5 ways to be more LGBTQ+ inclusive as a singing teacher

As singing teachers, we want to support our students to feel comfortable as we ask them to try new things and express themselves. For LGBTQ+ people, feeling at home with someone who demonstrates they understand how to support your queer identity can be hugely important. There are so many ways that you can demonstrate our support to your queer students, but here are 5 great ways to get started.

1. Ask - don't guess

The great thing about working inclusively is that you don’t have to make any guesses! When you meet a new student, make sure that you ask them how they’d like to be referred to. You can do this either by chatting to them when you meet, or via a New Student Form – if you don’t already have one of these then I can help you create one for your studio, get in touch to book a consultation! Either way, you should ask someone’s name, invite them to share their pronouns, and ask if there’s anything else that they’d like you to know before getting started that might affect their voice or participation in lessons. They might tell you about medication or medical conditions, in-lesson preferences, prior training, or other things that are useful for you to know. The most important thing is to make space for them to share what is relevant but not to ask any more than is needed - you don’t need to know anything medical or personal that isn’t relevant to singing or showing up in the studio.

2. Be flexible

Flexibility is key, both musically and socially. Musically, if a student tells you they aren’t comfortable singing something or requests a change to a piece, find a way of accommodating this that still meets your teaching aims. There are many songs which can be used to achieve the same goal, repertoire can be altered to suit voices, and lyrics can be sung by anyone - we don’t need to be prescriptive about who can sing what piece. Repertoire should suit the voice and the technical or artistic aim you’re trying to achieve, as opposed to asking a person to try and fit a song. Socially, people may change their name, pronouns, appearance, preferences and other things as time goes on. Make sure there are opportunities to discuss and update these as time goes on and be receptive to change.

3. Be aware of physical areas of concern

Some trans students might wear binders or body shaping garments which can affect posture and breathing. Some people might be prepared not to wear these during lessons but for others this might be a red line. It’s not appropriate to ask someone to remove these if they’re not happy to do so. People who have worn binders in the past or who’ve had top surgery may previously have altered their posture to try and minimise attention to their chest. It may take some time to train a new posture and not everyone will feel confident doing this. You should be aware that this is a potential are of concern and be patient and supportive.

4. Keep up to date with LGBTQ+ organisations, events and issues

Make an effort to keep an awareness of things affecting the LGBTQ+ community – your queer students will be affected by national news and also local events and issues. Making an effort to follow LGBTQ+ organisations on social media, reading news articles about current events and issues, and attending local LGBTQ+ organisations’ events such as Prides, community gatherings, concerts, sporting events and rallies can all be useful ways of building a connection with the queer community. Your awareness of events, terminology and issues facing the community will help you to speak confidently and supportively with your students.

5. Programme LGBTQ+ composers and lyricists

There is no shortage of music written by LGBTQ+ people – it’s likely you already teach some of this! Finding out about the composer or lyricist’s life and not shying away from queer aspects of this give you and your students a more well-rounded understanding of where this music has come from. Adding this context to the piece when you introduce it to your student is a non-intrusive and useful way of embedding LGBTQ+ inclusion in the studio as part of the regular work that you do.

Taking steps to be more inclusive in your studio won’t just benefit your LGBTQ+ students. A more flexible and open approach supports everyone to bring their authentic self to the session. Singing can be a vulnerable act, and anything you can do to help students feel more at home and supported can only help foster engagement and creativity. Take pride in supporting your students to express themselves in your studio!

If you'd like 1 to 1 support in building LGBTQ+ inclusive practices into your studio or choir, get in touch with Kathleen HERE