Hi! I’m a college student in Tokyo, and I’ve recently gotten into musical theatre. I’ve been thinking about taking singing lessons to build a more Broadway-style sound and expand my repertoire.
I’m a bit stuck on one decision though, whether to take lessons in English or Japanese. I’m fluent in both, but I naturally gravitate toward singing in English since most of the songs I love are Broadway or Broadway-adjacent. I’d really like to take lessons in English for that reason, but they’re pretty hard to find here and tend to be expensive. On the other hand, lessons in Japanese are much more affordable, but I’m worried about differences in vowel placement and whether that might affect how I approach musical theatre songs. I’ve looked into online classes but with the time difference and with finding a place I could confidently belt it might be kind of difficult.
For anyone who’s been in a similar situation, what would you recommend? Is it worth investing in English lessons, or can Japanese lessons still work well for this style? Also this is a long shot, but if you have any recommendations for coaches in Tokyo please let me know!