Sing with Claire!

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Welcome to Sing Your Song. 

I am a passionate singing teacher and choir leader on a mission to show, even the most introverted of people, that anyone can sing, and everyone has a voice. It's time to feel part of something you never thought you could and sing your heart out. Feel the fear but do it anyway!

My name is Claire Platt and I am a South Croydon based singing teacher and vocal coach. I want to help you become the best singer that you can be. Whether you are confident and ready to take on the world or a scaredy cat desperate to let your inner diva out, I can help!

I teach all levels. You are never too old to enjoy singing. Whatever your style I can help you find a stronger voice. I can help you build stamina, confidence and repertoire. I enjoy troubleshooting and helping people work on their performance skills. I prepare, and can enter students, for ABRSM, LAMDA and LCM Musical Theatre exams however, you are responsible for finding your own pianist to accompany you or your child. I do not accompany ABRSM exams but LCM Music Theatre exams allow you to use backing tracks and I can accompany these sometimes. Please note I do not teach children under 11 years old.

During your 1st lesson we will discuss your needs, aspirations and goals. We would then do a warm up and start working on the songs you want to start with (or I can suggest something). It would be nice to hear you sing something you know in this session so please feel free to bring sheet music or a backing track or just sing a cappella.

I have limited availability for face to face lessons at St John the Divine Church Hall, Selsdon on Thursday and Friday afternoons/evenings. 

When online I teach via Zoom and find these lessons to be incredibly useful. 

My rates are as follows:

£48 per 60mins
£39 per 45mins 
£30 per 30mins

See below for my cancellation policy.

Payment must be made the day before the lesson by bank transfer or PayPal.

Rates are subject to change.

If you need to cancel or rearrange a lesson this should be done with, at least, 24hrs notice. Failure to do this will result in your having to pay for the lesson whether you attend or not. The cancellation fee can be waived at my discretion but if you know you can't make it please do not leave it until 2 hours before to tell me. I would appreciate as much notice as possible so I can offer someone else the slot. I realise people get ill and can't always give 24hrs notice and this is where my discretion comes in!

Finish what you start!

Well hello again! Today I have a rare Saturday off and, as the weather is a bit grey and blustery I thought I'd stay in and get some work done. I checked my email and was very excited to see that a result had come in for a Grade 8 Musical Theatre for Actors one of my 17 year old students had taken last week.

This particular student has done very well in their exams in the past gaining merits for their grades 6 and 7. I was thrilled with those results. A merit is an excellent result, especially for the higher grades, but many of my students feel that less than a distinction is tantamount to failing. Of course I would love all my students to get distinctions but a merit, or even a pass, is still something to be proud of.

This student almost gave up on her singing lessons and the exams when she got her result for her grade 7 exam as she didn't think it was worth it if all she was going to get was another merit. I pointed out to her that she had already come so far and she should really think about finishing what she started. After a bit of nagging from me (and using her mother to help persuade her) she agreed and we set about picking her songs for her final grade.

She worked incredibly hard on her songs, one of which also had to be performed as a monologue, and was ready to do her final musical theatre exam. Today I got the result of all of her hard work and was delighted to send her a message to tell her the decision to carry on had paid off with a distinction.

The distinction for me was the cherry on the top of the cake. I would have been happy had she only got a pass as I would have been so pleased that she had seen the whole exam journey through from start to finish and didn't give up on it. She put in the work, and then some, and reaped the rewards. The reward is not only the distinction but the satisfaction of working through the grades plus it looks great on any university applications to show that she can apply herself and, as I said in the title of this post, finish what she starts!

So perhaps this is something you might like to do. I can help you work through singing exams with the LCM or ABRSM , musical theatre, pop or classical. If you live anywhere near Selsdon, a stones throw from Croydon, get in touch and we can start you off on your exam journey or, if you don't live anywhere near me, get in touch with your local singing teacher and see if they can help.