Singing Lessons for Beginners

Group singing lessons for adult beginners

Are you a beginner and would like to learn more about singing and your voice? Would you like to gain more confidence when singing and gain strength in your voice? Then these group singing lessons for beginners are for you!

You sing every week in a group and receive instruction from an experienced singing teacher.

Why do singing lessons for beginners in a group?

Singing is wonderful. Not having to think about anything else and singing along with your favorite artist. It makes the dishes less boring and in the shower it just sounds good. But can you learn to sing better? 

Maybe you already sing in a choir, but you hit a ceiling with some notes. Or your voice gets tired very quickly while singing.

Making music in general, and singing in particular becomes more fun when you do it with other people. Making music together gives a sense of belonging. You can also learn from each other. What you already mastered, the other cannot yet do and vice versa. Besides, it can be a big step to take private lessons right away. You may not have a lot of time and you don’t know if singing lessons are really for you.

That is why at Studio MusicalMente we also offer weekly group lessons. By keeping the group small (max 6 people), you will always be able to hear yourself.

Who is this singing group intended for?

Of course you have to love singing. But why should you take these group lessons and not, say, private lessons? You can have several reasons for wanting to take group singing lessons:

If you fall into any of these categories, then the group singing lessons for beginners are your way to get you started singing. In these group lessons, you’ll meet others who, like you, are eager to improve their voices.

Practical Details

Group Thursday Evening

Thursday Evening (19.30h-20.30h)
Starting from 12 january 2023

Price:

1st lesson – 15€
Come to your first lesson for 15€ – no strings attached.

By clicking on the button below, you will redirect to the form where you can request your first tryout lesson.

We will then contact you with all the information.

€ 129 per month 
If you are then happy with it and you would like to continue, you’ll pay only 129€ per month.

Where:

Studio Musicalmente: In Het Koorenhuis, Prinsegracht 27 Den Haag, room 1.11
(City Center Den Haag)

Participants:

Max. participants: 6 per course

Teacher:

Boukje van Gelder

Language

English

What do you learn in the group singing lessons for beginners?

In singing lessons, we work on four things: vocal endurance, singing in tune, confidence when singing and the harmony when singing together.

Singing Lessons for Beginners

1. Vocal Endurance

When you just start exercising, you are often exhausted quickly. This is also true when you start singing. Your voice can get tired quickly. By singing more in the classes (and preferably at home) you can improve your stamina when singing. This allows you to be able to sing longer and that gives you more pleasure in singing. In the lessons we work on this with:

- exercises for technique
- Managing your breath efficiently
- a lot of focus on the voice and not only on the music

Singing Lessons for Beginners

2. Singing in tune

Singing out of tune is one of the biggest sins there is in singing land. Yet, you don't have to be afraid of singing out of tune. You just need some tools that will allow you to still hit the right note. For this you do need to know when something is not in tune. Unfortunately, this often immediately gets a negative undertone in which you feel guilty for singing out of tune. This is not productive. Singing out of tune once in a while is part of it; you learn from it. Because you sing in a group, you also have each other's support for the notes.

Singing Lessons for Beginners

3. Confidence when singing

I often get students who either only want private lessons or only want to sing in a very large choir because they are afraid that others will hear them sing (terribly). In a small group you are sure others are going to hear you, but this is actually a good thing. You come into a safe environment where you have to step over boundaries to test the capabilities of your voice.

Singing Lessons for Beginners

4. Harmony when singing together

The focus also remains on singing together. Everyone has a different sound in their voice. How can you make sure this sounds nice together? What happens when you sing in unison? What happens when you sing polyphonically? You will get tips on how to blend your sound with other voices. This can come in handy, for example, if you sing in a choir.

What do a singing lessons for beginners look like?

Ieder les heeft drie delen: oefeningen voor de stem, muzikale oefeningen en Each lesson has three parts: exercises for the voice, musical exercises and the application of the exercises in a piece.

1. Vocal exercises.

Every class we start with the vocal warmup, so your muscles warm up and you can get used to each other right away. First we do a warmup song and then we do three simple vocal exercises. You'll also get tips on how to use your body efficiently while singing.

2. Musical practice.

Next we work on tone and sound. This can be done, for example, with an exercise in which one person holds a tone while the other sings a different tone. We can also do pre- and post-singing or a rhythm exercise. 

3. Apply exercises in a song

Then we study a simple song together. We see where the difficulties are and how to practice those pieces. This can be unison or polyphonic.

Singing Lessons for Beginners

Which music do we sing in the singing lessons?

In the lessons we sing familiar pop and musical songs, for example, Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen, Somewhere Over The Rainbow or newer songs such as Green Green Grass by George Ezra. There are so many pop songs that are fun to do, that participants' preferences for styles can also be included. We are not going to sing songs that everyone thinks are dull to do.

€ 129 per month
1 hour group singing lessons every week + singing exercises for at home.

What's not part of the singing lessons for beginners?

They are no private singing lessons

You will not be followed personally in this class and you will not be given an individual plan. What needs to be improved in your voice can be included in the lessons, but this will always be a compromise. Each week it may vary who participates, so the focus of the lesson may also be different each week. You can also not work on any special preparation, for example for an audition.

It's not a choir

Basically, you can always call singing in a group a choir, big or small. And what you do in classes is singing in a group. The difference with a choir is that we don't work toward a larger performance (at most a student performance afternoon) and most of the emphasis is on improving the voice rather than the music. So you can see this as an addition to or stepping stone to your choir.

It is not an A-Z course for singing

Because the composition of the group can be different every week, for example, because people are absent or new people join. There is a lot to learn, so you will pick up something new every week. Repetition is also important to really get something into your system. But the classes do not follow a progressive schedule. The focus will be on the basics of singing. If this is or becomes too boring for you, then you should look into private lessons.

Who is the singing teacher?

Boukje van Gelder Vocal teacher

Boukje van Gelder

Vocal Teacher

Boukje started singing when she was two years old. After playing piano and cello she started with vocal lessons and later decided that she wanted to be a singer. She loves to sing Bach and American song repertoire. In her Bachelor’s she did an internship in which she had to give vocal lessons and she liked it so much that she wants to continue to teach.

“To make music with your voice is something beautiful and also personal because every voice has its own sound and colour. With all my vocal teachers I learned different ways to find my own sound in a way that feels free. Now I like to help other people with finding their own sound.”  

Website Boukje

FAQ

It is very difficult to answer this question. In general, you are a beginner if you:
– Never had singing lessons
– Have had singing lessons for a year or less.
– Been taking lessons a long time ago for a short period of time.

But suppose, for example, you have been singing in a good choir for 10 years, but have never had lessons, are you a beginner? I can’t determine that for you from just that information. 

If you’re not sure if your in the right level for this course, you can request contact with me, so I can try to form an opinion if you fit in this course. If you want to be absolutely sure, you can book a private try-out lesson for € 15 through this link: Book a Try-out lesson.

You may choose whether you practice for these classes. But if you practice at least twice a week, it will be more fun for your fellow singers and better for your own physical endurance. You’ll also find that you progress faster, which keeps you challenged.

If you don’t practice, you can also progress, but it will be slower. You may then find that you run into the same issue every week.

The lessons are not refundable and are not meant to be recovered. If you can’t come to the lesson, regardless of the reason, you lose it. 

You can cancel one calendar month in advance. Send an e-mail to info@studiomusicalmente.nl stating that you no longer wish to take classes. Cancel your subscription before the end of the month.

Example: you cancel your subscription on December the 10th, then you will still pay €117 in January. As of February, your payment will stop.

The courses follow the dutch school calendar. You can check the lessons here: https://inhetkoorenhuis.nl/info/openingstijden-tijdens-feestdagen-en-vakanties/. In total, per school year, there are 38 lessons.

You will receive an invoice from us and you have to pay in advance for the lessons for the current month. 

No, we will not invoice you if the month has zero lessons.

Yes, the cost is the same. We did an average cost between the months which have more and less than 4 lessons. In this way, we made it simpler for both you and us so that we avoid confusion in terms of pricing.

If you’re going to join us after the month has started, you will pay only the remaining lessons of that month. After that, you’ll pay 129€ per month.