"Fix me!" - in three easy lessons

July 2005.  The dimly lit staircase leads to a foyer where people with guitars hang around chatting, and parents wait patiently for their offspring.  The muffled sounds of singing and instrumental lessons seep through doors along the hallway.  A band is practising in another part of the building; the floor vibrates from energetic drumming.

I've chosen the AIMMS School of Rock for my singing lessons because they sponsor the Weekend Warriors, and therefore they would not be puzzled why I am wanting to sing in a rock band at my age.  It saved me a lot of embarrassment not having to explain myself.

I am assigned to Rohan for my lessons.  When I explain that I only have time for three lessons before embarking on the Warriors program, he does a good job of keeping a straight face and preventing his jaw from hitting the ground.  He is probably thinking "How can I possibly fix this woman's bad singing habits in three half-hour sessions?"

I explain that I don't want to sound like a choir girl when I sing at the jam.  Rohan empathizes with my concern about this.  He helps me find suitable keys for the songs I want to sing, so the songs will sit within my power range and I won't have to reach too high.  He advises me not to look upwards when singing the higher notes, as this stretches my neck and blocks the sound; if anything, I should look down.

Rohan encourages me to channel the sound through the bridge of my nose.  This seems counter-intuitive to me, as I have always believed that it's bad to sing through your nose.  However, when I try it, I notice that my voice sounds much more focused and hard-edged my voice sounds.  We do some work on breathing.

He also gives me tips about how to use a microphone and how to cope if I can't hear myself.  He explains that the "foldback" (a speaker angled towards the singer) does not always work as well as you would like it to be.  He advises me not to sing harder but to pay attention to how my voice sounds and feels inside my head.

All of this turns out to be good advice.  I feel a lot more confident about singing at the jam session, and about joining a rock band.

And six months later, I once again ascend the stairs to the AIMMS School of Rock, to begin my first year of singing lessons.