Heather Baker- The Singing Teacher

I had an amazing time leading workshops on singing technique with the fabulous in York, Leeds and Huddersfield today.

👏We delved into the science of vocal cord closure and vocal tract shaping, and used this knowledge to enhance their choir songs, achieving powerful, proud and effortless performances!!

👌 If you run a choir and would like something similar for your group get in touch!

It’s Day one of teaching at my brand new studio!! 🥳

It’s been a crazy couple of months getting this place built, decorated, kitted out, cleaned up and ready to go!! I’m gonna need a lie down in a dark place to recover!! 😂

But I’m in and I’m raring to go! So if you’ve been waiting to book a lesson- now’s your chance!! All lessons will now take place in Sandbach (or online!) 👏👏👏

Book via the website: www.thesingingteacher.biz

✨ New Name. New Space. Same Passion. ✨
I’m excited to share a fresh new look and a new name: Heather Baker – The Singing Teacher 🎤

After many wonderful years as Heather Baker Singing Studios, I’m now focusing solely on one-to-one coaching from my beautiful new location in Sandbach. It’s just me now — no other teachers, just personalised, expert vocal coaching designed around you and your voice.

Thank you to everyone who’s been part of the journey so far. I can’t wait to welcome both new and returning singers into this next chapter 💜

Thanks to Tracey at Max Designs for my wonderful new logo!! 🤩

🤔How can modifying vowels improve your singing? Here are my top 5 things modifying vowels in singing can achieve…

1. Improved Resonance

2. Reduced Tension

3. Smoother Register Transitions/ More obvious flips

4. Enhanced Intelligibility

5. Better stylisation of songs

👍 Join this month’s ‘Singing Fundamentals’ online Masterclass with Heather to learn more about how you can modify vowels to improve your singing!
 
➡️ Sat 24th May 2pm-3.30pm UK time

In this online group class Heather will talk more about how vowels can be modified in singing, the reasons why you might need to change the way you pronounce certain words and how you can sound more suited to the style you wish to sing by modifying sounds. There will be an opportunity for some participants to work with Heather on a song of your choice.

Book your place via the website: www.thesingingteacher.biz

👏 We’ve been working hard to get the new studio built and ready for action and I can now confirm that the new studio will open on Monday 2nd June with all in-person lessons taking place there from that date onwards.

👍 This means there’s only a few weeks left to take lessons in Northwich so if you’d like to get one in before we close make sure you book before the end of May (our last day teaching in Northwich will be Sat 31st May).

Keep an eye out for more changes in our branding coming soon- a new studio deserves a new logo right?!!!

🙌 This Saturday you’ll find us out singing in Northwich raising money for Cancer Research! From 10.30am- 4pm

Cheshire Pop Choirs will sing two hour long sets and singers who take lessons at Heather Baker Singing Studios will be performing solo pieces either side!

💷 We’ll be collecting for Cancer Research throughout the day and hope to raise some serious money so why don’t you pop down and support our singers by donating to this fabulous cause!!

💪🏻 One of the most common things people come to me for help with is building more strength and power in their singing voices. Some people struggle to produce any powerful sounds at all and others find that power comes easy to them in some parts of their voice but not in others- both need to work on building strength but potentially in very different ways.

👏 For example- Kylie* came to me because she could sing with plenty of volume and power up until the B above middle C and then her voice went weak and soft or it jammed up so no sound came out at all. She wanted to sing contemporary musical theatre so absoutely needed to produce powerful notes higher than a B.

Sharon* came to her first lesson having sung in church choirs but never being given solo parts because her voice sounded too weak and quiet all through her range.

➡️ Both singers needed strength but the approach taken to find it was very different. Sharon had to learn how to get better vocal cord closure in her chest voice first before moving into the top of her voice so she could produce stronger sound waves and louder sounds. Kylie needed to learn how to thin out the sound at the top of her chest voice in order to transition into a ‘mix’ voice coordination. This reduced the build up of tension (and air pressure) that was causing her vocal cords to burst open and weaken the sound.

😃 And then there was Frank* who came to his lesson with a pretty good balance in his voice- not breathy but not overly strong. He had spent years singing quietly because he didn’t want to disturb his neighbours! In order to develop the ability to sing louder he needed the freedom to practice at incrementally louder volumes to enable his voice to understand how to adapt to a greater air pressure without resorting to using extrinsic muscular tension. He underwent a programme of vocal intensity training.

Join this month’s ‘Singing Fundamentals’ online Masterclass with Heather to learn more about how to build the strength in your voice! More info in the comments!

You may or may not know this about me but a large amount of my work is training other voice teachers! It’s one of my favourite things!!

🇩🇪 This last week I have been in Munich working with voice teachers from all over Europe (plus a few who travelled from further afield) at our IVA mini-conference which has been a lot of fun!

🙌 I have taught classes on belting, teaching using non-verbal communication, song coaching, ear training, vocal analysis using spectrogram, delivering student focussed lessons, and so much more!!

➡️ This training was all done via my teacher training organisation of which I am a proud owner alongside 7 other fabulous people: (Institute for Vocal Advancement)

If you are a voice teacher looking to develop your skills OR a singer who is interested in learning to teach you should check out the courses we offer.

🤗 It appears to be peak audition season right now- I have so many singers currently preparing for Drama school auditions, local theatre company auditions, self-tape professional auditions etc. If you’ve ever had to participate in an audition of any kind you’ll know how much pressure you can feel in that environment. Many people feel the same amount of pressure when it comes to any form of public performance whether that be an open mic, a high school performance, a touring show, or even just taking your turn on the karaoke!

🤔 So what can we do to better prepare ourselves for these situations so we can begin to enjoy ourselves rather than simply stress out?!

➡️ Are you dealing with Performance Anxiety /Stage Fright OR Performance nerves

If you find yourself avoiding performance situations altogether or experience very little enjoyment in your performances there’s a possiblity you’re struggling with Performance Anxiety. This is an extreme condition where the negative thoughts in your head outweigh any positive ones leading to an inability to take pleasure from your singing during a performance. For a lot of people the situation isn’t quite this bad but they do get nervous about sharing their singing with others through fear of judgement or worries about their abilities. The difference is that if you’re feeling nervous about your abilities- learning how to control your voice better and understanding why it sometimes goes wrong will help to build your confidence to use it. If you’re struggling with performance anxiety it won’t matter how much control you have over your voice the anxiety won’t reduce.

🤩 Join this month’s ‘Singing Fundamentals’ online Masterclass with Heather to learn more about ways you can manage performance nerves and anxiety in auditions and performances!
 
➡️ Thu 27th Feb 7.30pm-9pm UK time

➡️ £25 per person (or free with any lesson package or subscription at the studio)

➡️ Book via our website: www.thesingingteacher.biz (click on ‘schedule appointment’ and select the Singing Fundamentals online class)

🤩 There are still a few places available in this online masterclass taking place on Saturday 10.30am-12pm (UK time) so if you want to learn more about how to use emotion in your singing both to engage with your audience AND to improve your technique then get yourself booked in!

To book- visit the website: www.thesingingteacher.biz

Click on “schedule appointment” and select the Singing Fundamentals online Masterclasses!

It’s just £25 to attend or free if you’ve already purchased a package of lessons or monthly subscription at the studio! 😄

What a year 2024 has been!! Looking back I can’t believe how much I managed to fit in…

January: I Presented and hosted at the IVA online singing teacher’s summit

February: I Presented a singing teacher training day for AOTOS in Exeter

March: I Raised over £300 for charity taking my choirs out busking

April: I took a well earned break and headed to Florida for a full on Disney experience! 😂

May: We ran Saturday Sessions and I launched the online Singing Fundamentals course. I also presented a vocal technique masterclass day to ‘Lucy’s Choirs’ in York.

June: I Presented several teacher training classes at IVACON in Edinburgh

July: I had my Graduation for my Masters degree in Vocal Pedagogy. We also had our annual Summer concert at the Grange theatre.

August: I Presented at the ISME Music teachers international conference in Helsinki and I Presented an online workshop for Voice Study Centre.

September: I Started recording the 3rd season of the Vocal Advancement Podcast

October: We ran another Saturday Sessions. And I began working on a care home choir project

November: I Travelled to Japan, Korea and China to deliver IVA teacher training in the trip of a lifetime!

December: We had our Christmas Performance Party and too many choir performances to mention!

And this was all alongside the countless hours of private lessons, choir leading and administrative duties that take place every week! 😅

I cannot wait to see what 2025 brings!!

#2025

🙂 I know there’s not always the budget available for regular voice lessons and that’s why I created the Singing fundamentals online group classes to give you an affordable way to learn with me without breaking the bank!

😄And if you are lucky enough to be able to take regular lessons these classes are the perfect accompaniment to help you accelerate your learning journey (which is why I include them for free with every lesson subscription or package purchased at the studio!)

➡️ There’s a class every month for only £25 per person and I choose something new to focus on in each one to ensure you’re always learning and progressing your skills. Here’s what I have planned for the first three months next year…

JANUARY 18th 10.30am-12pm
“Authentic emotion in songs”

FEBRUARY 27th 7.30-9pm
“Audition and Performance”

MARCH 28th 10.30am-12pm
“Vocal Strength Training”

🥳 All of these classes are now available to book via the website: www.thesingingteacher.biz
Just click on ‘schedule appointment’ and select ‘Online Singing Fundamentals Masterclasses’ and choose the month you wish to attend!