Jeff Lucas
Worship Leader
For the longest time, I’ve been wanting to have a formal vocal training. Ever since I answered God’s call last year to be a full-time musician and really have a solo career, I knew that vocal training was going to be an essential element I needed to have.
My calling in life is to be a musician/singer/songwriter inside and outside of the church. It was only last year that my home church, CCF (Christ’s Commission Fellowship) started grooming me to be a worship leader. In line with this, I’ve also started writing a lot more original compostions. I started to try recording them, and people have been telling me to have some form of vocal training to enhance my voice. Because of a busy schedule at that time, I wasn’t able to really enroll in one, but I did want to choose the right fit for me. A few months ago, my mother called me and told me she stumbled upon the ANC program where vocal coach Jojo Acosta was being interviewed. She heard that Teacher Jojo’s style of coaching is unique depending on the student’s vocal style and skill. I decided to give it a shot when Mom gave me the number to contact. I was surprised that Teacher Jojo’s wife, Lei, was someone I met already back in the gig scenes with my former band. Because of the familiarity, I knew it was God-ordained for me to enroll at Teacher Jojo’s SingerStudio.
I really wanted to enroll in a formal vocal training because I knew my voice needed a lot of improvement skill-wise. Having the plan to record an album and being a regular worship leader, I wanted to really gain more confidence and become more comfortable in singing. The major problem I had in singing was it was so easy for me to lose my voice (mapaos) after a tedious stretch of singing. Also, I always had a hard time with songs with higher keys and I really wanted my voice to be stretched.
After 5 or 6 vocal training sessions with Coach Jojo, I have felt a significant improvement in my singing. Not only did I notice it, but my family and friends as well. My friends were even asking me where I was having my training and they wanted to enroll as well because they saw how much my voice improved. My schedule of recording is still a month away but the lessons I’ve learned, from basic posture to having that beautiful tone, has helped me a lot in my worship leading in church. Every time I get positive feed back after leading worship of how much I have grown as a singer, I cannot thank Coach Jojo enough for the improvement that happened to me because of his unique style of coaching. Because of improvement that’s been happening, I do not think I would want to stop learning. There is still so much to learn and I know it can only get better and better. Because of my vocal training, I don’t find myself losing my voice anymore after a tedious stretch of singing.
As a singer/songwriter, the vocal training I’m getting from Coach Jojo has allowed me to be more experimental with melodies and riffs, something I found limited in my repertoire before.
As a worship leader, the vocal training I’m getting has given me more confidence in myself in the way I sing and in the way I lead people to worship. It has also given me the confidence to take risks while worship leading in terms of playing with the melodies and singing higher keys. More importantly, singing properly has given me more comfortability. Thank God I don’t lose my voice anymore and I really want to make sure I always sing properly.
One thing I learned from Coach Jojo is how unique the vocal skill set of a person can be. Also, that the whole body aids in singing, not just the diaphragm. I am so blessed to have been able to be a student of Coach Jojo. His style fits me really well, and he is a gift from God to me.
Now I can say I have more confidence in the way I sing, and I know exciting times are ahead of me as I prepare to record my 1st solo album as well. Praise God for Coach Jojo! To God be all the glory!