Sylvia
Ambassador
- Hourly rate £30
- Response Time 9h
- Number of students 50+
Book a class
1st lesson free!
Learn to play the Ukulele and have fun! Experienced singer & performer teaching ONLINE ONLY
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- London
- By webcam
Ambassador
We host the best tutors. Quality of their profile, experience in their field. Sylvia will be happy to arrange your first Ukulele lesson.
About the lesson
Lessons are taught in a fun and practical way and you will learn chords, strumming patterns, melody playing, with a variety of songs all from the comfort of your own home. All you need is your own ukulele and you're ready to go. Specific aspirations and needs will be considered, and you will be encouraged to develop your own style. I tend to focus on playing techniques and having fun with performance rather than getting too caught up in theory but I always provide a solid foundation of the basic essentials.
subjects
- Ukulele
languages
- English
levels
- All Levels
About Sylvia
I am a DBS-checked ukulele teacher and performer, with more than 8 years experience of playing, performing open mics and on festival stages, and over 4 years teaching groups and private students.
I have a first-class honours degree in Film, TV & Drama and am also a qualified English teacher (CELTA).
Review
All of our reviews are collected by us and are 100% reliable. They correspond to a real experience lived by the students of Sylvia.
4.9 (13 reviews)
Perfect! Everything explained well and in simple terms for a non-musician
Sylvia's response
- Sylvia's response : A lovely Father's Day gift for Mark who is a keen player and singer. We're going to cover some new ground in melody playing and music theory to help him take his playing to the next level!
Perfect! Great teaching skills. Very organised re forwarding lessons - chords - video and print outs
Excellent lesson
Looking forward to ongoing !!Sylvia's response
- Sylvia's response : Lovely student brimming with enthusiasm. I'm looking forward to more lessons with Cate!
Perfect! Saskia the 6 year old loved the song she was learning. We were both impressed with Sylvia's patience. Thank you
Sylvia's response
- Sylvia's response : Saskia is a delight to teach! Impressive attention and skill for a 6-yr-old!
Candy
Perfect! I am YouTube-taught and have been playing the ukulele badly for a while. I finally decided to get proper lessons with Sylvia, who is effervescent, never boring and loves to end each song with a great strumming flourish. So far she's already got me vamping and finger picking and has taught me a new song and a scale at every lesson. I love it!
Candy
Sylvia's response
- Sylvia's response : Really enthusiastic, it was a pleasure to teach Candy and I look forward to future lessons! Thanks!
Matthew
Perfect! Sylvia is great, very patient with me and chooses great tunes! Makes the whole thing fun....
Matthew
Sylvia's response
- Sylvia's response : An enthusiastic student with good basic ability. I look forward to more classes with you Matthew!
Melissa
Perfect! I highly recommend Sylvia! She is always prepared for the lesson. She is positive and supportive.
Melissa
Sylvia's response
- Sylvia's response : Great student, with good ability and seems to be a fast learner! I look forward to more lessons with you Melissa.
Perfect! Sylvia is very easy going teacher with solid skills. She helped me to come up with a ukulele sheet of a song I always want to learn! Really enjoy having class with her.
Sylvia's response
- Sylvia's response : Yuchu has great basic skills and could benefit from lessons to improve her chord memory and finger dexterity for playing melodies and riffs. I hope to see you again Yuchu! Please leave me a review with any feedback you may have :)
Perfect! I've had a few lessons with Sylwia, at first she was getting to know me and my skill level, as our lessons have progressed she has really listened and tapped into what I want to explore with my lessons. Each lesson has been more and more tailored to my specific needs. She is a really great teacher and has taken on board where I want to be stretched....and what kind of music I want to be exploring.
Sylvia's response
- Sylvia's response : Great student, fast learner and very enthusiastic.
Perfect! She is very clear and easy going
Sylvia's response
- Sylvia's response : I'm really enjoying teaching this couple; very personable, and enthusiastic.
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Recommendations
Recommendations come from relatives, friends and acquaintances of the teacher
4
Jonas
Sylvia's classes are great, I am both learning a lot and having fun. She is always well prepared, has a ton of self-made material and knows all of the ins and outs of playing the ukelele. She also welcomes (and even encourages) you to suggest songs to play yourself, which makes learning so much more enjoyable!
Jonas
Sylvia is very professional at all times as well as hunble and caring. She explains things clearly and concisely. She provides you with the material you need to learn and is also open to suggestions. She is understading of peoples needs and musical levels and is willing to work with you at your own pace. And she is super flexible with times and space; I do my classes online from New Zealand!
Sylvia is a wonderful teacher, she is enthusiastic about playing the ukulele and really patient, encouraging and positive. I've enjoyed learning from her and been able to learn songs I initially thought wouldn't be possible. I can't imagine a better ukulele teacher!
Sylvia is an excellent ukulele tutor. Very professional, patient and thorough. She provides easy to follow instructions for beginners and helpful materials (which you can keep). I quickly improved under Sylvia's tutilege and I couldn't have learnt the ukulele without her help.
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Rates
packages
- 5h: £150
- 10h: £300
webcam
- £30/h
free lessons
- 30mins
Details
Take a trial meeting with me, where we can chat about your ability, songs and techniques you may like to learn, and troubleshoot any immediate problems.
Find out more about Sylvia
01
When did you first develop a passion for music and your favourite instrument?
I have always loved music and singing. When I was younger my Dad tried to get me to play all sorts of instruments, but none of them stuck. I tried playing the violin, keyboard, drums, bass and guitar… but I wasn't motivated enough to keep going. Then one Christmas, (I was about 20) I bought a ukulele for my Dad, and he liked it so much, he bought himself a new one and gave me back my present! That's when I started playing around on the Uke and discovered a passion for playing and singing my favourite songs.
02
Is there a particular type music or artist that you listen to on a loop without it driving you crazy?
At some point I usually change the genre to keep things fresh. It depends on my mood, I have such versatile taste! But I love old classical Jazz and Funky numbers, and more modern Alternative Pop/Indie music, as well as Electronica!
03
Explain to us the most difficult or riveting course you could personally give to a student of music.
I love working out modern covers of songs and seeing how we can represent the different instruments in different ways, with a variety of techniques or maybe several parts playing at once! Usually, songs that have been requested by students are the most interesting because it's something they're familiar with, that we can work on together.
04
What do you think is the most complicated instrument to master and why?
Tricky question! I think every instrument has it's unique challenges, and depending on your skills (perhaps you have great rhythm or a good ear) some are obviously harder for some people than others. I think the Piano is incredibly versatile and amazing to master. There are even incredible things I've seen on the ukulele that look super complicated, but it's just about breaking it down and practise, practise practise!
05
What are your keys to success?
Aha! See above :p It's all about slowing down, breaking things into phrases, or parts, practising and practising, until eventually you can put it all together. Also for me, success isn't just about perfecting a piece of music, but really enjoying it and having fun!
06
Name three musicians you dream of meeting in your favourite bar in the early hours of the morning. Explain why.
Ohhh if only I could rewind the clock and meet David Bowie! I'm sure lots of people say that. I would also love to have met Nina Simone, what an incredible force of nature. Hey it would also be great to meet Jake Shimabukuro, he's a real ukulele master. I bet I could learn a few things from him!
07
Provide a valuable anecdote related to music or your days at music school.
I always used to hang out in the music department at school, those were the days. Music provided such a solace for me, especially since I had moved from London to Yorkshire in my teens, halfway through the school year, and found that transition quite difficult. Our music teacher would help us with writing music and preparing for the talent show. I debuted a couple of really embarrassing songs about L o v e (what does a 13 year old know about love?!) at our talent show, which was so awkward but also made me kind of famous at school… What did I learn in those days? Don't worry about what people think, do what makes you happy.
08
What are the little touches that make you a Superprof in music?
I always take the extra care to find songs or material that my student is genuinely interested in. I've worked out a couple of songs they've requested and that's always fun. I enjoy learning new songs myself!
I try to adapt the pace of the class to the student as well, some people are speedy learners, whilst others need a bit more patience and encouragement and I'm happy to provide a pace that suits the individual.
