Here are some of the most frequently asked questions I receive:

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What happens during a lesson?

That depends on your goals. Every singer is different, so every lesson is different as well, but here are some common things you can expect:

We may work on range, registration, navigating the break, mix and belt coordination, strengthening your voice or increasing vocal flexibility, stamina, musicianship, pitch, rhythm, phrasing, intonation and stylistic choices. We may also work on choosing repertoire, building your rep book, preparing audition cuts, acting the song, analyzing text and music, stage presence, mic technique or figuring out why that one note works beautifully three times and then completely disappears the fourth.

Usually, I’ll give you an exercise to address something specific, then we’ll apply it directly to the music you are singing. I don’t want you to leave with a collection of mysterious sounds to make and no idea what they are supposed to accomplish. I want you to understand what we worked on, why it helped and how to practice it without me standing there.

2. What is the difference between voice lessons and vocal coaching?

Voice lessons are ongoing. We are building the technical, musical and artistic skills that make your singing more reliable over time.

Vocal coaching is more specific to the material in front of you. You may be preparing an audition, callback, performance, college or performing-arts-school audition, recording session or a new piece of repertoire. We’ll combine the technique you already have with a much closer look at the music, style, text, character and emotional life of the piece.

Some singers need one, some need both. We can also move back and forth between technique and coaching within the same lesson, because in real life those things are not neatly separated.

I also offer day-of coaching during recording sessions when scheduling allows.

3. How much does a lesson cost?

An hour is $90.

Many private teachers in New York with comparable experience and training charge $150 or more, so I thought long and hard about my rate. I know what it is to urgently want or need better training and not necessarily have an enormous amount of disposable income, and it is important to me that sustained, high-level study remain possible for more people.

I still put a great deal of care, thought, preparation and energy into my students, I just made a deliberate decision about what I wanted my studio to be.

4. Do you offer packages, discounts or half-hour lessons?

No. I don’t offer discounted packages or half-hour lessons.

Paying the full rate also includes more than the hour we spend together. Depending on what you need, I may make practice tracks, record exercises, send videos or give you additional reading and materials. You are also welcome to contact me by text or email if you hit a roadblock between lessons. You can pay for lessons in advance if that is more convenient, but prepaid lessons are nonrefundable and need to be used within six months.

5. How often should I take lessons?

Again, that depends on your goals, but weekly lessons are best for most people—especially when you are first starting, changing a deeply established habit or preparing for something important.

I don’t see regular students less than every other week. Too much time between lessons makes it difficult to build on what we discovered before your body and brain quietly return to doing what they have always done.

I also offer individual coaching sessions if you have a specific audition, callback, performance or recording project and aren’t looking for ongoing lessons.

6. What styles of singing do you teach?

A lot of them.

My main areas are musical theatre and contemporary commercial music, including pop, rock, country, R&B and jazz. I also work extensively with choral and sacred-music singers, as well as students preparing for NATS Student Auditions, NYSSMA evaluations and other adjudicated performances.

Each of those styles asks something different of the voice. I don’t believe that musical theatre, pop and classical singing should all be the same with slightly different vowels placed on top. We’ll look at what the music actually requires and build the coordination and flexibility to make those choices without sacrificing the health or reliability of your voice.

I also work with singer-songwriters and recording artists on developing their own sound, making intentional stylistic choices to create a cohesive identity across an album or recording project.

7. Do you teach one particular technique?

No, and this is probably the question where I am most opinionated.

Some teachers have one method and apply the same sequence of exercises to every student. I don’t work that way, because it is less effective. No two singers arrive with exactly the same anatomy, habits, musical background, strengths, problems, goals, learning style or personality. Why would I approach their learning in the same way?

My work draws from contemporary commercial technique as well as voice science, anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, advanced Somatic Voicework™ training, Linklater voice work, the body-based Alexander Technique, classical and bel canto technique, as well as workshops in Estill Voice Training. I've used exercises from speech-language pathologists and I regularly pursue continuing education in my field.

There is not one universally correct technique for singing. I believe there are tools that are more or less useful for a particular person and a particular task. An exercise that completely unlocks one singer may do nothing for another, or may even encourage more of the problem we are trying to solve.

You can read more about my training and the teachers who have shaped my work on the About Jac page.

8. What results have your students achieved?

My students’ goals are wildly different, so success does not look like one thing.

Students have performed on Broadway, Off-Broadway, on national tours and in regional theatre. They have recorded albums, toured professionally, signed to labels, worked professionally in New York and elsewhere, won NATS competitions, earned top NYSSMA results and participated in All-State Choir.

They have also been accepted to competitive schools and programs including NYU Tisch, the University of Michigan, Brown, Pace, Juilliard, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, LaGuardia, Talent Unlimited and Frank Sinatra School of the Arts.

But not everyone who studies with me wants a professional career. Success can also mean singing in tune for the first time, getting through a performance without anxiety taking over, leading a family sing-along on vacation, finally understanding how to practice or being able to trust a voice that used to feel completely unpredictable.

Those things matter too.

9. What ages and experience levels do you teach?

Pretty much all of them. My students have ranged from eight to seventy-two, with goals ranging from “I want to win a Tony” to “I have always wanted to sing and I decided to learn now that I’m retired.”

You do not need previous training or professional ambitions. You do need to participate, ask questions and practice.

For younger children, I consider readiness individually. Some voices and personalities are simply too young to need private lessons yet. The child should genuinely want to be there and be ready to participate in the repetition and attention that learning a physical skill requires.

10. Can you help someone who has been told they are “tone-deaf”?

Yes. I feel very strongly about this.

True tone deafness is a neurological condition that affects about 1.5% of the population. Most people who have been labeled “tone-deaf” were never taught the individual skills underneath singing. Pitch matching, listening, rhythm, vocal coordination and musicianship are separate abilities, they can be broken down and developed.

I have had students come to me convinced that they could not sing who later became confident performers, including students who went on to sing professionally.

It may take patience and consistent work, but where you are beginning does not decide where you are capable of going.

If you are still in doubt, it might be helpful to know that for a significant portion of individuals with amusia, music is an irritating sensory overload. Because their brains cannot organize pitches into a cohesive structure, music sounds like a chaotic "din," random banging, or a collection of discordant household noises. If that is not you... you might just need training.

11. Would you be a good fit for a child who mainly wants to have fun?

Yes! I take teaching seriously, but singing and performance is for FUN!! That is always front of mind.

Over the years I have observed innumerable benefits of learning performing arts skills in a supportive environment during the crucial preteen and early teen years. Benefits such as increased self-esteem, ease of forming new friendships, developing confidence in one’s ideas and willingness to share them openly.

Adults get those benefits too, by the way.

12. Are you a performer as well as a teacher?

Yes. I have worked professionally as an actor, singer, songwriter, studio musician, director, composer, recording artist and producer starting at the age of 14.

I have performed musical theatre, opera, choral music and contemporary commercial music, and at one point I sang in a punk band. I have also performed alongside Chaka Khan, Faith Esham and Ben Vereen.

That experience absolutely affects the way I teach. Making a sound successfully during an exercise is not the same thing as being able to find it in an audition room, during a long rehearsal, in front of an audience or on your tenth hour in a recording studio. I understand what happens when the work has to leave the practice room.

13. Will you travel to my home?

No. In-person students come to my Manhattan studio. If traveling to the studio isn’t possible, online lessons are available.

14. Do you teach group lessons?

Not currently. I concentrate on private instruction.

I do sometimes offer music direction or ensemble coaching. If you have a particular project in mind, send me the details and I’ll let you know whether it is something I can help with.

15. Are online lessons as effective as in-person lessons?

Yes. I know people sometimes assume online lessons must be a watered-down version of in-person training, but they aren’t.

I have worked for years to develop materials and teaching strategies specifically for remote lessons, and I have had many students study with me entirely online. I can still hear and observe the functional patterns we need to address, demonstrate exercises and give immediate technical, musical and stylistic feedback.

Online lessons are available through Zoom or FaceTime and cost the same as in-person lessons.

16. Where are in-person lessons held?

I teach on Claremont Avenue in Manhattan, near Columbia University, Barnard College and Manhattan School of Music.

I provide the exact studio information directly to students.

17. What is your cancellation policy?

Lessons cancelled with less than twenty-four hours’ notice are charged at the full rate.

Please respect the time I have reserved for you in the same way I respect yours. I put a lot of time and energy into my students, and habitual cancellations may result in the end of our working relationship.

18. What if my question isn’t answered here?

Send me a message through the contact form, or contact me by phone ( 479-366-5033 ) or email jacqueline.c.grady@gmail.com. Let me know what brought you to the site and what kind of help you’re looking for, I’ll tell you whether ongoing lessons or individual coaching makes more sense.