Singing Teacher Guelph, Ontario

Last night one of my new students whom I told to record his singing lessons said;

“What do I do with these recordings?”

The answer “Listen to them and work with them in between lessons”

I wondered why he wasn’t improving on a song he had been working on for four weeks. A teacher can only show you what to do, how to fix what is going wrong and give you guidance with exercise to address the problem areas. It is up to you as a student to take that advise and use it. Practice the exercises for as long as it takes till you finally get it, till it sinks in, what ever it takes. One of the most useful tools is recording your music lesson so you can listen back to the instruction when you are back at home. The recording gives you the ears to listen again during the week what you learned in the previous lesson.

The recording is a useful tool, a learning tool, a recorded account of actions taken during the class. A tool used to reflect and listen to yourself singing, hear the teachers comments, listening to the mistake and the correction that follows so you have an understanding of what you did and how you fixed it in class with the guidance of your teacher.

If you are staying the same and not improving perhaps you are not analyzing what it is you are doing or not doing. Go back and listen to your recordings during the week, practice along with the exercises and get to know your voice.

If you didn’t quite get the point of that particular exercise I stayed there in the same spot until you did get it before I moved on. There will be explanations and visualizations used to help you achieve your goal in the moment. Listening to yourself sing and the process that took place can be learnt by listening back to the recording.

When I went to Sheridan College in the Musical Theatre Program I was blessed with one group singing lesson and one private lesson every week I was there. I learned a lot about learning! No one likes the recorded sound of their own voice because it sounds so different than what you hear inside your head. The recording is what everyone else hears.

So “What do I do with these recordings?” Listen to them!

Gayle