Believer Voice Program^TM

AWDI

I came across the Believer Music poster on Christmas Eve at Singapore Bible Society. It spoke to me and I made a mental note to myself. Shortly after, I signed up for a Voice trial class and it wasn't a hard decision to decide on the module. During classes, I was able to connect with the inner child within me. It felt like a beam of sparkle and joy from within. At times childlike, at times worshipfully. I didn't enjoy singing at karaoke but instead, I truly enjoy singing in the classes. My voice Coach is very encouraging and I enjoy her piano accompaniment while singing the songs. Music and dance are somewhat related and I look forward to reinforce the foundations and techniques through the next two levels. And yes, I would like to sing in a choir and learn more about different aspects of music.

It has indeed been a fruitful journey for me. I do not have any singing background and did not dare to sing aloud as I know I’m always singing out of tune. Over the months in the Voice Program, I learnt interesting vocal exercises that helped me improve tonal stability, song dynamics, harmony, etc. I've since seen improvement in my singing, and always looking forward to attending the next lesson. Our Voice coaches have been very encouraging, helpful and patient. In addition, they are very attentive, kind and considerate; which helped to dispel my fear of singing. Thank you coaches for walking through this journey with me. I am indeed very blessed to have you teaching us. I would very much like to continue to learn and improve with more voice lessons :) Wishing all at Believer Music the best in every endeavor you undertake in the new year. In Christ I remain, Joyce

It took me a long time to gather enough courage to sign up for singing lessons. As a very bad singer, I initially had lots of reservation and insecurities. I am indeed very blessed to have a Voice Coach who is very patient and proficient. She is very encouraging and that helps to boost my confidence. From the Primer module to Worship Dynamics I now, I feel my singing continuously improve week after week, and I constantly look forward to the lessons. Looking forward to signing up for Worship Dynamics II!

I have just completed Advanced Worship Dynamics I and it was such an amazing journey. Harmonizing with my classmates is very challenging but we made it at the end of the presentation. How awesome to complete the finale! I thank our previous Voice Coach for his attention and the many tips and teachings that helped us improve our singing. It was great to have him around. Also thankfully, the new Voice Coach is awesome! My singing technique has improved tremendously with her clear and precise information to help improve.. She is able to accurately correct how I should sing properly and able to relate to the steps I need to take. She is also very experienced, sharing with us lots of other tips to warm up our vocal cords and diaphragm. I have decided to continue to the next level with her around. I encourage all to come and learn with Believer Music for a whole new different experience! It is going to be another exciting one.

The Voice Coach is truly amazing & dedicated in her coaching. She readily shares her expertise and techniques with the class without holding back. I really enjoyed her class. I had 5 questions after completing the Primer module and our Coach took the time, effort and care to answer every one of them without hesitation. Thank you, Coach! You are God’s blessed gift to the students at Believer Music!

The Voice coach is an experienced instructor. She is systematic and that makes her instructions very clear. She is also patient and encouraging which makes for very non threatening and enjoyable learning. Praise God for sending her to this class!

I love singing since my younger days and often join my friends to sing karaoke. I did not know much about singing back then and only sung casually, until.... My cell group leader attended the Believer Vocal Program. It was then I realized there is more to learn about singing. I subsequently registered for the program at Primer level and was surprised that I could sing high notes, which I never knew about myself. All the “power” exercises really amused me but, at the same time, I am amazed at how they can prepare to help me sing better. Time flies and there is so much to learn. My coach is always so patient in making sure we understand and sing correctly using the proper techniques. I am glad that my coach has very sharp hearing abilities and a powerful voice to demonstrate and correct us. His feedback always helps me improve. I really appreciate the effort my coach gives and I always look forward to vocal classes every week after work, despite a hectic and stressful day. Thank you, coach! You know who you are! :)

The Week 8 lesson of Advance Worship Dynamics IIII (AWDIIII) was both refreshing and enlightening as the coach zoomed in on our singing techniques. In this final module, I listened more intently and many more times to the original songs as well as the backing tracks. More so than I have ever done in my entire life! I deeply appreciate what the coach has been training us all these time, i.e. laying a good foundation upon which we can continue to learn other songs on our own. Looking back, it was relatively easy to start the journey. I would recommend Primer, Worship Dynamics I (WDI) and perhaps even Worship Dynamics II (WDII), for anyone who enjoys singing worship songs. However, I think diligence, discipline and perseverance are required to make the most of the advanced classes especially if singing is not one’s strength and passion. If you are like me, skinny and completely new to singing with diaphragmatic support, much time is also needed before the muscles grow to a point that you can feel your “power generator” when you breathe in and hold it out. It was an amazing experience when that finally happened to me towards the end of Advance Worship Dynamics III (AWDIII)! It has been a most humbling yet incredibly enriching two years going through the Believer Music Vocal Program. Praise and thank God for His grace that has carried me all the way to its completion! For an inspiring, fun-loving and gifted God-sent coach as well! I have been blessed with the best, just the right coach for this intense and quirky student. Praise and thank God for my endearing classmates who have filled these two years with much laughter, and heartwarming memories! I have gained far more than simply improvement in my singing. The lessons were a tool in Father God’s loving hands for self-discovery, building friendships, and learning from my peers. At the same time, God has also revealed the attitudes and mindsets within me that needed change. I am totally convinced that our Almighty Creator has made the best instrument within each of us. We are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made to worship Him! For eternity, all glory due to His Name!

Piano-playing baggage (an extra sharing). It has been decades since I took piano lessons. Although I am now so grateful to my father for insisting that I learnt how to play the piano, I honestly did not enjoy the lessons and would just put in the minimum effort each year to practise the required examination scales and pieces (it was one of those extra things added on top of school work and multiple co-curricular activities). I not only dreaded the annual examination, I also dreaded the aural exercises that my piano teacher had to test me with. I found out recently that it must have been an equally awful experience for my poor teacher because he even secretly complained to my sister that I must be tone-deaf. But after taking vocal lessons, I now know that there is so much more to piano playing and music than what I was exposed to and I am surely not tone-deaf! Yes, my brain freezes when I get nervous (no sound registers whatsoever!) but God has blessed me with good relative pitch which comes in useful in quickly identifying the specific note on the piano that matches what is being sung within a particular key. I am so thankful to Coach without whom I wouldn’t have had the courage to face my fear. I am still freaking out during class especially when we have to sing in parts, in pairs or worse still alone but my singing has surely improved under your tutelage and more than that, I have come to appreciate the beauty of a music score and how music theory and practical singing cum playing come together. I'm thankful for such a great Coach! THANK YOU!!!

Due to something unforeseen, this term turned out to be one of my most challenging work terms. Each week’s vocal class was a safe haven – Coach’s integrity, kindness and humour that we have become so familiar with filled my heart with much comfort and joy. His 200% passion for music and singing plus his 200% motivation to teach us well in spite of being tired, sick or having to work on a public holiday constantly inspired me to face my work challenges with renewed determination. Undeniably, AWD3 has been another ‘out of my comfort zone’ experience - unfamiliar and challenging songs, uncomfortable key raises, and what I thought was a ‘song fight’ was actually ‘3 powerful singers trying to hold their parts as they attempt to build up group dynamics’! Oh well, the extent of my ignorance surprised even myself! Although I find the curriculum in these advanced classes to be more suitable for aspiring and existing church worship team members compared to a singing newbie like myself, I am thankful for the exposure to singing experiences that would typically be available only to those serving on a church worship team. Having a smaller class size this term plus having to sing into a microphone have been very helpful in getting real-time feedback from Coach and the monitor speaker (reality check!) – I am now very aware of my glaring weaknesses! I can’t help but be even more appreciative of our ever-patient, long-suffering Coach who never gives up correcting us even to his very ‘last breath’… THANK YOU for being a true educator who does not compromise on standards, who gives us honest feedback and who goes the extra mile to cater your teaching to our level, no matter what that level might be. As a learner, I would rather know the truth that I am ‘off’ than to be misled into thinking that I have arrived. In mid-May, Coach fell sick yet he continued to teach us with his usual zeal that evening and told us we were to sing ‘Yahweh’ again the following week… “try again, can one”… There I was, recovered from flu and seriously entertaining the unholy thought of giving up on the ‘3rd higher, an octave lower’ harmony and Coach was sick yet he wasn’t giving up on us - that just left me speechless and obligated me to try again… gone was any fight that was in my mind! Thank you, Coach, for doing all that you possibly can to help me improve in my singing whilst accommodating all my idiosyncrasies with your amazingly good nature! For someone whose favourite school subject was physical education, who spent many school years running and jumping around on badminton courts, and someone who carries a piano-playing baggage (that’s another story in itself), standing still to sing and breathe properly in a vocal class requires focused, intentional efforts even after almost 6 terms of lessons, but I think I have finally, yes finally, understood what it means to sustain that consistent tension in my diaphragm when singing… quite a lot of credit has to go to the beautiful ‘Mr’ warm-up that you have created, Coach! Honestly I wouldn’t have come this far in the vocal program without you! Thank God for you, Coach!