Beginners can learn a lot from watching great singers perform. You might conclude that movie musicals would be a perfect choice to study singing, but most are dubbed. Here are some programs currently streaming on Netflix that you will both enjoy watching and learn from.

The Phantom of The Opera at Royal Albert Hall: Out of all the current Netflix musical selections, The Phantom of the Opera at Royal Albert Hall is my first choice.

The video recording is of an actual performance with live actors and singers and the cinematography is excellent making it fun to watch. You may observe each singer’s technique and facial expressions with more ease than if you were personally attending the performance. In addition, The Phantom of the Opera is almost entirely sung, while staying accessible to most members of society. It lacks the frivolity of a typical musical storyline, has some sophisticated modern music elements without being garish or drawing attention to itself, and the style of singing is classical musical theater. Most people who like popular music will enjoy the singing, as well as most people who enjoy opera.

TEDTalks: Music Revolution: Season 1: Ep. 1 Eric Whitacre: A Virtual Choir 2,000 Voices Strong: Eric Whitacre is, at the moment, the rock star of choral composing. He is young, energetic, and innovative. Not only do you get a chance to hear Whitacre’s story, finding out what made him go from a normal Joe Schmidt to the most famous choral composer alive, but he discusses his latest and most unique project: the virtual choir.

He shows clips of various auditions sent in by people all over the world, as well as clips of the singers digitally combined into a virtual choir. He talks about the way the experience affected his and choir members’ lives. Singers learn a lot about creating straight tone by observing and imitating Whitacre’s selected clips.

TEDTalks: Music Revolution: Season 1: Ep. 19 Abigail Washburn: Building US-China Relations… By Banjo: This program is short, but inspiring. Abigail Washburn talks about her life and how she went from the dream of building US-China relations by becoming a lawyer to doing the same by singing Appalachian inspired American folk music in Chinese. She demonstrates her unique vocal style with her banjo. This selection is by far the shortest in the list at about 10 minutes, but well worth watching.

Katy Perry: Part of Me: Anyone interested in the music industry should take an hour and a half to watch this. Of course it pays homage to Katy Perry herself, but it also explains her struggles and rise to stardom. It emphasizes her big break as well as the moments where her career took one step forward and one step backwards. It presents all the hardships of musical career in an uplifting way and ends with a happy ending. The movie also presents live concerts where you can observe how natural Perry looks as she sings.

20 Feet from Stardom: This inspiring documentary about back-up singers received 99% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Why? Not only can you gain insights about how to become a back-up singer and how talented you have to be, the stories of the individual back-up singers draw you in making you laugh and cry. You learn how hard it is to jump from being a back-up singer to becoming famous and well known. It also presents several clips of live music sung in various vocal styles, by some of the most talented back-up singers alive. The documentary is not only educational, but has a personal element.