Working on A Song in A Live Lesson

Hi,

I started to think about the following now.

Let's say I want to work on a song in a live-lesson, with an instructor. How important is it that the instructor knows the song ahead of time - to make everything run smoothly?

I was thinking about choosing a Swedish song :) Just joking, I won't choose a Swedish song. However, my favorite songs are usually from medium-famous singers. And usually not their most popular songs. So I would understand if the instructor hasn't heard it, but at the same time I wouldn't be surprised if the instructor has heard it.

Medium-famous singers to me are (for example): Parachute, Jamie Cullum, First Aid Kit and Mumford & Sons (okay, I'm not sure if I should count them as medium-famous).

Best wishes,
Joel

Hi, Joel! It's certainly nice if your instructor knows the song, but it's not necessary. Most of the time, if I don't know the song my student is working on, I'll have them sing a verse and chorus (and maybe jump to the bridge if it's very different); and by then, I'm as familiar as I need to be with the song! We also may listen to a section of the original together to identify stylistic elements. 

If there's sheet music available online (for free), you can also look that up and send a link to your instructor over your Zoom chat. That's always appreciated, so they can read the melody while you sing and correct any incorrect pitches. But we can tell, with or without the sheet music, if you're singing out of tune (once we've established the key or a reference pitch). 

Thanks for your answer! :)

By the way, when you press the button "Book A Live Lesson", the page is blank. Do you know why?

Try it again, Joel! It's working for me. 

Ah, yeah. It works now. Thanks!

Sure thing!

Hi Camille,

When choosing my first song to work on - Should I think about the difficulty of the song when making a decision? That is, maybe go for an easy song as my first song and later choose more demanding songs. I just went with a song I really like and I feel something for, and I don't think it is too difficult.

But I don't know, maybe Abram will have other opinions on this. The genre of the song is Jazz-pop, I think. I'm not sure if, and if so which, genres are more 'demanding' than others. :)

Best wishes,
Joel

I always think easy is nice to start with. Regardless of genre, the most challenging thing about a song is usually its range. Songs with a smaller range will always be easier!