Can you help me with….
Probably! If it’s trans voice-related then it’s right up our alley, and you might be surprised by what’s possible (for any voice). If we get to chatting and we hear something that makes me think you might need a different specialist’s help, for example a speech and language therapist or ear, nose and throat doctor, we’ll always let you know.
How much do you charge?
Stephen charges £100/hour as a standard rate, but has a sliding scale for trans folks only from £50-£100. This means that if you’re trans you can choose to pay anywhere on that scale as suits your needs. You don’t have to prove your situation to us, and you can change how much you pay at any time.
Associate teachers charge £80/hour as a standard rate, but have a sliding scale for trans folk only from £40-£80.
Apprentice teachers charge £60/hour as a standard rate, but have a sliding scale for trans folk only from £30-£60.
Here is a handy graphic to help you choose where you sit on the sliding scale
If you aren’t trans, we’re still very happy to work with you! The standard rates are firm though, because there are thousands of teachers in the UK who can help with general voice work/singing, and only a handful who specialise in trans voice.
If you’d like to book us for a workshop, fees start at £100/hour depending on your needs, get in touch for a quote.
What is your cancellation policy?
We need 24 hours notice to cancel or change a lesson, or you’ll be charged the full price. This is because we have limited spaces in our schedule, and folks waiting; if spots are unused it means somebody else didn’t have the opportunity. Exceptions can of course be made for medical misfortune and other emergencies, on a case-by-case basis.
What are your typical hours?
Each teacher has different availability; some work weekdays, some weekends, some evenings. Have a browse through our teacher pages, or pop us an email for a recommendation.
Can we do lessons in person?
Yes! Different teachers are located in different parts of the UK, so it’s best to pop us an email so we can match you up with someone nearby.
Can you point me towards some good resources?
Oh boy, can I! https://londontranschoir.com/resources/
I’m very embarrassed and afraid to push myself, can you help with that?
We have quite a few students who are shy, dysphoric, or need a bit more time for things – that’s no problem at all. If you feel ready to start, we’re happy to have you – lessons move at whatever speed individual students need. If you’re not one for small talk you might like to bring a book to read from when we practise 🙂
How much do I have to practise outside of lessons to see results?
The thing about voices is that we use them everyday, whether we practise or not! We almost never have students come to a lesson and say that they’ve practised as much as they wanted to, but every little helps – and even just increasing mindfulness as you use your voice or listen to others counts. We like to recommend a handful of shorter check-ins with your voice each week rather than trying to practise for hours at a time. For singers we’d recommend 3-4 hours a week of dedicated time, but that’s a suggestion rather than a requirement!
What does a typical lesson look like?
We start every lesson with a little check-in, which could be anything from a minute to 15 minutes. We like to ask folks how their voice feels and what they’d like to work on. We’ll ask even if you’ve said what you’d like to work on in an email because we like to hear folks’ speaking voices and see where they’re at on any given day. After the check in we’ll do a little warmup including some stretching, yawning, giving ourselves a little neck rub, and making some gentle noises, then the rest of the session will be exercises and integrating skills into speaking or singing voice. We often pause to ask how things felt or what students noticed, because the more aware we are the easier it is to move forward.
How long do you typically work with a client?
This is very flexible! Some clients we see twice a week for years, some once a month, some just check in for a lesson here and there. If you’re looking to feminise or masculinise your speaking voice, we can cover the basics in 4-8 lessons; some folks like to stay on longer to fine tune and integrate, or progress to singing. For singing lessons we’ll continue as long as you keep making progress!
Can you prepare me for a professional vocal setting/vocal exam/auditions?
We have a number of students in this category and we’re happy to help with audition and exam prep as well as voice maintenance and flexibility for professional singers, actors, voiceover actors etc.
What kind of methods do you use?
We all come from very diverse backgrounds voice-wise! Some of us studied music, some acting, some are performers and some not. Between us we’ve encountered every vocal method, and read just about every book about trans voice. The approach that that’s left us with is very client-centred; we try our best to give everybody the lesson they want/need, using whatever methods we think will work best. If you have a particular approach/learning style/vocabulary you like to use, no problem! Let us know and we’ll do our best, and/or pair you with a teacher with a similar background.
How do I get in touch?
Email is best! londontranschoir@gmail.com