Perhaps singing isn’t for you? Or you feel your child is too young to start formal singing lessons? Maybe you just want to explore all your musical options? The first and most important reason for learning an instrument should be that you want to learn it, but even then, it’s Read more…
Following on from the post last week about how breathing works, here’s a quick guide to how the voice works. There are four parts to the voice the air pressure system, the vibratory system, the resonating system, and the modifying system. Each of these works to create the sounds we Read more…
One of my favourite exercises for beginners, and for warming up with a choir is square breathing. It’s all about developing control of your breath, and extending lung capacity. From the beginning of any vocal training, it’s really important to work on your breathing. To breathe properly, you need to Read more…
When I started taking singing lessons, I never expected that I would come to know so much about the human body. I’m still not convinced that anatomy is my favourite subject, but it’s vital for singers and singing teachers to understand what’s going on in the body. The very first Read more…
Grade 8 is the highest available graded instrumental exam. For parents and students alike, it can seem like a glowing light in the distance – a magical target that once achieved will bestow the mythical status of ‘musician’ on anyone who can reach it. Here are 8 myths about reaching Grade 8: Read more…
It’s school holidays from this week, up in slightly sunny Scotland, and it won’t be long before the schools are off in England too. That means lots of music teachers are on holiday too. Some teachers take the whole summer off and most of us will take a couple of Read more…
I often come across students who ask the question “Can I start teaching once I’ve got my grade 8?”. It’s a perfectly legitimate question, to which the legal answer is “yes”. In the UK, we do not have a licensing system for private music teachers. There are no official qualifications, or Read more…
While looking on the internet for ideas, I stumbled across this great “craft” idea from Crayola: What a wonderful idea to help kids learn to plan and record their practice! You can get the full instructions as given by Crayola here, but I think overall it’s fairly self explanatory!
With the ABRSM (and other boards’) theory exams only weeks away, I thought now would be a good time to offer up some of my top tips for revising for the exam, and then for what to do in the exam room. What to do BEFORE the exam Revision is Read more…
As someone who was diagnosed with asthma around the age of 7, it’s been my life longer than singing has. My symptoms are generally mild, and I’ve never been hospitalised, but my diagnosis does still affect my day to day functioning. A few years ago, I went to my routine Read more…