Nathaniel Stern – Voice Teacher
Online Singing Lessons
For adults and teens · Beginners welcome · Pop, rock, musical theatre and classical
Master of Arts - Royal Academy of Music
**Credited towards your first lesson should you continue**
Teaching Philosophy
-
Any skill level or Age
My teaching is geared towards any learner. That could be for any gender, age, skill level, even if it's your first time singing. Anyone is able to learn how to sing, even if someone is having trouble matching pitch in the beginning.
I have taught students from ages 13 all the way to 70. It’s never too late to start singing if it’s something that you’re passionate about.
– Lessons offered ages 13+ –
-
Other styles & Genres
While my background is within classical singing, I have experience both teaching and performing various styles such as musical theatre, jazz, and pop. Having a confident base of technique allows for the singer to apply principles to other types of music, without sacrificing vocal health and ability.
However, this will not lead you to sounding like a classical singer. It is a basis of coordination and honesty in the tone, that allows you to sound more like you.
-
Classical Technique & Style
My background and focus lie in classical singing and finding authentic, honest vocal function. We will learn to separate technique from aesthetics and also learn where they overlap.
We will work on ideas like honest and coordinated onsets/attacks, registration between head and chest, balancing voice between passaggios, finding balanced breath pressure, and more.
Your Teacher
I’m Nathaniel Stern, a classically trained baritone, and I teach singing lessons online to adults and teens in the US, UK, Canada and beyond. Over five years of teaching, I’ve worked with singers from 13 to 70: complete beginners learning to sing for the first time, men who want more range and freedom in pop and folk, musical theatre singers, and professionals preparing for auditions.
I trained at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where I earned a Master of Arts in Vocal Performance with Giles Underwood and the LRAM in vocal teaching. Before that, I completed a Bachelor of Music at McGill University in Montreal with Stefano Algieri and Brett Polegato. I’ve sung roles like Papageno in Die Zauberflöte and Harry Easter in Street Scene, and I also sing pop, folk, jazz and rock myself.
So what does that mean for your voice lessons? Not that you’ll end up sounding like an opera singer. At its core, singing is sustained speech on pitch. Most of what holds people back is trying to make the voice do something instead of trusting how simple it can be: pushing too much air, reaching for a sound, micromanaging the breath. Together we’ll work on how your voice actually functions: clear, honest onsets, moving smoothly between chest and head voice, and letting go of the tension that gets in the way. Good singing is good singing, whatever the style, and the goal is always for you to sound more like you.
As a baritone, I have a particular ear for men’s and lower voices, but I teach every voice type. Lessons are live over Zoom, and I accompany you on piano in real time. Most students leave their first lesson with something tangible to work on, and the easiest way to start is a $20, 40-minute trial lesson. The $20 will be credited towards your first full booked lesson.
Nathaniel Stern performing Handel’s “The people that walked in darkness” from The Messiah.
Singing clips
Nathaniel Stern performing the Counts baritone aria “Hai gia vista la cause” from Le Nozze di Figaro by Mozart.
Student Testimonials
-
“Always felt insecure about my singing, but wanted to get better. After setting goals together, Nathaniel catered our lessons to best suit me and achieve our milestones. His patience, insight and coaching was greatly appreciated and helped me make tremendous progress”
– Thomas Prevost, 27 years old Singer Songwriter
-
"Amazing teacher. Extremely kind and professional. I have learned a lot from him starting as an actress and working into musical theatre repertoire."
– Avin Bandy, 24 years old Music Theatre/Actress
-
"I've had lessons with Nathaniel for quite a while now. He's a very good teacher, patient and explains his ideas really well. I'm noticing improvement and enjoying the process."
– Adam M, 40 years old Classical Tenor
Pricing
-
$20 Trial Lesson
I offer a reduced cost $20/40 minute trial lesson to get to know my teaching style to see if it works for you.
$20 credited toward your first full booked lesson afterwards.
Available online today. -
Online
USA/INTL
50 minute lesson – $80
40 minute lesson – $65
30 minute lesson - $50
10% off for a monthly purchase of 4 lessons. Prices listed in USD.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
I teach a wide range of vocal styles, anywhere from pop, folk, musical theatre, jazz, rock to classical.
My academic background is in classical singing, but I also personally sing in a range of styles! Ultimately, good singing is good singing and will lead you to versatility across various genres.
-
Not at all, I’ve taught singers from beginning to match pitch and finding how to sustain a basic singing tone all the way to professional singers.
Most importantly is a willingness to learn, try new things, and stick with things for a bit longer than comfortable.
-
Trial lessons start with meeting and chatting for a few minutes to start the lesson to figure out your background with singing and some goals for lessons.
We’ll then start with some explanations about the voice before hearing you sing for a little bit on either a prepared song or some simple scales. Following that we will do some technical work to think about how you’re approaching things and go from there!
-
Most students will have a tangible takeaway from just the trial lesson. It does take about six weeks of weekly sessions or so to notice more fundamental and consistent changes, but this will always vary student to student!
It’s always important to keep in mind that some changes do take time, and it’s impossible to work on everything all at once. But if you are consistent and steady with effort and practicing, the progress will always come in time. -
While having most of my expertise in singing pedagogy, I also have years of experience in sight reading, acting, guitar, song-writing, and general musicianship skills.
I’m more than happy to work with you on lining up the voice with guitar or another instrument to be able to sing and play at the same time, or to work on general musicianship skills such as sight reading or reading sheet music properly.
Feel free just to ask if there’s anything I might be able to help you with!
-
No, though my speciality will always slightly cater to a voice type that is the same as mine.
In reality, I have taught higher male voices, to soprano singers as well to work more on their middle and higher ranges.
-
I work with students over zoom! It’s as simple as downloading the application to either a phone or computer and following some simple setup to get the audio settings working properly.
While never truly being quite the same as in person, there is so much work able to be done online. I have a high quality setup with mic and piano routed through zoom, so things are very clear on your end and easy to follow. I accompany students by playing with them through zoom.
-
Not at all! Usually the best devices are a newer phone or tablet, however picking your newest device available to you is usually the safest bet.
Beyond that, it’s good just to ensure a consistent internet connection aiming for over 5mb/s of download speed for things to be stable.
If you do happen to have a microphone already purchased then by all means feel free to set it up and use it. Regardless we can work through some options in the trial lesson to find what might work best for your personal situation.
-
I always try to recommend an hour lesson per week, particularly at the beginning, but I totally understand this isn’t always possible. Working every other week is an option as well but feel free to reach out and ask if you’re only able to sign up for one sporadically!
I have students who come in every so often, as well as some students who take multiple lessons a week to focus on different skills, or to prep for an audition or specific performance opportunity.
SPECIFIC CONCERNS OR QUESTIONS?
WRITE ME BELOW!