John is happy to teach all ages and abilities, both online and in person. He teaches from his home near Tiong Bahru MRT station. If you are interested in taking lessons, please get in touch via the contact page to discuss dates and options.
Rates
John is passionate about teaching singing to anyone with a desire to learn, regardless of background. His fees are competitive in the Singapore market, however, if the only reason you are unable to take lessons is financial then please get in touch.
Qualifications
John has extensive experience working with students of varying ages and abilities.
His teaching is informed by his robust education; he holds an MMus in Vocal Performance (with Distinction) from the Royal College of Music (RCM) and a BA in Music (1st class) from the University of Oxford. Prior to that, he conducted and accompanied primary and secondary school choirs in Singapore and conducted Schola Cantorum of Oxford (Oxford’s premier chamber choir) on their tour to China. He is a graduate of the Voces Academy Musical Leadership Programme (Oxford) and has been on the young artist schemes of Voces8 and The Sixteen, working closely with the professional choirs as a singer and educator.
In addition, John also has an LTCL diploma with distinction in solo piano and is a quick sight-reader. At the RCM, he was often called upon to accompany fellow singers on the piano in lessons with their teachers. During lessons, he is able to teach and accompany from the piano, eliminating the need for an external accompanist. He is also happy to accompany his students in ABRSM exams and concerts.
What to expect
My singing lessons tend to comprise two main parts:
(1) We start by warming up and working through a series of technical exercises (which will vary based on your level and needs). This allows me to assess your technical ability and home in on areas of growth. In an hour-long lesson, this may take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes.
(2) We will then turn our attention to repertoire. If you are new to singing, I will suggest a number of songs for you to work on (with your input, of course!) for our lessons. My goal is to work together with you to find repertoire that you enjoy and that will be helpful for your growth. We may spend the lesson working on one piece or we may go through pieces rather quickly; it all depends on our goals at the time. In this section we will explore the relationship between text, musicianship and technique.
There is flexibility to deal with wide range of related topics within this loose structure. I encourage you to ask questions at any time to clarify your understanding. My goal is to help you to understand the concepts behind healthy singing. If a particular method, analogy or exercise I suggest does not work for you, I aim to come up with different explanations or exercises until the understanding clicks for you. This process may take several lessons or even months, but in my experience, understanding of complex concepts will eventually fall into place with patience and creativity.
We will then end the lesson by discussing what we will work on in the following week. This will enable you to practice effectively in between lessons.
Trial lessons
A 30-minute trial lesson is essentially a condensed version of a full length singing lesson. We will discuss your goals and then work on a few exercises to give me an idea of the type of voice that you have in terms of range and timbre. We will then work through a short song of your choice.
I recommend opting for a trial lesson before booking further sessions with me. It provides a great opportunity for me to get to know you (both your personality and your voice) and for you to get to know me in a low pressure environment before making any commitment.
My teaching philosophy
To learn more about how and why I teach, click the button below:
JOHN LEE 