any restrictions like time/money.

For example, I think a GOOD private instructor can really help you make the most progress in the quickest time. You have tailored feedback, that gets built up over time. But it’s probably the most expensive.

Now if you’re trying to build confidence/like the social element of singing. Joining a choir can be a great place. But you might not learn about technique in detail.

And last but not last, if you like to work things at your own pace then the online courses can be a great place. But there isn’t a feedback loop to know if you’re doing it correctly.

So I’d really see what fits you the best and give it a try. You won’t know unless. And you can always find an arrangement. I have taught many students who take 1:1 lessons with me weekly but then also take part in a choir.

I think the answer is that there’s no right way. I’ve definitely seen many great songs written from both ends.

Personally for me, I like to build out the music/beat. Because it allows me to really map out where the song has the most energy. Where it should hit the hardest and where it should come back down.

For example in this song that I’ve been working on Melodic Freedom.

I personally started creating…

Real quick! For those of you who don’t know me. My name is Ivan, I love making music and also teaching singing to students all around the world. On this newsletter my goal is to make learning to sing simple. If that’s up your lane, consider subscribing. If you want to improve your voice faster, check out the links down below for ways to work with me

If you want to inspire our next episode! Drop in the comments below what you want me to talk about next.

Anyway! I hope this episode was useful. If it was, please support this channel through all the usual social media stuff. Like, comment/subscribe.

If you’re from the podcast, leaving a 5 star would really help us grow and mean the world to me.

Last but not least, if you’ve always wanted to improve your singing faster and with less confusion. Remember you don’t have to do this on your own.

I’ve got ways to work with me in the description down below. Make sure to check it out. Apart from that, my name is Ivan, I'm your voice teacher, and I'll see you for our weekly tutorials every single Thursday or Friday.

Take care.

Extra Links/Resources

🌍 Book Private Singing Lessons here: https://calendly.com/singingsimply 

🌍 Step By Step Singing Course: https://www.singingsimply.com/courses/singing-fundamentals 

🌍 Stream my music: https://linktr.ee/singingsimply

🌍 Business/other inquiries: [email protected]