For specifics on how lessons are organized, please go to the page entitled Lessons.
HOW IT BEGAN
I have taught private voice and group voice classes, along with music theory, history and performance for years. I have been fortunate enough to teach a wide range of ages and styles of music in many settings - from colleges to community centers. About 8 years ago I found myself balancing two teaching jobs with free lance writing, performing and lecturing. Within a few months, however, both teaching jobs ended; the community school closed unexpectedly, and the university had yet another cutback. Besides a much needed freer schedule, I was left with at least 30 private vocal students with no place to teach them. That’s when I started my own Vocal Technique Studio.
THE STUDIO TODAY
I welcome children and adult students who want to improve their singing. Having sung and studied a large number of genres, I welcome stylistic diversity with a few exceptions. In good conscience, I cannot encourage styles that ask a singer to scream, or to sing in any way that strains the instrument. I adhere to teaching methods that protect the voice and assume that the singers who come to me want to have a long term ability to use their voice effectively. Some styles are more demanding than others, and good technique is the best protection from strain.
OUR GOAL
My fundamental role is to help the student open up their voice for increased expressiveness, and in the process, gain greater strength and flexibility, better intonation and resonance, and stabilized breath control. The best quality a student can have is patience, both with the process of the typical physiological changes he or she will experience, and with his or her own progress. To learn more about what a typical lesson is like, please visit the Lessons Page.
TEACHING METHOD
The pedagogy I rely on is very largely based on that developed by an unequalled mentor I was fortunate enough to meet some years ago. His teaching materials are invaluable and based on a deeper understanding of the physical instrument of the voice than any other source I have sought out over the years. Fortunately, he has warmup recordings and a valuable book he has published available for purchase. Please visit the Resources Page and see Roland Wyatt’s section. However, I make sure and use the warmup tapes during lessons with my students to monitor how they are being used prior to recommending their purchase. Done correctly, the exercises on the recording are the most effective I have ever used. But if the student has already learned to push his or her voice, an instructor is the best first guide to relearning how to sing without straining the voice.
Good technique is freeing and relaxed singing is the path to good technique. There is nothing like singing fully relaxed and toned. Please feel free to email if you are interested in singing lessons or any of the other instruction, song writing, music theory, musicianship, I provide through the studio.
NOTE
Students are encouraged to support our local music stores who will special order your sheet music with a smile. I also have an affiliation with Sheet Music Plus.com and often refer student to their site to research the wide range of published material available. See the Resources Page for more.
