Just booked first singing lesson :-o

[Escapegoat]

Cripes. I haven't sung in front of another human being since the days of the school choir (er... 1970s). But finally bit the bullet. I hope she'll not be too cruel.

Anyone else done similar? Advice (dutch courage?) welcome.

Expect more poor-white-mid-life-crisis blues ramblings on Youtube in a few months' time!

[Robmarriott]

I’ve always fancied the idea but never done it. How expensive is it

[Escapegoat]

About £40 for an hour, which seems pretty standard around this area (Cambridge).

[davidd]

Escapegoat said:

About £40 for an hour, which seems pretty standard around this area (Cambridge).

Where are you ? ( we are Linton ).

[Escapegoat]

Fairly central Cambridge. The lessons are at a studio near the river, so I think you're far enough away not to worry about my caterwauling. ;-)

But if I gain enough confidence I may try some open mic nights in the area.

[speedysoprano]

Fantastic! Singing is brilliant for breathing, it's a mood lifter, when taught properly helps with body awareness and muscle coordination, and is just generally bloody good for you. (I'm a pro singer so can vouch for all of this!)

Makes me happy to see people trying it out. There's no such thing as being too old to start (I remember my first teacher had a 90yo student who'd been learning for 10yrs and had a gorgeous, youthful sounding voice), and everyone can learn to sing to some degree or other. Learning technique should help to give you more confidence in something you clearly already love to do.

Enjoy, and keep us posted!

[Escapegoat]

Thanks for the encouragement. I'll update here as soon as I've had the first lesson. I'll probably record it, so I can replay it (with or without cringing) and remind myself of her advice.

For the moment, I'm avoiding the thousands of YT lessons.

[Escapegoat]

OK, I didn't update here after the first lesson, as I didn't think it went that well. She was kind about it, but I was quite despondent. I had chosen a simple song, with easy lyrics, slow pace and a narrow range (Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol), and I didn't do it justice at all. We did quite a bit on breathing basics.

But today's lesson was much better, covering range and the chest to head voice transition. We did one exercise of swooping up and down, where she encouraged me to try for a wider range than I thought I had. Not sure all of those pitches will be easily available as notes to sing in a melody, but it was an ear-opener, and confidence builder. In the scale exercises, it appears I have a tenor voice, about F2 to D5 (so far).

[speedysoprano]

Exciting stuff, good on you! Rome wasn't built in a day, finding a reliable and serviceable technique will take time but the benefits are so worth it.

[BruceV8]

How's it all going Escapegoat? Still singing?

This is an idea I've been toying with for a few years now and I'm almost ready to sign up for a beginners singing course with the City Academy in London. I've done my fair share of karaoke while in a moderately refreshed state and it's usually gone pretty well. I've also done loads of public speaking and was a stand up comedian for a few years. But something about this terrifies me and I think its the self consciousness of looking like a berk!

[anonymous-user]

I guess it all got too much for him