Lessons
What to expect
What to expect
At your first lesson, Nichola will ask you about your singing background, discover your goals and assess your voice. You will need to sing all or some of a song you have prepared. It is best to choose something you know well and are comfortable singing.
Vocal Exercises
You will be given exercises! Your voice is a muscle and needs to be worked. Nichola will give you exercises to practise after every lesson that are tailored to your specific voice type. It's like going to the gym for your vocal cords and the more you exercise them, the better they will sound!
Practice
Each lesson is recorded so that you can go home and practise the specific exercises given for your voice type and not have to rely on your memory- replay the lesson over and over. This is such a good learning tool.
Prepare
Nichola is here to help you sing the songs you love, whilst she can recommend songs it is really important that you own your learning and come to lessons ready with songs you want to get better at singing.
Exams
Method
School Lessons
Nichola offers group and one to one peripatetic singing lessons in schools. The school benefits from a FREE assembly and FREE one hour vocal workshop for any year group or class of their choice.
Group Lessons
One to one lessons
​Basically, if the larynx stays down and the vocal cords stay together from the very bottom of the vocal range to the very top everything is fine. This also applies to all vowel and consonant combinations throughout any phrase. If at any point the larynx jumps up or down or the tone becomes breathy then there is something wrong with the vocal process.
The larynx is the big bump in the middle of the neck just below the chin. This houses the vocal cords and controls the process of swallowing. When the larynx moves up, the muscles around the cords act as a sphincter and close in order to prevent swallowing down the windpipe and into the lungs. This is a very important process when you need to swallow, but not so when you are trying to sing. If you place your hand on your larynx and yawn, you will find that you can bring your larynx down as well. This is a good way to learn what it feels like to have the larynx stay down. The end goal here is to be able to keep the larynx from moving down as well as up. It should stay completely still as you ascend and descend.
The vocal cords, also known as vocal folds, are a pair of soft tissue cords that are joined at the front of the larynx and extend back. When they close, the back end of the cords come together (adduct), and the flow of air is temporarily stopped. When the pressure of air from the diaphragm overcomes the pressure of the muscles holding the cords together, they are blown apart and sound is made when they close again due to the resonation created. Then, once again, the air pressure overcomes the muscle pressure and the process begins again. If the vocal cords begin to come apart, the tone becomes breathy and the muscles around the outside of the larynx begin to tense. This becomes what is called a constricted phonation and is quite harmful for the voice.
This is a very brief and condensed version of what happens when you sing, there is obviously a lot more going on. But, to give you an idea of what is correct, take these two ideas and while you are singing, monitor them. See if you can keep your larynx still and your cords together. You will probably find that there is a certain area of your voice that is easy for you to accomplish this and certain points of your voice that are more difficult. These harder areas are called bridges. The key is in understanding the bridges and the mix. Bridges in the voice are passage areas from one part of our vocal range to another. In Italian, they're called passaggi - or maybe you've heard the term passaggio. These passage areas are a result of vocal cord adjustments that must take place in order for us to sing high and low in our range. These vocal cord adjustments produce resonance shifts in our body.
Our first shift in resonance, or our first bridge, is the most crucial one, because this is where our outer muscles are most likely to enter the picture. If they do, they tighten around the larynx in an effort to stretch the cords for the desired pitch. This is something you can feel and learn to avoid, through using specific exercises for your voice type.
Nichola offers singing lessons for children in groups of no more than 6. This group size is perfect for children who show an interest in singing to learn and progress. Each student's voice is assessed in a positive way, and they are given tailored exercises for them according to their voice type and their own personal goals.
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The aim is to build confidence, good vocal and performance technique and a love of singing. These goals are achieved by making singing fun. Technique is taught with ‘silly’ exercises and scales, which through muscle memory help to increase vocal range, stability, strength and tone. A range of different songs are taught with movement to work on their performance and expression when singing. Song choices from the children are taken one board so that they learn the songs they want to sing. Nichola promotes peer respect, encouragement and praise in the lessons, so that students soon feel comfortable singing out and volunteering for a solo or harmony. They will work on basic harmony and music theory so that students can learn how to follow written music and have an understanding of how music is read.
Nichola offers one to one singing lessons for students who wish to progress their vocal skills further and develop in all areas of singing. Whether for a solo in the school play, preparing for an audition, or just developing as a gifted singer, the focus is on confidence, performance and vocal technique, as well as a love of singing.
An after school performance evening is on offer for the children to showcase their songs to the parents at the end of the school year. If this is not possible then any opportunity for the children to perform throughout the year is welcomed - be it in assembly or a special occasion of the school’s choice to give the children more performance experience and to build confidence.
Schools
Workshops
choirs
performing companies
bands
Small vocal groups
Workshops are tailored for your specific event or group. The session can cover a variety of topics, such as vocal technique using live volunteers, how to protect your voice, harmony, blending as a group, performance, character, story telling, confidence, ad-libbing or just Q&A. If your group needs some help or wants to learn something specific together, Nichola is approachable and encouraging and can help your singers progress to the next level together.
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