Meet MK’s lady with The Voice

Pulse’s Sammy Jones had a pitch-perfect chat with Pip Akers who is ‘scaling’ new heights in her quest to teach Milton Keynes to sing…

“My mum noticed first,” Pip says of her passion and talent for performing and for song, “She realised I had an interest in music and did everything she could to encourage it, including putting me in keyboard lessons from the age of four. I sang with her in the church choir from a very young age, and got involved in every school production and talent show I possibly could.”

Listening to Stevie Wonder as a wee youngster was another landmark moment for Pip, which she remembers as being ‘pure joy.’
Other voices who would join Stevie in her favourites list include Whitney Houston, Inez Andrews, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, George Michael, Celine Dion, “…to be honest I’d better end it there or I’d go on forever,” she laughed.

The lady who now helps others free their voice through her own coaching business was herself a regular at music lessons when she was growing up: “I took SO many music lessons. Mum would drop me off at Stantonbury Campus every Saturday morning and I would just go from one class to another; piano, violin, guitar, drums, voice and choirs.

“I’m very grateful for that experience but my ADHD made it difficult for me to concentrate. If I didn’t take to something naturally, I lost interest. Luckily I ended up sticking with piano and singing as they felt the most natural.”

In her late teens, Pip hotfooted it to Blackpool to work as a cabaret singer and lead park vocalist for the Bourne Leisure brand. Experience picked up then, convinced Pip she had made the correct career choice.

In millions of homes across the country, Saturday night currently means switching on the box and checking in with The Voice, to listen to unknown singers battling to get the all-important chair spin from the panel of industry judges. You know the drill.

Not so long ago, Pip was one of those, mic in hand, belting out the goods: “I spent a few years working with The Voice and one of my auditions was televised. Tom Jones said I was, ‘punching with both fists’ which I assume was a good thing!” she smiles, “It was that which inspired me to become a vocal coach. I had industry level coaching throughout my time on The Voice and I learned so much from them and I thought, ‘this is definitely something I can and want to do.”

“I had two auditions, and my first one didn’t go well. I was nervous and pitchy, and after I came off stage a camera was shoved in my face and I was asked how my parents would feel – they had only recently passed away.

“Safe to say I was a bit of a mess and lucky to have my family there who looked after me and made it bearable. However, this only made me more determined to redeem myself the next time I was asked back. “Although I didn’t get a chair turn, it looked like Olly Murs was close! I felt confident I had done myself and my family proud.”

Pip is all about finding the positive, and she took plenty of good stuff away from that experience.

“There were no tears, my family cheered when I walked into the interview room and we all had a lovely time celebrating after. And you know what? I’d do it again!” she said, “It taught me resilience, the importance of proper coaching and hard work, how the industry works, trusting yourself and going for it, working the crowd – I had them all on their feet the second time round – and not letting anything stop you,” she remembered, “No matter how many knock backs you get, if you want something, keep going. I wanted to work in music full time and now I do. A big part of that is down to my experience on The Voice and I’ll always be so glad I did it and super grateful to the producers, vocal coaches and team that saw something in me.”

Pip’s business is now bursting with people wanting to unleash their inner star quality. But really, can anyone be taught to sing?
“I believe everybody can learn techniques and build their confidence to enhance their natural ability. Everyone can be taught to sing better, but it may take some longer than others. If you stay the course and trust the process you can achieve amazing things. I’ve been doing this almost six years now and the proof can be heard in my amazing students…”

And she has plenty of those amazing students; her business launched with just a handful of pupils on a Saturday morning, but her reputation is sterling and she now works five days a week tutoring, with a waiting list that has been in the 100s. Demand for Pip’s tutoring is sky high.
“I now offer ad-hoc sessions over the school holidays to try to see more students, and twice a year I put on showcases at The Craufurd Arms, which is where my teaching studio was for a long time.

“The students and parents love the showcases and I’m now preparing for the eighth one! The children get to sing a song each, on a professional stage, have professional photographs taken and share their hard work with friends and family. I have to give a special shout out to all my friends and family that put in a shift on showcase days to help make them successful, without their support, none of this would ever have been possible.

“It’s not just children though, I also have a wonderful bunch of adult students, some of them now sing professionally when they would only ever sing in the car when they started!

“It’s one hell of a rewarding job for so many reasons.”
Those of us who keep our vocal inabilities confined to our own company, and don’t even like going as public as singing in the shower struggle to imagine having the confidence to cut our voices loose in public. Share the appeal.

“Some people are straight up extroverts and love sharing their passion and art with others, and coaching sessions enable them to build on their techniques, and to have more self belief to get out there and do it!

“Others may see it as a challenge; something to help build their confidence, a healthy outlet for emotion, a way of being a part of a community, or of connecting with their own body – a way of letting go of the stresses and control of everyday life,” Pip explained.
“Some do it simply for the joy and happiness it brings them and others. It’s a beautiful thing.”

Six years in and Vocal Coaching with Philippa Akers (“Yes, I do regret not choosing a more catchy business name!”) is a flyaway success, but she has her eyes on a bigger prize in the future.

“I’d love to have my own vocal coaching and performing arts school one day,” she divulges, “…that’s the biggest dream goal. I’d love to work with and learn from other music and arts teachers. More immediate goals include attending the Vocal Educators ToolKit course with a teaching school I’ve been following for years. It’s important to invest in myself and stay up to date with research and studies to enable me to be the best vocal coach and mentor I can be…”

Check in with Philippa – and her talented students – on FB and Insta @vocalcoachingwithphilippaakers

Pip’s next student showcase takes place on Sunday, October 13 at 2pm at The Craufurd Arms in Wolverton. Tickets are £7.50 on the doors.