M. Brennan - Singer "Prior to my first lesson with Lynne I had never had any musical background and would never have dreamt of singing in public. Lynne's experienced and practical approach to performance, along with training exercises and honest critiquing, has now enabled me to audition and perform with a rock band. More importantly, I have discovered a real enjoyment in singing and am looking forward to continuing my training.
" 2008
Donna Ng - Jazz Pianist and Composer - "I began my piano lessons with Lynne when I was 13 years old, and studied with her for about 8 years. I am now 24 years old and Lynne has become my mentor and friend. Lynne is a great teacher. She is open, honest and generous in sharing her musical knowledge. She inspired me further my musical studies and pursuit a career in music. I now have a Bachelor of Music majoring in performance for piano, I teach privately, compose and perform. Lynne has taught me so much about music, piano, singing, performance and technique. She has also taught me a lot about life and living life through music." 18 August 2006 Email Donna to inquire about her piano lessons
Catherine Golden - Guitarist and Award Winning Songwriter - "Lynne is both an inspiring musician, and an inspiring teacher. She catered her lessons towards my goals with music, I got so much from each lesson. As well as her original vocal training techniques, she was able to give great advice on both gigging and being a songwriter in the music industry." 25 August 2006
Dean Colton - Singing Student - "Lynne was a fantastic teacher, with her passion for Music coming through in her teaching style. Her energy, enthusiasm and magnetic personality enabled me to push myself further every week, improving my skills and confidence. Thanks for a fantastic experience Lynne." June 2006
Edoardo Francia - Singing Student - "Perfect. No need to write more! Funny, stimulating, challenging, true results on the voice (proportional to the amount of "homeworks" done), Thanks!" June 2006
Monali Pandey - Singing Student - "Lynne Newman is a brilliant teacher. Her attitude towards the imparting of musical knowledge and technique is akin to an expert mountaineer who is about to tackle Mt Everest. She is a woman to be reckoned with and embarks on teaching with the same two ingredients that she requires from her students; raw courage and concentration. After undergoing five years of university, I finally plucked up the nerve to do something about that nagging voice in the back of my head, telling me to do something about my interest in singing. Out of self-inflicted exasperation, I signed up for Singing For Everyone, figuring that if it was for 'everyone', no musical background was required. And then a new nagging voice entered my head. ""Stand up straight, don't move your head, lock it in and work those jaws people!""
" I walked into the first rehearsal and broke into a panicky sweat. I had plunged myself into a boiling cauldron of pitching and singing exercises. Nosedived into the bubbling lava at tremendous speed, with protests of "I can't read music! I can't even 'hear' music "! But you see, 'can't' is not a word that is in Lynne Newman's vocabulary. It was expressly forbidden, in fact. "I am currently having difficulty" was the phrase we used instead. Nine weeks with Lynne Newman will teach you that 'can't' shouldn't be in anyone's vocabulary and that 'everyone who can talk can sing'. The process was always the same. Brilliant and yet at the same time, deceptively simple. ""Exercises! Exercises! Exercises! Tongue shape! Tongue shape! Tongue shape!"" I can hear her now. She said that this would happen. Lynne gives us her 'pearls' like a woman who has too many to know what to do with. Taken from her own experiences as a singer and song-writer with her band, "Watercolour", her generosity does not go unnoticed. Anxious to infuse a passion for music and her self-created technique, her students have a choice to either absorb like sponges or to fumble their own way through a maze of complexity with no guide. One has to undergo the singing course to understand what it does to your confidence and to the way you view yourself at the end. I walked in thinking I was tone-deaf. I walked out thinking about pitch and time. I can sing you a scale. I can sing you a song. And you know what else? I can now read music. Thank you Lynne. You have changed my world." June 2003
Cat Vizor - Singing Student - "It was a great course. We had sooo much fun and Lynne is a wonderful teacher. I really liked the history of Jazz part and it was really useful hearing all Lynne's past experiences and valuable advice - priceless! I wish it could go on for longer but I'll be back for another course. Thanks Lynne!" September 2006
Kathy Luu - Singing Student - "Lynne gave me the foundation and practical knowledge to start singing confidently, as well as a strong base if I wanted to go further. Lynne's passion is inspiring, her enthusiasm contagious, her professionalism second to none and her style, too cool for school! I feel so privileged to have had this opportunity to work with Lynne. She is artist, teacher, guru and friend. Thank you Lynne, I learned so much, (I can scat too!), had so much fun, made so many friends and feel alive! Thank you, thank you and thank you! Love you Lady Cool." September 2006
Mellissa OBrien - Jazz Singing Student - "Lynne is the most amazing teacher ever. I will have private lessons." September 2006
Kate Brettell - Jazz Singing Student - "I loved the class! After a few weeks to warm up and get comfortable with each other we all had a lot of fun and laughs together. Lynne created a supportive environment in which to take that scary leap of opening your mouth and singing in front of other people. Her encouragement and honest feedback did great things for my confidence and creativity. Thanks for a fun and rewarding class. Concert was a great way to finish and gave everyone a goal to work towards." September 2006
Monique Piloty - Jazz Singing Student - Thank you so much for your support whilst sharing your experience and knowledge with us in the Jazz Vocals class. You are very passionate about what you do and obviously gain a lot of pleasure in seeing your students grow and develop (especially the chops!) I loved the singing course at the Sydney Community College especially the concert finale which really was an invaluable experience for all of us.
Thanks again, Lynne. I shall continue with learning to sing at a later date and you will be my first point of contact." September 2006
Jane Rossley - Singing Student - "I have more control of my voice. I have learnt about when and where to use vibrato. I am more confident in getting up in front of an audience. I like the encouragement of the groups progress every week. I now understand vocal improvisation and why it is an important tool for us to have up our sleeve." June 2006 "This course has equipped me with skills to enable me to perform with confidence in front of an audience. There is so much knowledge and technique crammed into eight weeks, all taught in a unique fun way. Music theory has always been a stumbling block for me but Lynne enables all her students to get over their fear of not being able to read music." April 2006
Kim Akhurst - Singing Student - "This is a really fun class in a non threatening environment. Lynne is really passionate about singing and it becomes infectious!" April 2006
Anita Barouch - Singing Student - "I really enjoyed the course and put a lot of energy into it. Lynne is very motivated to teach all her students the basics of singing which is a lot of hard work and with everything the more you put into it the more you get out. I have enjoyed my daughter's improvement as well as my own. Thoroughly recommend it." April 2006
Tim Playford - Singing Student - "Fantastic course, heaps of fun and learned lots. Lynne rocks!" December 2005
David - Singing Student - "Good fun learning some basics of singing with a great bunch of people!!" September 2005
Michael - Singing Student - "Fabulous. Thanks for drive, energy and perserverence. Had fun as well." September 2005
Jane Murphy - Singing Student - "I had a fantastic time. Lynne creates a relaxed and fun environment to learn to sing. Would highly recommend the course. Great for learning performance techniques and building self confidence." June 2005
Inga - Singing Student - "Lynne has a lot of patience and gave us a lot of individual attention. She has a beautiful voice and inspired us a lot. She uses a lot of positive encouragement and never gives up with us. Her exercises are excellent and will last us a lifetime. The concert was a great final goal to work towards and great fun but nerve wracking." March 2005
Phoebe - Singing Student - "The course was really fun and informative. It slowly builds up confidence and skills. For a beginner it is a comfortable environment and Lynne is very supportive of everyone. The class is small enough for students to have personal attention." December 2004
Ian Leadbetter - Singing Student - "Perfect. Loved the course. I loved watching the confidence of everyone growing week by week and then to face the audience at the Concert - Very Good! Made me aware of music and singing again and all done with a great sense of fun and laughter. I would recommend this course to everyone. Get up and sing!!" September 2006
Karine Savigny - Singing Student - "Thanks a lot for great teaching, good fun and excellent technique. You kept us focused and helped us to prepare for a performance, everything we learnt will be extremely useful. And thanks for making us laugh! and pushing us! It would be good if the course continued!" September 2006
Gerald De Los Santos - Singing Student - "Lynne has been very supportive and encouraging of her students. She has the ability to break the ice and the tension in the atmosphere which allows her students to try and come out of our shell and be as open and vocal as possible. September 2006
Hoyun Jiang - Singing Student - "Lynne is a great teacher. Honest and truely cares about students and their progress. She is very prepared for the class." September 2006
Dionne Lalor - Singing Student - "The course was fab and a good learning curve for those shy in groups, singing etc. Everyone in the group looked like they all enjoyed the concert, as I did. The songs were fantastic and all sang great, with heart and actions. Yes the course was good value for money and I would deffo do a follow up course. I took on a challenge to sing a song I did not know well and with backing music and with Lynne's encouragement and teaching milked it. The CD for the five learning steps is deffo worth buying and as it is always said, practice makes perfect." September 2006
Veronica Ku - Singing Student - "Really liked the course. Very enjoyable and looked forward to it on those Monday nights. The exercises are great take home and improve your voice devices! Fun to sing in a group. Lynne's methodology in teaching was really good. Second course for progression." September 2006
Lisa Fan - Singing Student - "I had a lot of fun. Lynne encouraged a lot of interaction. We were encouraged to try new song techniques and I met a lot of new people. I feel a lot more comfortable with singing publically now." September 2006
Allan Chan - Singing Student - "Lots of fun. Gave me confidence. Thanks. The CD helped a lot for pitching. My timing is much better. Thanks." September 2006
Alfina D'Agata - Singing Student - "I had fun. I enjoyed the concert a lot. I liked that we had a concert and Lynne's methodology was good. The best thing I liked about the course was the solo performance/song. It was good to get help and feedback on the songs." September 2006
VARIOUS SINGING STUDENTS
"It was challenging and fast paced from day one and there were no corners to hide in. Lynne is so enthusiastic and eager to see us students progress quickly. The "homework" CD is a great way to accelerate the learning process. Great fun all the way and also challenging for a non singer like me." June 2006
"My range increased significantly. Taught the basics I needed to learn. Pushed to get out of my comfort zone by performing." June 2006
"I have had many singing teachers before but in the short time I have been learning from Lynne, I have learned so much! She is extremely encouraging and I have found the technical skills that I have learnt from her to be extremely beneficial. I believe that with continued training with Lynne I will be able to achieve my singing goals. I hope to continue learning from Lynne on an ongoing basis." April 2006
"I thoroughly enjoyed my eight weeks with Lynne. Lynne's years of experience comes out through her teaching and it is invaluable. Highly recommended." April 2006
"I thoroughly enjoyed it and felt that it had the right balance of structure and room for spontaneity. Lynne, you are a born teacher in that you explain concepts with ease, are quite patient and can quickly tap into strengths and weaknesses of each student." December 2005
"I initially did this course so that I could be able to sing along with friends without being embarrassed. The end product is not only that, but also an increase in overall confidence and self-belief. I thank Lynne so much for this." September 2005
"I have thoroughly enjoyed this course. I did not know what it would entail, and was really thrown when told we had to perform a solo. I didn't think that I could do it, and I am pleased with myself that I got up to do it. I am glad I did the course." September 2005
"Thanks for giving me the opportunity to fix all those things with my singing, even stuff I have never though of. It's a great way to get to know people too. " September 2005
"I've had heaps of fun during the course and learned lots about singing and about myself. I recommend the course." December 2005
"I really enjoyed the course despite not being able to attend all the evenings. And most importantly, I learnt a lot." December 2005
"Very much enjoyed the lessons. Everyone in the class improved dramatically which was very rewarding to be a part of. A great beginning and a lesson in how much more there is to do to become a good singer. Thanks Lynne." June 2005
"Thanks heaps for the vocal training, knowledge opens minds. Your five rules have helped me analyse my vocal chords on a whole new angle. Your humour made the class enjoyable and fun, however what I will remember most are your quotes full of wisdom like" 'Honesty and music is a powerful thing'. "Cheers." June 2005
"Thanks Lynne for all your encouragement. This was definitely the intro into singing I was looking for .. and I discovered another part of myself which was challenging .. and great! I'm disappointed I didn't bring someone special with me tonight, to show them a little piece of me." June 2005
"You helped me get out of my singing shell. I can only move forward and continue to grow. It has been a great learning experience and great fun. Thanks Lynne for keeping me motivated. Keep up the great work." June 2005
"Thanks Lynne for all your encouragement." June 2005
"I had a ball! Thanks for being honest, entertaining and fun. I'm sad its over. When I have some spare $$ expect a call for a private lesson. Thanks for a great course. All the best." June 2005
"Lynne has been a very supportive teacher who is forever energetic in forcing students to achieve what they need and want. Her skills enables her to pinpoint specifically the students mistakes and her 'annoying' techniques really do work!!" June 2005
"The singing class was fun and great for beginners hoping to gain the courage to find their inner singing voice and share it with others. The exercises were very useful and excellent for building strength in your voice. Highly recommended for people who have that hidden urge to be a singer." March 2005
"The singing class has improved my voice but also my fear of singing in front of others has now gone. I will definitely continue singing when I return to Denmark." March 2005
"This singing class has boosted my confidence in performing in front of others and more importantly confidence in myself. It doesn't matter if my voice isn't that of a star, but as long as I can keep pitch and time, I know I'll be pleasant to listen to!" March 2005
"A very enjoyable class with great interaction and encouragement." March 2005
"This course was absolutely perfect for me to prove my ability of singing. Thanks Lynne for that." March 2005
"Lynne has help me to tune my voice, as well as boost my courage to perform. Her exercise cd is great, at the end of the course, I can feel the different in my voice range and I'm in a better control when I sing. I also noted that others also have improved a lots vocally and yes, each of us scatted comfortably in tune on our performing night. I thank her for everything she has done for me & my friends. Now I know my own capability & appreciate my singing better than ever. It is a blessing knowing that you have found something good in you." December 2004
"All very enjoyable - will do it again. Only one slight comment - would have liked more emphasis on voice training, technique, projection etc." September 2006
Mark Franklin - Audience - "Seeing each of the performers sing reminded me how difficult it can be to put yourself at the mercy of an audience. They all performed extremely well, very bravely and should be congratulated." April 2006
If you have any particular queries, or you are a former student wishing to submit your story or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me.
