The Course That Actually Listens Back

I’ve been working with Leigh for over 10 years, and he’s played a huge role in my growth; from a young teen in school to where I am now as a touring artist. He’s always been incredibly professional, and has helped me build not just my voice, but my confidence in it too. I’m deeply grateful for his dedication and the belief he’s instilled in me over the years.

“Leigh came into my journey at a low point of my life. My father had recently passed, and I unfortunately sustained vocal injuries from developing Covid from his funeral. I coughed that hard that I burst blood vessels on both sides of my vocal cords which developed into bilateral polyps. Whilst professionally working through this, it was unsustainable and eventually resulted in surgery to remove both polyps so they could simultaneously heal. I was recommended to Leigh from another professional singer who spoke extremely highly of his services. Firstly, I would like to say that Leigh is an incredible human, teaching aside. He is truly passionate with his craft and protects your craft as if it were his own. He personally invests himself in your journey, and doesn’t give you a dry-cut, one size fits all treatment. He makes you feel seen. He wants to understand you best so he can alter his approach in order to help you in the way you need.  Leigh has an immense knowledge of vocal anatomy, structure, function and bestows this upon you so you can understand how the voice functions and provides you with tools for self assessment and development. If you spend 5 minutes in a room with Leigh, the experience is evident. From performance, to teaching and everything in between. Leigh has a well informed, empathetic approach with rehabilitation and teaching and I would recommend him in a heartbeat to anyone.  I wouldn’t have the vocal confidence and stamina I have today if I didn’t have Leigh and for that, I will forever be in debt.”

I was really out of vocal shape post pandemic due to irregular singing and gigging. Leigh really helped me build up my vocal chops and confidence back. Now with a brand new album and international tour just around the corner, I feel totally ready in my abilities thanks to Leigh’s coaching.

Not only does Leigh McRae have a fantastic knowledge of the voice and how to get the best out of it, he is an incredible communicator ensuring that his students gain the same passion and desire to discover their voice as much as he does. His infectious enthusiasm and straight forward approach to singing facilitates rapid progress. He has helped me develop my voice to cope with long sessions on stage or in the studio. Thank you Leigh!

I thought the only way to sing pop music was to still use a classical technique but do a few ‘bad’ things to make it sound right. Leigh showed me a completely new approach to singing so now the big notes I can sing in the studio, I can sing ‘live’ without a worry.

Leigh is simply amazing. As a teacher, he isolates any issues or inconsistencies in the voice and helps his students to work through them in a constructive and practical way, at the same time encouraging and developing all the positive qualities in their voice. As a mentor, he is able to guide his students along the musical path they desire and give them advice, contacts and inspiration. Leigh’s Vocal Mastery technique is highly practical with proven results. The brilliance of the exercises lie in the fact they do not change your natural voice or force you to sing a certain style. Vocal Mastery allows the student to sing in a way that sounds and feels comfortable, protects the longevity of the voice, minimises vocal fatigue and maintains a smooth transition between chest, bridge and head voice supporting the singing of styles across the board. As a cast member of Miss Saigon, I perform 8 shows a week with no vocal fatigue. Thanks for everything Leigh!

I contacted Leigh having just been cast as ‘Joanne’ in Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Company’ at the Theatre Royal. Not having done a musical for 23 years I was in a mild state of panic and, as an ‘actor who sings’, was desperate for guidance and perhaps a miracle. Well, Leigh was my miracle personified. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have had Leigh’s expertise, kindness and skill to guide me through the process of discovering my voice. He not only encouraged me and put up with my insecurities but taught me practical skills to enable me to perform a vocally very demanding role 8 times a week with relative ease. The show was a huge success and I owe that success to Leigh. Thank you my friend, for your generosity, kindness and practical knowledge and guidance.

Leigh has helped me throughout my career. He is an amazing vocal coach and also a great friend.

Leigh McRae is one of the most gifted singers, teachers and human beings I have ever had the privilege of knowing and working with. His knowledge of the voice, ability to impart vocal wisdom and truly caring nature make him a gift to his students, colleagues and friends. I am blessed to have worked with him and having him not only as a colleague but also as a friend. I highly recommend Leigh

I have the honour of calling Leigh my friend. I met him at the Speech Level Singing Institute, a voice workshop in Los Angeles that I created with Seth Riggs. We invited some of the best voice teachers in the world to come and be part of our faculty. Leigh was one of the first to agree to come, even though the trip was expensive and arduous and the remuneration minimal. We are lucky he did agree to come, however, because he was invaluable. He provided our grateful students with great insights into singing technique and style, and did so with his wonderful sense of humour and his insightful wit. I had the great pleasure of working with Leigh there for five years, while I was the Program Director of that summer workshop. I also invited Leigh to be part of another summer workshop which I helped to initiate, The Broadway Theatre Project, in Florida USA, which is even a longer trip for Leigh to make. In his usual good humour, he agreed immediately to come, and once there proved to fit right in with our faculty, and was an instant hit with the student population as well. His talent and his wonderful teaching made him popular and much sought-after. He has helped hundreds of young people learn to use their voices in a healthy and effective way, and to gain the confidence needed to sing. On a personal note, Leigh is a person of high integrity, kindness and generosity. I am proud that I know him, and extremely proud to be considered his friend.

I cannot think of anyone I would rather endorse as a teacher, a friend, and colleague. I have had the distinct pleasure of knowing Leigh McRae for several years and in that time I have found him to be among the finest vocal technique and style teachers it has been my privilege to meet in more than 30 years of teaching. Leigh has the skill to determine a student’s vocal deficiencies and offer a precise path for changing for the better. He is kind and generous with his time and patient with his students. He is one of only three or four people in the world that I would study with personally. I work with such stars as Destiny’s Child, RJ Helton, Ramiyah and Play. When they find themselves on tour in Australia, I’ll send them to Leigh, because quite frankly, he’s the best.

Leigh is the only singing teacher I have had who hasn’t tried to change my voice into something it’s not. He listened to what I wanted to achieve as a singer and it was a pleasure setting out to achieve it

In today’s highly competitive market, very few people are successful without having a coach or mentor as a part of their support team. No top level sports or business person would expect to train themselves, they rely on someone with the knowledge, experience and objectivity necessary to keep them focused and on track.Leigh’s technical knowledge, experience, and motivational ability, make him a great vocal coach. He has changed forever the way I look at singing, music and life. I send all new members of my band to see him, and continue to consult with him myself.Leigh has earned and continues to command my maximum respect.

Leigh has an outstanding ability to teach others and cares for his students … he is a rare bird.

It is a pleasure to write that Leigh was a wonderful addition to the Broadway Theatre Project, the residential musical theatre program I co-founded in Tampa, Florida with Debra McWaters. I found Leigh to be a marvellous teacher. We look forward to his joining us again one day.

I feel that Leigh McRae is truly able to give an artist the freedom to be able to soar in the upper register of their voice. I have had considerable and successful results when an artist is reaching 70% of their capabilities and then comes back from Leigh, ready to give 100% performance to a song. Leigh, in my opinion, is the only singing teacher in Australia for artists who want to go all the way.

I have been lucky enough to have started my vocal lessons with Leigh McRae at the very young age of six. Seventeen years on and Leigh is so much more than a vocal coach. He is a friend, mentor, inspiration and teacher of countless invaluable life and industry lessons. Leigh has taught me how to conduct myself professionally, along with so many important lessons on how to give a vocally healthy, consistent, honest and well rounded performance every time I step out on stage no matter the circumstances and for that I am forever grateful.

Leigh McRae is the kind of guy who is always there when you ask for his help. He really cares. He’s a great listener, coach, mentor, teacher and friend. I have always felt extremely encouraged by him and his faith that anything is possible. It’s like a breath of fresh air. I feel very lucky to have been taught by Leigh. His techniques really do work.

I wish we could kidnap Leigh to New York City. Musical theatre needs more teachers of his calibre. I am on the vocal faculty of the Broadway Theatre Project, and observed Leigh teaching the young people who come there in the summer. The students adored him, not only because he helped them improve their singing, but because he did it with grace and humour. Leigh is a master of vocal technique, and a master at teaching it. He inspires his students to be the best they can be.

I couldn’t ask for a better vocal coach. Not only has Leigh helped my voice, but he has improved my learning for my instrument. I can now do things I never thought possible. He has taught me techniques that will be with me forever, Thank you Leigh

I took singing lessons with Leigh for the period leading up to the recording of my second album. The techniques I have learned in that short time have enabled me to sing with much greater confidence and freedom. Leigh was instrumental in helping decide recording keys and vocal approach, and I am super happy with the results. Most importantly, there has been a noticeable improvement in my singing – which I attribute to working with Leigh!

Some say ‘with knowledge comes power’ and in Leigh’s case he is a very powerful teacher. Leigh has not only helped me gain control of my voice but has also taught me many valuable techniques that I can use and apply for a life time of singing. Thank you Leigh, for all your support and guidance.

I’ve loved working with Leigh. it’s amazing how much he’s improved my voice. Not only has my range increased but more importantly I feel that I have better control and my voice can sustain back to back concerts much better.

I’ve worked with Leigh for six years now. In this time he has helped to build my confidence and continued to broaden and strengthen my voice and vocal range. I couldn’t be happier with the results. Having to tour extensively over the last three years, playing at times six shows a week, it is extremely necessary that I am able to continue to deliver a quality and consistent vocal performance each night. With the constant guidance from Leigh I have been able to achieve this. He has taught me the basic tools to overcome and manage any situation vocally, which makes being in a live band and having to sometimes play disaster sounding venues a breeze. Apart from being an awesome singing teacher, Leigh is a rad, down to earth person & friend approaching each lesson with a great humility which makes turning up a pleasure each time.

Leigh McRae is not only a singing teacher but a mentor. It doesn’t matter what outrageous questions I need to ask him, I know he will help me by giving me his honest and informed perspective about both my singing development and industry advice. Leigh has helped me more than he will ever know. Take advantage of his services while you can. I promise you won’t regret it

I’ve been working with Leigh for sometime now and I just think he is a great teacher, one of the best teachers I’ve ever had in the sense that he’s patient and he also understands what it is to be a singer, and from a singers point of view that’s very important. I’ll be calling you quite often Leigh, because I need ya…

I was first introduced to Leigh back in 2000 and I remember doing two one hour lessons over the phone with him one week apart prior to going out to perform & both times singing better than I ever had prior. Basically that’s the amazing thing with Leigh.. his ability to not only diagnose the problems I was having at the time but also his approach to providing me with the necessary tools to get me through my problem areas & beyond to perform at my optimum time & time again.. When I heard he had created The Vocal Mastery Program in 2004 I didn’t hesitate to download it through his website & get started. Once again as before his teachings had me singing even better than I would’ve ever thought possible. Thanks Leigh McRae.. I am eternally grateful for the gift you gave to me all those years ago that I’m now able to share with the world.

I started singing at age 8 and very quickly moved into the professional world of performing. I have been involved in all parts of the industry from backing vocals on major Australia tours to recording TV advertisements and competing in The Voice Season 1. Further to this I have recorded and released songs that have played on Australian Radio and TV. Through all of this I have found out how important it is to maintain my vocal technique. I achieve this by having regular sessions with my mentor and vocal coach Leigh McRae. When I am overseas and in need of a lesson or warm up for a show or recording session I love that we can do our lessons via Zoom or Facetime . The way Leigh tailors each lesson to my voice and my problem areas as they arise blows my mind every time. His expertise is second to none and I recommend to every singer I know to treat yourself to a one on one session!

Leigh McRae is not only a singing teacher but a mentor. It doesn’t matter what outrageous questions I need to ask him, I know he will help me by giving me his honest and informed perspective about both my singing development and industry advice. Leigh has helped me more than he will ever know. Take advantage of his services while you can. I promise you won’t regret it