Like to sing but just too anxious to do it in front of people?

Think you don’t sound good?

Like singing but don’t want to do it wrong and hurt your voice?

Want to get better at singing so you can get better performance opportunities?

Want to improve your voice and see what you can do with it?

High notes getting ‘stuck’?

Running out of breath when singing?

Wobbly voice?

Breathy/weak voice?

Can’t sing as high as you used to?

Weak high notes?

Singing out of tune?

Voice feels sore after singing?

Voice too soft/loud?

Voice lacks projection?

Don’t know how to warm up your voice?

Feeling tensed in your throat?

Not feeling confident/feeling very anxious when singing in front of people?

Dear singer,

My name is Benny Ng. I’m a contemporary singer, songwriter and singing teacher/vocal coach. I’ve been teaching singing lessons in Sydney, Australia since 2011 (for over 11 years).

I’ve released rock music under my artist name, Shadowary.

I have 4 university qualifications in music (two of those were postgraduate degrees). I graduated from the renowned Sydney Conservatorium of Music with a Grad Dip in Vocal Pedagogy (for teaching singing).

Complete List of My Qualifications:

• Graduate Diploma in Music (Vocal Pedagogy) – Sydney Conservatorium of Music
• Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary) – Australian Catholic University
• Bachelor of Music (Performance) – Australian Music And Performing Arts Academy
• Diploma in Audio Engineering and Sound Production – JMC Academy

I’m accredited with NESA (NSW Education Standards Authority), Department of Education (DEC Full Approval), a member of APRA|AMCOS with a Working with Children Check clearance number.

I’ve worked as a music teacher at Amity College, Dulwich High School of Visual Arts and Design, Mackellar Girls School, Freshwater Senior Campus and Killarney Heights High School. I’ve conducted choirs at the ICC Centre, Darling Harbour and Sydney Town Hall.

I’ve also taught group singing classes at the Northern Beaches Community College (Mosman & Narrabeen).

My origin story:

In 2007, I moved to Australia to study a Bachelor of Music (Performance) course. Born and raised in Malaysia, I didn’t get much vocal or music training.

So, the learning curve was steep. Imagine going from primary school to university. That was how I felt.

Culture shock and pressures of life made it difficult for me to focus on my studies.

I had a great singing teacher but he moved to another state halfway through my course.

Singing didn’t come naturally to me. I’d overthink things and my throat would get sore very often. I felt lost and confused.

Our voice is inside of our body. We can’t see or touch it.

How was I supposed to learn to play something I couldn’t see or touch?

This was like learning to play the piano in the dark… while standing 5 feet away from it!

For the next 2 years, I fumbled through the course and barely passed my final performance exam.

Instead of feeling joy and pride, I felt like I had hit rock bottom. That wasn’t what graduating from a university should feel like.

But I wasn’t going to give up.

I decided to take things into my own hands. I wanted to learn everything I could about the science and art of singing.

I enrolled in a postgraduate course at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

I spent countless hours in the library, poring over textbooks and research journal articles.

I wanted to learn all I could about how the voice worked.

I bought or borrowed every single textbook that was recommended by my lecturers.

And I studied them all.

It was then that I discovered the holy grail of singing.

It was an underlying concept that made all vocal techniques worked.

I went into the practice studio to try out the things I learnt.

I was shocked by how quickly I improved.

I could now sing higher than I ever did before.

I was singing in tune most of the time. And singing felt a lot easier.

I was one step closer to fulfilling my dream of becoming a rock singer.

I started to learn how to belt and do metal screaming… but the mechanics of those advanced techniques were so different.

My throat would hurt after belting and screaming.

I went and did more research. I even took screaming lessons that cost $300/hour.

I discovered I actually had low level performance anxiety. Deep down, I was afraid of people judging my voice.

I’d feel insecure whenever I made mistakes while singing. I was afraid of what people might say about my voice.

This self consciousness affected me more than I knew.

Using psychology and meditation strategies, I managed to overcome my performance anxiety.

I can now belt a high G5 when I sing. I now have a 3-octave vocal range. Metal screams come easily to me.

When I perform rock songs, I feel more authentic because I’m in the moment. There’s a sense of freedom when I’m channeling my emotions through my voice.

I even started doing live online music shows for my fans.

After ‘finding’ my voice, I feel more confident as a person.

Singing is now a source of pride and joy that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.

Posture

• How to stand/sit in the correct way to singHow having a good body posture can release tension and increase vocal freedom
• How having good internal posture (inside your throat) can make your voice sound stronger

Breathing

• Learn about the different kinds of breathing techniques (and which one to use when you’re singing)
• Breathing exercises to build body-mind connection (so that you don’t have to think about it when singing)
• Understand what parts of your body to control for efficient breath support (hint: it’s not just the diaphragm)

Phonation

• How to always sing in tune – increase your pitch accuracy
• Extend your vocal range both ways – sing higher notes, sing lower notes
• Develop a more resonant/clearer/stronger vocal tone

Resonance

• How to project your voice so the audience can hear you
• Develop a variety of vocal tone colours (dark, bright, round, twangy etc)
• Develop a balanced, resonant tone throughout your range (blending your voice)

Articulation

• How to enunciate consonants and vowels to make singing easier
• Strengthen your articulators (tongue, lips, jaw) for clearer articulation
• Tongue, lips, neck, jaw exercises and self-massage to get your voice warmed up

Song-Learning

• Song learning method to accelerate your song learning process
• Songs to build up your repertoire (teacher choice or your choice)
• How to deliver songs using appropriate stylistic interpretation, gestures and facial expressions

Stagecraft

• Develop stage presence
• Microphone technique
• How to move on stage

Repertoire

• Develop a repertoire of songs you can sing well
• Choose songs that you like
• Sing songs that bring out the strengths of your voice

Inner Game of Singing – Strategies to Overcome Performance Anxiety

• Intellectually understand what anxiety and performance anxiety is
• Learn and apply practical strategies from psychology and mindfulness to overcome performance anxiety and sing with confidence

• I plan each and every lesson to help you be the best singer you can be
• I see every student as an individual with their own strengths and weaknesses – I plan your lessons according to what works for you and get rid of what doesn’t
• I make singing easy to understand – helping you understand the concepts quicker and therefore improving quickly
• You will get my years of experience as a singer/vocalist and my keen ears to monitor your singing: you’ll always be on track and know what your voice sounds like and how to fix vocal issues
• I know about vocal anatomy and make singing easy to understand by using visual aids and mental imageries: you’ll get better quickly
• You’ll get to make practice tasks during each of your lessons – reminding you what to practice for that week
• I teach you about how your voice works in simple and easy to understand terms: you’ll get better quicker
• I care about your success: you get undivided attention to help you achieve singing success
• No matter how “horrible” you think your voice is, I can always find good things about your voice: increasing your confidence in your voice
• I will help you gain self-monitoring skills for singing, so that you can adjust and control your instrument (voice) even when I’m not there to give you feedback (i.e. when you’re practicing at home)
• I change up exercise routines to keep things fresh: you’ll enjoy each and every lesson
• I’ll give you exercise tracks to practice at home: get better quicker
• I’m flexible with lesson times: you can reschedule lessons for your convenience and for free (with a 24-hour notice)
• Supportive learning environment: you’ll feel relaxed and more open to discovering your voice/singing your heart out

You can pay as you go or get the Package Deal.

Cash, bank transfer or credit card (fees apply) accepted.

Taking singing lessons can be a daunting experience, especially if it was your first ever lesson.

Your inner voice tells you: “What if I sound horrible? What if the teacher tells me that I have no talent? What if I don’t like the teacher?”

I firmly believe that if you can speak, you can sing. Everyone’s voice is different due to genetics, prior training or even sheer passion. What’s important is that you take the first step towards improving what you have. Under expert guidance and a keen listening ear, I believe that you will definitely improve your voice if you’re willing to put effort into making it happen.

It’s very important to me that you enjoy your singing lessons. That’s why I insist that you try one lesson for free. I want you to feel 100% sure before you continue. If you’re not happy for any reason, just walk away and never hear from me again.

Would your singing voice improve if you do nothing about it?