Recently I have been to shows to see local bands and I have noted one or two singers that would benefit from singing lessons. Not that they are bad, they have been really good singers; but a bit of tweaking could make them really great singers. To say to someone they would benefit from singing lessons sounds like an insult but in truth, any singer would benefit.
I say this as a singer, I wouldn’t want to use the phrase good or great necessarily but that’s my jam. Often when people think of singing lessons it involves being given songs and going through exams and being graded on your competency, but that is just one way of doing things.
When Kay Moorcroft started offering singing lessons here at Stayfree as part of The Singers Club, I jumped at the chance of having a singing lesson on my lunch break, I mean the commute is about 10 seconds! My singing lessons have always been led by what I wanted to get out of it. We would go through my live set ready for a gig, or work on new material so I nail it before recording. Kay is able to identify where I am going wrong or where I have picked up bad habits and shows me how to correct them.
It’s not all shoulders back, breath from the diaphragm, so many things for me have been the shape of my throat, where my tongue sits, how the air comes out, the shape of my mouth or even adapting the vowel sound to get ‘brighter’ wording. Sometimes it involved practice to get it right, other things are an instant fix. Things I would never have thought of.
There’s lots of remote or free tutorials online out there but I would say being in a room with someone as easy to work with as Kay makes all the difference and is definitely worth the money.
My last gig I played was International Woman’s Day as part of the Unglamorous project and Ian the boss said to me after I came off stage that, and I quote: ‘Kay is a miracle worker!’ which I was a bit taken aback by since I did all the singing and Kay gets the credit!!
But honestly I would say to any singer, get a few singing lessons in, and with someone like Kay, you can get out of it whatever works for you, even if it’s just a couple lessons to get you on track, it’s totally worth it!
Kay from The Singers Club offers lessons here at Stayfree Music every Monday.
Lessons are:-
£40 per hour or
£20 for 30 mins.
There are also membership options with more facilities, check out www.thesingerclub.co.uk
To book contact kay@thesingersclub.com