Day
and evening, Monday to Friday. The slots are as follows:
9.45am, 11.00am, 3.30pm, 5pm, 6.15pm, 7.30pm. The evening slots
tend to get booked up.
Do
you take beginners?
Singing:
Yes, but I may well send you off to a technical singing teacher
after five sessions. I'm really a coach rather than a 'singing
teacher'.
Piano:
No, because I teach improvisation, and a beginner would be better
off learning the fundamentals from a 'straight' piano teacher
- probably cheaper too.
What's
the difference between a singing teacher and a singing coach?
Well,
a singing teacher will primarily work on technique whereas a
singing coach will work more on presentation, repertoire, confidence
building and audition technique. Singing teachers are themselves
singers whereas coaches might be musicians and Musical Directors.
You would expect a coach to be able to play the piano but many
excellent singing teachers just play with one finger. Although
teachers and coaches try to cover all areas. I would not wish
to work with a student who is not prepared at some point to
see a technical singing teacher.
So
what kind of regular students are on your books?
Singing:
mostly
people with projects or aims rather than just singing for the
love of it. Examples would be preparing for auditions and recordings
or working on presentation skills for live performances. It's
not a question of ability, though. For instance I often work
with dancers who never get through the singing auditions so
my job is to build their confidence and help them choose songs
that are right for them. I also work with girl and boy bands
with mixed singing ability but who need to achieve a required
standard for a recording session.
Piano:
in order to play jazz or blues, it really is useful to have
some playing experience and knowledge of scales. I often teach
people that have played classical but wish to be discover a
more creative approach. I also work with songwriters and producers
to help with song structures and chord sequences.
What
styles do you teach?
Pretty much everything except classical. I used to but it's
not what interests me any more.
Do
you teach children?
Singing:
only to prepare for auditions, performances or recordings.
Piano:
only if they have some classical training and know their scales.
I do sometimes take on children interested in working creatively
with sounds, making up songs or inventing stories that interweave
with the music we invent.
