Singing · Long Bay, North Shore Auckland

Beginner singing lessons.

For people who want to sing in tune, sing with a bit of confidence, or sing and play at the same time. One to one, at my studio in Long Bay.

Book a lesson or call or text 021 162 3447

$35 per half hour
3:15–7:30pm weekdays
Beginners only

Beginner level, and I mean that

This is the honest bit, so you can decide before you book.

I teach singing at beginner level. Pitch, breathing, warming up, finding your range, and getting through a song from start to finish without falling apart in the middle.

I am a pianist and guitarist first. My qualifications are ABRSM Grade 8 in piano and Grade 5 Theory of Music passed with distinction, not a vocal qualification, and I do not offer singing grades or exam preparation.

So if you are already performing and want advanced vocal technique, or you are preparing for a conservatoire audition, I am not your teacher and I will tell you so rather than take the booking.

The teaching room at the Long Bay studio, with a sofa on the left, an electric guitar and two amplifiers by the sliding doors, and an upright piano with sheet music open on the right — The room singing lessons happen in, same as every other lesson. There is a sofa, and nobody is made to stand up and perform.

What a beginner singing lesson covers

For someone who has never had a lesson.

Matching a pitch, then holding it. This is the one most people came to fix.
Breathing from somewhere lower than your shoulders, and why that changes the sound.
A warm up you can actually do at home without feeling ridiculous.
Finding where your voice sits comfortably, and choosing songs in a key that suits it.
Hearing intervals, so you can pitch the next note before you sing it.
One song you chose, taken the whole way through.

The part I think is worth having

Singing while you play

Plenty of people can play a song, and plenty can sing one. Doing both at once is a separate skill, and it is the thing most self taught musicians get stuck on.

It is also where I am most useful to you. I can accompany you on piano or guitar while you sing, or teach you to accompany yourself, which is harder and more worth having.

If you already take piano or guitar lessons with me, we can spend part of a lesson on this. It does not need to be a separate booking.

For children and teenagers

Singing is more exposing than sitting at a piano, and a child who is nervous about it will not learn much while they are bracing.

So we start quietly, usually with them singing along to something rather than singing alone at me.

Parents are welcome to sit in on any lesson, and you never need to ask. Plenty stay for the first few weeks.

For adults who were told they cannot sing

Somebody said it once, usually a teacher or a sibling, and it stuck for thirty years.

Most people who believe they are tone deaf are not. They have never been shown how to check a pitch against a note and correct it, which is a teachable skill rather than a gift you were born without.

No performance at the end. No exam unless you go and find one yourself.

The practical part

$35 per half hour, $70 per hour

Same as every other lesson here. Invoiced monthly, so there is no term to pay up front. No enrolment fee, no booking fee, nothing for materials.

Lessons run Monday to Friday, 3:15pm to 7:30pm. The last half hour starts at 7:00pm, the last full hour at 6:30pm. There are no weekend lessons.

There is no free trial. The first lesson is a real lesson at the normal price, with no obligation to continue.

The studio is at 24 Westerley Place, Long Bay, Auckland 0630. Street parking is about 20 metres from the door.

I also teach piano and guitar.

Book a singing lesson