Singing/vocal lessons for Forest Hill families

ABC Academy of Music offers private singing and vocal lessons in the Forest Hill area, taught from our Lawrence Park studio at 2180 Bayview Ave (at Lawrence & Bayview), North York M4N 3K7. We’ve offered singing and vocal instruction in Toronto since 2003. Regular private lessons are $55.38 (30 min) or $64.81 (45 min); a trial lesson is $20. Our singing teachers hold university music degrees or equivalent conservatory credentials. Emma Berube, who teaches voice at our Lawrence Park location, trained as a mezzo-soprano and holds a B.Mus from Western University. Rating: 4.8★ from 150 students on Google. Lessons are open to children age 5 and up, teens, and adults at any level, whether the goal is to sing in tune, prepare for an RCM exam, or simply feel more comfortable in your own voice.

Getting to Lawrence Park from Forest Hill

From Forest Hill, the drive to our studio at 2180 Bayview Ave takes about 12 minutes. The most direct route heads east on St. Clair, then north on Bayview to Lawrence. There is a small parking lot behind the building, a paid lot directly across Bayview, and metered street parking on Bayview for short stays. If you prefer transit, the 61 Avenue Road bus connects to Lawrence Station on the Yonge line, and from there the 124 Sunnybrook bus runs east along Lawrence toward Bayview. Lawrence Park Ravine is a five-minute walk from the studio, and Sunnybrook Park and Bayview Village are close by.

What singing lessons cover at ABC Academy

In the first six months, beginning students focus on breath support, posture, and learning to match pitch reliably. These aren’t abstract concepts: a teacher like Emma Berube will have you doing simple lip trills and five-note scales to feel where your voice sits naturally, then work outward from there. Students also start learning how to warm up correctly before singing and cool down afterward, habits that protect the voice long-term.

Children starting at age 5 or 6 keep lessons playful, working with simple songs chosen to match their speaking range. Teens often come in wanting to learn a specific song or genre, and lessons meet that goal while building the technique underneath. Adults starting from scratch are usually surprised at how quickly foundational skills arrive when the exercises are relevant. A 30-minute lesson works well for younger children and new beginners. A 45-minute lesson gives older students or those working toward RCM vocal grades enough time to cover warm-up, technique, and repertoire in one session. Current rates are linked in the Nearby section below.

Frequently asked questions about singing lessons near Forest Hill

Singing student at vocal lesson in Toronto

Regular private lessons at our Lawrence Park studio at 2180 Bayview Ave (North York M4N 3K7) are $55.38 for 30 minutes or $64.81 for 45 minutes. A trial lesson to meet your teacher and try a session is $20. Full details, including the teaching-year schedule and make-up policy, are on our tuition and rates page (linked below). We also have a second private-lesson studio at 12 Conway Ave (M6E) for families on the west side of the city.

Our closest studio to Forest Hill is Lawrence Park at 2180 Bayview Ave (at Lawrence & Bayview), North York M4N 3K7. From Forest Hill Village at Spadina and Lonsdale, drive east on Lonsdale to Avenue Road, north to Lawrence Avenue, and east on Lawrence to Bayview. Most Forest Hill families arrive in about 12 minutes. Our second private-lesson location is at 12 Conway Ave (M6E) in the west end. There is parking behind the building, a paid lot across Bayview, and metered spots on Bayview itself. For transit, the 61 Avenue Road bus connects to Lawrence Station, and the 124 bus runs east along Lawrence to Bayview.

With an independent teacher you get one person’s perspective, and if the fit isn’t right, you start the search over. At ABC Academy we have multiple credentialed vocal teachers, including Emma Berube and Shelley Mayer, so if your first match isn’t working, we’ll find a better one before you lose momentum. We have two private-lesson studios in Toronto (Lawrence Park and Conway), which gives us more scheduling flexibility than a single teacher working from home. RCM vocal exam preparation is available for students who want it, but the majority of our students are recreational learners, and we treat both tracks with equal seriousness. We’ve been doing this since 2003, so the systems around lesson scheduling, make-up lessons, and communication with parents are worked out.

Private singing lessons begin at age 5. For children from birth to age 5, we offer Music Together®, our licensed early-childhood music program, at the Lawrence Park studio and two other Toronto locations. Music Together isn’t singing lessons in the traditional sense; it’s a caregiver-and-child class that builds musical awareness through singing, movement, and percussion, and it gives very young children a strong foundation before private study begins. You can book a free demo class to see whether it’s the right fit.

Yes. Adult beginners are a regular part of our voice studio, and no prior experience is needed. Many adults carry the belief that they “can’t sing,” which usually means they’ve never been taught to listen carefully to their own voice. A patient teacher and consistent weekly practice changes that for most people. There are no performances or exams required unless the student wants them.

Yes. Our teachers can prepare students for Royal Conservatory of Music vocal examinations at any level. RCM vocal preparation covers technique, vocalises, sight-singing, and the ear-training components the exam requires. That said, RCM prep is one option, not the default. Students who want to learn songs they love or prepare for a school performance are equally welcome, and lessons are shaped around those goals. See our RCM exams guide for Toronto parents for more on how the program works.

ABC Academy offers up to 2 guaranteed make-up lessons per teaching year for student absences, plus additional make-ups for teacher absences and weather closures. The teaching year runs September through June. For scheduling questions or full policy details, contact us using the link below.

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