Since a very young age, I’ve always enjoyed singing along to the radio or enthusiastically joining in to the songs at Church. However, despite a short stint in the choir when I was little I never had much in the way of actual tuition. I know I can carry a tune, but have always longed to have a voice that is strong enough to sing on my own.
I remember when I was in my late 20’s vowing to take singing lessons, and to be good enough to sing in front of a crowd before 30. Well that didn’t happen and when writing my list it was one of the first things I decided to actually do – and see it through this time.
I looked into instructors, although there is such an array of them and prices vary a lot. I made a few enquiries but seemed to be getting passed from pillar to post. Most instructors seemed to be a bit expensive, and I didn’t really know how to assess quality or have any idea if they were right for me.
Luck was on my side as a friend of mine, a professional singer, happened to be working part time in my company. Our annual Charity auction saw all staff pledging time or skills to the highest bidder and so I won 4 hours of singing lessons from the amazing Kim Hawthorn.
We began with a chat about my goals. My musical taste is pretty eclectic, I enjoy anything from cheesy pop to opera to country, and everything in between – I’m even happy listening to “The Organist Entertains” on Radio 2 of an evening! I explained to Kim that I wanted to learn some basic technique and strengthen my delivery and tone. Kim’s an opera singer so naturally we gravitated towards more classical singing styles rather than modern pop!
We began each 30-minute session with some stretches, and ensuring a good posture. It has a major effect on your voice, apparently! We then did some warm-ups, making loads of seemingly random and odd sounds, to get my voice and lungs working. The key is correct breathing technique so we did a lot of work in trying to make sure I could project without affecting the clarity of the notes I was trying to produce!
The next challenge was interesting. I can’t read music so I learn everything by ear. Looking at sheet music I kind of get the starting note and then go “up a bit, down a bit” and hope for the best! We worked on songs from musicals, which was great for me as I could go off and learn them, then work on the singing technique.
I learned “On My Own” from Les Miserables, then “Colours of the Wind” from Pocahontas, then “Feed the Birds” and “Spoonful of Sugar” from my favourite, Mary Poppins.
One thing I found really tricky was the switch between what Kim called my “chest voice” – the one that feels natural, like talking or most pop songs – and my “head voice” – the high, opera-ish notes. Most songs have a high bit and the trick is to know how and when to switch from one tone to the other. Eventually, with lots of practice and a few frustrations, I managed to get the hang of it. It’s really opened up a whole range of notes for me that I previously could have sworn I couldn’t reach!
We worked on how to sing first the notes, then add in the sounds, then finally the words. I learned how to start a line with a vowel (trying to get a clean opening rather than a breathy start or a harsh glottal sound).
The last thing we worked on was quality of notes. I tend to slide up and down a bit from one note to the next rather than keeping each note pure. I still haven’t mastered this one, but at least I am now aware of it, so I can work on perfecting it!
There were some times when I got frustrated, when I just wasn’t getting it. Kim was really encouraging and changed tactics when this happened. We started over-acting the songs and flitting round the room in some bizarre dance scenes to bring some fun and lightness back into it. Funnily enough, it was these times when I was least self-conscious and sometimes sang better as I wasn’t trying so hard!
I really enjoyed my singing lessons, and I do feel like I have improved. I’m probably not quite ready for a solo performance but I do feel a lot more confident in singing out loud!
It’s just like any other skill – practice and dedication can really make a lot of difference, along with a little helpful guidance from someone who knows what they are doing!
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