Mark JW Graham: Singing Lessons Nottingham
Mark is the Midlands' leading Certified Voice Coach, providing professional singing lessons in Nottingham. Mark is known for getting BIG results in voices, fast. – 0115 871 7660 || [email protected]
This section is for singers who use their voice professionally—on stage, in the studio, or as part of their career. From vocal care and stamina to mindset, technique, and performance reliability, these articles share real-world strategies to help you protect your voice, refine your artistry, and sing with long-term confidence.
Extract from “Psychology for Musicians” by Percy C. Buck, circa 1944.
I’ve talked before about the importance of putting in the reps. To be honest, I feel like I should have multiple articles devoted to this very topic. That way I can can illustrate the importance of repetition, by writing repetitiously about it! Continue reading “The Difference Between Amateurs and Pros”
As I’ve mentioned recently, I’ve been spending a lot of time in the recording realm and inherently comparing live vs recorded vocals. I have pretty good pitch, but even I notice how unforgiving it is to hear your own recorded vocal back. We might only be talking about just one or two notes in a 3 minute difficult performance that are off, but they can completely change the perception of a vocal take being good vs bad.
Here’s a basic test for you to see what I mean. Here is a clip of an incredibly consistent and incredible live singer – Peabo Bryson. I go on about him because he is excellent. He is often held up by recording engineers and producers as being a “one take wonder”, where he can just record a single take and it’s basically perfect. Continue reading “Live vs Recorded – Our own double standards”
I was watching an interview a little while ago, with a famous fight trainer. The interviewer asked him who the most dangerous/incredible fighter he’d ever seen was, and he told this story about a guy called Steve Rusk.
Steve was just an outdoors-y kind of guy in the US (hunting, fishing, etc), but he’d come in and train with the fight trainer’s top world-class fighters. And Steve would utterly destroy them. He was just THAT physical and that good… but he never had the desire to be known across the world, he just liked training and being good at that. It was it’s own reward.
In the same way, there are some INSANE singers out there that you will (very likely) never have heard of… and I thought I’d share a few of my absolute favourites on here. All of these are bootleg recordings to help capture how good these guys are live. Enjoy! Continue reading “Epic voices you’ve (likely) never heard of”
Many who study with me—or with other teachers—run their own business, are professional speakers or consultants, or are singers themselves (gigging or otherwise). Naturally, the question arises: “Are singing lessons tax deductible?”
The first answer is an instruction: It depends. You should definitely speak to your accountant.
The second answer is a short discussion on reasons why singing lessons or vocal coaching may be tax deductible in your specific case. Again, to confirm this, speak to your accountant.
If so, then it is likely you can claim some or all of your singing lessons as a tax deduction. If you are a gigging musician, singer-songwriter, or music teacher, then ongoing music tuition may qualify as CPD—continuing professional development—and therefore fall under allowable business expenses. Again, confirm this with your accountant.
If you’re a professional speaker, educator, or consultant, there’s still a case to be made for a vocal coach to be partially tax deductible. This is less certain than for performing musicians, but if your voice is a business tool and coaching improves it, it’s worth discussing with your accountant.
If neither of the above applies, it’s unlikely your lessons are tax deductible. In most cases, they will be considered a personal hobby. As always, seek personalised advice from a qualified accountant.
This answer was not written by a certified accountant. It reflects personal opinion and should not be viewed as binding legal or financial advice.
Many singers – Sam Smith, Adele, and many more – are being plagued by serious vocal issues. It IS a serious problem, with the demands of touring and a perfectionist attitude (whether or not the technique is perfect or not) wreaking havoc on singers’ voices. I came across this great article the other day discussing all these vocal health issues, and what can be done to combat the damage that has been done after the fact. 1. Vocal injuries are common among top artists like Sam Smith and Adele, often caused not by poor technique, but by the intense demands of touring and performing while unwell. 2. Women may be more susceptible to vocal strain due to higher vocal fold vibration rates, and many old myths—like “singing from your diaphragm”—don’t hold up medically. 3. Modern treatments like laser surgery make recovery quicker, but rest is still essential. Experts recommend singers take regular days off and cancel shows when sick to protect their voices.Vocal Health Issues
Suffering from vocal health issues? You’re not the only one…
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