Music Tuition

The best music lessons you’ll ever have! I’m a highly qualified, experienced & friendly teacher based in Sudbury, Suffolk. My methods achieve great results every time.
Learn for fun or to further your career, pass exams or auditions, or prepare for performances and concerts.

I teach a wide range of ages and abilities – from children to pensioners – beginners to professionals. Everyone is welcome, and students benefit from my encouraging and positive attitude and wealth of musical knowledge and performing and teaching experience.

I have qualifications in performance, composition and teaching :

BA (Honours) in Performance Arts from Trent Park, Middlesex University.
MMus in Acoustic Composition from Goldsmiths, University of London (2008)
MPhil in Acoustic Composition from Goldsmiths, University of London (2014)
My teaching qualifications were awarded in 2010 by City Lit. I have two City and Guilds Certificates in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (PTTLS & CTTLS).

I teach Classical, jazz, soul, pop and rock styles Grades 1 – 8 ABRSM and Rock School.

PIANO – learn to play your favourite music on a lovely acoustic piano. Learn proper finger positioning and posture with fluid wrists to play music of all styles. Learn how to read notation in the treble and bass clef and improve your sight reading or how to improvise in jazz and blues styles.

Laura Jones (advertising executive) ‘Polly is a fantastic tutor and my jazz piano playing has moved on a lot in my time with her. As someone who is classically trained, I’ve always found jazz and improvisation tricky. Polly bridges the gap between these styles and has lots of tricks and techniques up her sleeve that have helped me along the way. She is also a super lovely and supportive person. Highly recommended!’

SINGING – improve your tone, support & technique and find your true voice. Build power and resonance without hurting your throat. Learn effective techniques to gain confidence and performance skills. Learn how to use your breath properly and control your vibrato. Make your songs come alive with the correct diction and round vowel sounds. Find your range and learn what genres of music suit your voice and personality.

Michelle Lee (original cast member of Miss Saigon and actress) ‘Polly taught me for several years while I was living in London. She helped me immensely – building up my confidence after a long spell of not singing. She is very knowledgeable and improved my technique, as well as being incredibly supportive. I found my lessons really enjoyable and was sad to stop training with Polly when I moved out of London’.

SONGWRITING & COMPOSITION – improve your lyrics, express your creativity, say what you really mean and learn how to put music to melody, and how to put words to music. Create original, catchy songs in any genre and then record them in my studio.

Alice Emerson (musician) ‘Polly was the first person I ever sang my songs to and her support and encouragement helped give me the confidence to perform on stage, record with other producers and eventually to release my own songs. She also gave me tips on how to improve my songs and showed me my strengths and how to play to these in my songwriting and production.’

Learn how to orchestrate your music, arrange it and structure it effectively in a variety of styles, from GCSE to Degree level using Sibelius software.

CELLO – learn to make a beautiful sound, achieve an excellent bow hold, posture and intonation, achieve clean string crossing, learn how to do vibrato and how to do thumb position and read the bass, tenor and treble clef to help your sight reading.

Daniela (Doctor) ‘Dear Polly I just wanted to say thank you for the last 2 years. You have been a great and wonderful teacher and inspiration. Full of encouragement. I never would have thought that in this short time I would be able to play in an ensemble and now an orchestra. I love the cello and you have helped by creating a lovely class atmosphere.’

MUSIC THEORY AND AURAL TRAINING –  Pass your Grade 5 music theory exam so you can take your higher ABRSM instrumental or singing exams. I use practical, fun musical examples to make the whole process as unstressful as possible! Improve your aural perception and learn to recognise intervals, rhythm, structure and articulation.

Victoria (Advertising Executive) ‘Thank you so much for your help with my Grade 5 theory. The certificate arrived this morning and I passed with merit – 88 (out of 100). I am thrilled.’

LET ME HELP YOU LEARN: My singing students have successfully passed auditions to sing in West End musicals such as Cats, Petticoats and Dreamboats and Dreamgirls, or to study at theatre schools such as The Guildhall, Sylvia Young, Arts Ed and Mountview. Past students include celebrities such as Gabby Logan (who I coached on Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes), and BBC Proms presenter Katie Derham, and pop stars such as Joss Stone and You Tube sensation Jasmine Thompson (whose cover of ‘Ain’t Nobody’ reached no. 2 in the UK charts in 2015).

My students tell me that they learn more in 1 hour with me than months with other teachers! My many years experience as a teacher & performer enable me to help students achieve success with easy to follow, effective techniques.I guarantee the best tuition with the best results every time with lots of encouragement.

Frances (accountant) ‘Let’s face it, learning to play the piano is never going to be easy but a lesson with Polly makes it easier. She greets me each week with a smile and enthusiasm and has great patience. When choosing a teacher you don’t just want someone who can teach but someone who inspires you to learn. Polly Hewett is exactly that’.

I’m based in Sudbury, Suffolk and I have a lovely acoustic piano that I use to accompany my singing and cello students, and that my piano students enjoy playing on. I also have a large library of music of all genres and styles for you to choose from. Singers can use my P.A. system to practice their microphone technique and I have state of the art recording equipment if you’d like me to record and produce a song or demo for you.

I belong to The Association of Teachers of Singing, The Performing Rights Society and
The Institute for Learning and have a current DBS certificate.

WHEN I TEACH: Peak times (4.30pm – 9pm) weekdays get busy so please book a week in advance to get the slot you want.
I have more flexible availability during weekdays.

CANCELLATION POLICY: I require 24 hours notice if you need to cancel your lesson for any reason. Otherwise I will charge you the full (missed) lesson fee as a cancellation fee.

Contact me on 07811340601

About me:  I am a professional jazz singer & pianist, cellist, and a choral conductor, composer and musical director. I have been a self employed private music tutor since 1996 and have taught at The City Lit since 2010 (where I currently teach cello and songwriting courses to adults).
I have performed on ‘Top of the Pops’, and at top music venues such as The Royal Festival Hall and The Barbican. My music has been played on TV, radio, in theatrical and dance productions and at contemporary music festivals.