I got a chance to take some online vocal coaching with Singdaptive, and full disclosure here, I was gifted the Single Session Exchangley (old pricing model, they have new ones now). This session pack offered me a minimum of 4 tailored one-on-one sessions with either my Lead instructor (Kathy Alexander, who I must say is like the Awesome Aunty I never had!), or with any of the other instructors that could help me work through my goals in my own singing path.
I tell you about this disclosure to be up front and honest, but I also give to you that my impression of it and experience is not tainted, rather it is my viewpoint, my perception, and my review after trying it out for a month.
So now that's out of the way, let's get into it.
What is Singdaptive?
Well, to put it as simple as possible, it's an online platform for singing lessons. Let's leave it there for now so we know just what we're talking about here.
Who would this interest?
Anyone who likes to sing really. Again, just being really simple here, but you'll see why in a second and I'll explain why Singdaptive is actually a pretty big deal, in my own opinion.
The real value here is the interaction and tailored lessons. They really dive deep in the questionnaire you fillout upon singing up. This is called your “Singers path”. They also test your musical knowledge. I found this would be very useful to the instructors to give them a good picture of what your background may be with music. This would of course speed up the learning process for you rather than confuse and hinder your experience. Sort of like you want to take Grade 10 level Science, but the instructor speaks to you in University level BioPhysics and Rocket Sciences. (I didn't take any of those by the way). If you had a teacher like that, you would become frustrated and confused, and stop the courses. If it were the other way around and you were far more advanced, you would become bored and stop the courses. So, you see how this is important. Fill out the questionnaire at the beginning to the best of your current knowledge and your lesson experience will prosper. That's the takeaway here.
After I filled out the initial Singer's Path interview, I was presented with my first Exchangely (the one-on-one interaction lessons with your Lead Instructor).
My goals were;
1) Become better at improvising melodies and harmonies for songwriting, either with my own music or clients.
2) I also wanted to know what my best “range” was so I don’t hurt myself trying to reach for notes that are hard on me.
I found my instructor (Kathy Alexander) to be not only professional, but also very kind, approachable and willing to help me on my goals. As I also mentioned earlier, she is like the Awesome Musical Aunty I never had.
Now let's get into why I think this is a big deal!
After I began receiving my "Exchangely's", I admit it seemed like a lot to go through at first. I wanted to give it a good try though, and so I went through my first session with Kathy. After that one session I immediately knew this was going to be good. Kathy listened to my intro video, she read my Singer's Path and understood what I was after.
This is where Singdaptive sets itself apart from any other online vocal lesson or coaching scenario.
The lessons or exchanges are at your schedule. You get an email telling you a new session is ready for you and you can do it whenever you have the time. All the while, these lessons are still one-on-one, just not at the same time. They are asynchronous, in that they are back and forth between you and the instructor. The lessons are tailored 100% to your specific needs and wants in singing, at your schedule. No appointments, or bookings or time slots for lessons. No driving anywhere for lessons, no trying to "fit it into" your world. It's all on your time.
These are areas that Yousician and Rockband simply can’t teach me to the extent that I need. This is where the video game style of the mentioned platforms don’t do me any good. Sure they are great for practicing and working out your voice for an upcoming show, but for real personalized lessons, Singdaptive moves ahead of the pack by leaps and bounds.
What is the Cost?
Compared with real voice lessons, you would spend anywhere from 50 – 100$ per hour. Typically you would do 30 – 60 min lessons. The going rate for most vocal coaches in person is about $1 a minute. So if you did 4 - 60 minute lessons in a month, you’d spend $240.
As you can see in the screenshot below, you have 2 options. Either $25US or $99US (prices below are in CAD where I live)
The lessons I found myself doing about close to an hour each exchangely session. Which I could always go back and watch/practice over and over.
So out of the gate, the Premium subscription is much cheaper than singing or vocal lessons anywhere else that offer comparable features such as "one-on-one teaching" and "tailored to your needs".
There are many things I could get into about it, and I briefly touched on the big ones here today. But I encourage you to try it out for yourself. Why not? It's Free to try!
Here are my final thoughts;
I enjoyed the lessons. I especially enjoyed the lessons where I was trying to practice melody along with brief pieces of chords. It actually opened a part of my mind that I could tap into anytime going forward.
I love the back and forth with the instructors, even if its over video. But it DOES encourage you to step a little out of your comfort zone and get down to the tasks at hand, making you a better singer.
Why I think this is a big deal!
Last time I checked, you don’t get a specialized guitar instructor for your specific playing when you sign up for lessons at the local guitar store ( not usually anyway), so for that reason alone, this should get you going a little faster towards your goal. The class is one-on-one. It really does revolve around your schedule as you can tackle your new exchangely whenever you like. For me and my busy life, I found to be very likeable.
You can check out Singdaptive by clicking here and start your free trial.
Thanks for reading!!
Stay safe out there and keep making music!
Jesse Bauer
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