Lessons

Watch this welcome video as I share with you a lot of cool info about what it’s like taking voice lessons with me at my studio in Coto de Caza, CA.

There are many more video testimonials on the testimonials page but watch these three video testimonials now to hear first-hand what Anna Walsh, her father and Ben Zarai (Emmy award-winning singer/songwriter) have to say about singing lessons with me.

Anna Walsh

Pop Singer/Songwriter From Orange County, CA

Dennis Walsh

Father of Anna Walsh

Ben Zarai

Emmy award-winning singer/songwriter

Can You Sing a HIGH C Without Straining? If not, let me show you how! I like delivering spectacular results fast. I teach in a recording studio and have 50,000+ hours of experience training singers, writing and producing music. Singing lessons at Appell Voice Studio work!

2 Ways To Train

#1 In-Studio in the recording area. In this teaching mode, I am in the control room and you are in the tracking room. We’re separated by 1/2″ thick plate glass. We can see each other, but are comfortably separated. Lessons are super safe and no need for a mask! For years I had singers taking lessons standing right next to my piano, but the audio quality in the studio recording room is so good, even now that COVID isn’t as much of a concern, singers love training this way! It really makes a difference being able to accurately hear every nuance of your singing during a lesson, and nothing beats singing into a $3700 Neumann U87 microphone paired with the highest quality $3900 Avalon AD 2022 preamp. You’ll be singing into the microphone and I’ll be hearing you through the studio monitors. Your lessons are recorded to a USB flash drive as MP3 files and sent to you shortly after your lesson via Dropbox.

#2 Skype Lessons. Skype technology works so well now that when I teach, I hear you as well as if you were standing right next to me in the studio singing. It’s amazing! I record your lesson to MP3 files and send them to you via dropbox after the lesson. I’ve given Skype lessons to singers around the world for years now. It’s a proven, effective way to learn how to sing a HIGH C without straining and improve your vocal technique without ever leaving your home!

If you’d like to set up an introductory lesson or get more information about singing lessons at my studio here’s my contact info:

APPELL VOICE STUDIO (949) 382-5911

email: thomas@appellvoicestudio.com

CAN YOU SING A HIGH C WITHOUT STRAINING?

If you didn’t answer yes to this question, don’t be dismayed. The people that can are seldom born with the ability to sing high notes, they’ve simply put a lot of time and effort into developing their voice.

WHAT’S THEIR SECRET? The ability to control two of the most important muscles used while singing, the vocal cords. To help you understand how easy this is to do, let’s use a guitar analogy. Playing high notes on a guitar is simple to do. You just move your finger down the fretboard. But what if you didn’t know that and tried to get the guitar string to play a higher note by pulling it tighter? You’re going to break the string and you won’t get more than a few notes before it pops. You might get frustrated with your guitar and think there’s something wrong with it or that “your” guitar just won’t be able to play high notes.

The problem is that you’re trying to get your guitar to play high notes the wrong way. If someone were to coach you on how to play your guitar properly in a matter of seconds you would be playing high notes on your guitar. You don’t have to have a special guitar, you just have to know how to create high pitches using the right technique.

Thinking you can’t learn to sing high notes would be like owning a guitar and thinking you can’t learn to play high notes. If you have a guitar you can play high notes comfortably and if you have a healthy voice you can learn to sing high notes comfortably. If you can’t sing high notes it’s not because you weren’t born with the ability. If you have a healthy throat you can learn to to sing a HIGH C and beyond without straining!

I’ve trained thousands of singers who couldn’t sing high notes at all to be able to sing a beautiful, comfortable HIGH C in full voice (not falsetto) without straining. Many singers have learned how to do this within minutes of me showing them how it’s done at their very first lesson!

HOW CAN I LEARN? By practicing the exercises I give you geared towards developing control of the muscles used for singing. Example: Try moving the middle toe on your right foot without moving the others. Can’t do it? That’s because you don’t know how to control the muscle that moves your toe, even though you know exactly where the muscle is, and what you would like it to do. You were born with the ability to control the muscle, but because you haven’t practiced moving it the right way it won’t respond.

Your voice works the same way. All of the notes you sing are created by contracting specific muscles in your throat, including your vocal cords. If you haven’t learned how to control these muscles you will never be able sing high notes. Since most of you have spent your entire life talking in a lower register, your vocal cords have never learned how to make high sounds which is why the vast majority of people can’t sing much higher than they’re used to talking. For guys this would be an F#4 and girls a Bb4.

Not to worry. I’ll show you how to isolate all of the muscles used for singing and teach you how to create really high notes comfortably without straining. It’s that simple! Learning how to sing a HIGH C without straining can be tricky to do on your own. But I know the trick and can share all of the secrets I’ve learned about how to do it with you during our lessons.

Singers have flown from all over the world to train with me. Singers have traveled from India, China, Japan, Canada, The United Kingdom, Austria, France, The Netherlands and Sweden (to name a few) to train with me at my Orange County voice studio. Why do they travel so far for my training? Because I can teach them how to sing a HIGH C without straining, along with how to sing in tune, how to sing with vibrato, how to develop great sounding tone, and how to stylize their vocal performances to really move the people listening.

Believe me, you wouldn’t fly from Japan for a voice lesson if you knew of anyone in Japan that could help you expand your range and train your voice with as much success as I’m used to delivering. I’m very grateful to have this God-given ability to train singers at a very high level and I’m honored that so many singers have allowed me to be their vocal coach. 

I wrote the first book in history that explains how to sing high notes without straining and why anyone with a healthy voice can do it. My book is a great supplement to private one-on-one training at my studio. Learn More.

WHERE CAN I LEARN? If you call or text (949) 382-5911 you can set up an appointment for your first lesson at my Orange County Studio. At APPELL Voice Studio you’ll be taught to control your voice in a safe manner that will give you as much range, power and style that you’re willing to work for.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT LESSONS AT APPELL VOICE STUDIO

Singing lessons are broken up into two elements – vocal technique and song work. Your first vocal technique lesson will be approximately 45 minutes long. I call this my Introductory lesson. For the first 15 minutes I’ll be sharing with you some great information about how your voice works from the first few chapters of my book, Can You Sing a HIGH C Without Straining? I’ll explain how high notes are produced and why anyone with a healthy voice can extend their rage. This is a very important part of the training.

If you understand clearly what’s happening on the inside then all of the exercises make sense. After going over how your voice works you’ll do approximately one half hour of vocal exercises – the beginning of your new journey to the voice you’ve always dreamed of. In the first lesson you’ll learn how to extend the range of your voice, how to breathe correctly for singing, and how to control your tone. After the first introductory lesson,  lessons are typically one hour long, but can go longer if the need arises.

Not a requirement, but I highly recommend that singers I train complete the 12 Hour Fundamental Series Lessons before starting work on songs. These Fundamental Series Lessons are designed to give you solid core training in the vocal technique you’ll need to be able to follow the direction I’ll be giving you in a song lesson. In addition to learning how to sing high notes without straining you’ll learn how to develop vibrato, how to pronounce all of the variations of vowel and consonant sounds used for singing, how to breathe correctly for singing and how to sing in tune.

Famous singers that have sold millions of records (like THE OFFSPRING, DREAM, OF MICE AND MEN and SAOSIN) have allowed me to be their vocal coach and completed the 12 Lesson Fundamental Series. Follow their example. Lay a firm foundation of vocal technique, then start building on it with stylization and advanced training.

Singers who take more lessons per week will have a better understanding of how their voice works – primarily because they’re so emersed in the training and supervision. Olympic athletes practice 5-6 days per week under the watchful eye of their coach because that system consistently develops world-class athletes. Singers that want to get to world-class level get there faster with more supervised training than home practice.

Home practice is important, just not as effective as supervised training in my studio. It’s up to you to decide how quickly you would like to advance and to what level. You can train daily, two to three lessons per week, one lesson per week, a lesson every other week… or as many do who want fast results, two to three hours per day 6 days per week with my intensive training program.

INTENSIVE TRAINING

Some of you may need to get your voice in shape fast – perhaps you have an upcoming performance or if you’re flying/driving in to train with me from another city/country we have a limited amount of time to take your singing to the next level. The typical routine is to do two hours per day six days per week. Some singers (like YouTube superstar Tiffany Alvord) go for three hours per day. My intensive lessons work very effectively and singers who take them advance faster that those who take a lesson and practice for a few days in between sessions.

Singers fly in from around the world to train like this for one week to several months at a time with excellent results. They’ve come from as far away as Germany, France, England, The Netherlands, Japan, Austria, Central America, South America, Australia, New York, Maryland, Alaska, New York, Michigan, Idaho, Tennessee, and Georgia.

ADVANCED TRAINING

After you’ve completed the 12 Fundamental Series Lessons, it’s time to start the Advanced Training Lessons and working on songs. For the Advanced Training Lessons, there are nine 10-hour long series – each series focusing on an important area of vocal technique. The Advanced Training Lessons include 90 hours of comprehensive training carefully designed to give you all of the skills you’ll ever need as a singer.

A standard lesson is an hour long, but if you want to be really thorough I offer hour and a half technique lessons. When we start the advanced lessons there’s a lot to cover each time we meet and the extra time is often the best route – especially if you have trouble singing in tune. In an hour and a half lesson we have the time to do comprehensive ear training at each session.

SONG LESSONS

Song lessons are just as comprehensive as technique lessons. Most singers start with doing covers. The cover tunes are used as a tool to teach all of the vocal tricks, runs, and subtle nuances in your favorite songs that make them sound great. Training tip – It’s all of the vocal ornamentation that’s not written in the music that makes the difference.

When you have a nice arsenal of vocal tricks in your singing armory, then it’s great to  start working on original songs or doing original versions of cover tunes. First you imitate – clone the tricks of you favorite singers. Then integrate – adapt these tricks into your vocal technique. Then innovate – combine these tricks into variations that are uniquely your own. That’s how original style is created. You’ll learn how to apply your new voice with style and how to perform all of the vocal tricks that make for a heartfelt vocal performance.

RECORDING

I teach in a recording studio with a high-end Pro Tools recording system. My recording studio is a fabulous resource for learning songs and stylization! I have all of the tools to get you and your song sounding pro. Song lessons can be any length, but two to three hours is best. You can do hour song lessons, but your voice will improve faster and with better results if we do at least a couple of hours. Singers often do a one hour advanced vocal technique lesson and then with no break we jump right into a two hour song session. The technique lesson warms you up nicely for the song. No rest time needed.

WRITING ORIGINAL MUSIC

If you want to be a pro, you’re going to need great music to showcase your talents. After we start working on songs I can write and produce original music for you, or original versions of cover songs. These days, the best place to showcase your music is on YouTube. When we’ve a finished song, I can take care of shooting a music video for you and help you get set up with a website and YouTube channel.  Please go to the Video or Audio pages for many examples of songs I’ve produced.

TRAINING KIDS

I’ve trained scores of children and have a really good understanding of how to work with kids. If your son or daughter is at least 7 years old, they’re ready for APPELL VOICE STUDIO!

Setting up a voice lesson is easy. Just call or text the studio number (949) 382-5911 or shoot me an email  at vocalcoach.tea@gmail.com. Filling out and sending the New Student Information form on this page is another easy way to connect.

How Far Will You Have To Drive? The studio is just minutes away from the cities of Trabuco Canyon, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, Ladera Ranch, Laguna Niguel, San Juan Capistrano, Coto de Caza, Lake Forest and Tustin. Now with online Skype training, whether you live in Dana Point, San Clemente, Irvine, Los Angeles or Lithuania you’re only as far away as your computer from training with me.

If this page doesn’t answer all of your questions just give me a call – and yes, I give Skype singing lessons! So whether or not you’re in California or Istanbul you’re only a few clicks of a mouse away from taking your voice to the next level with my help. I’m a vocal coach on a mission – to make dreams come true for the singers I train and it all starts with being able to sing high notes comfortably without straining.

A special thanks to thumbtack for helping to promote APPELL VOICE STUDIO. Thumbtack is helping make the dreams of singers come true with every click!

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