Vocal Training Philosophy
The mastery of any instrument, especially the art of beautiful singing takes time. Please be patient with and encourage yourself. Together we’ll start on the road of a lifetime of personal fulfillment that comes from sharing your gift with the world.
My purpose is to offer you:
Learn music from around the worldThe opportunity to learn music from around the world — You will learn to sing in different languages, and in doing so will see that the world is much bigger than the practice room.
Tools for learning musicThe tools of learning music — Rather than teach songs by rote, one of my goals is to instead teach you the ability to ultimately teach yourself. We’ll spend time talking about musical form, notation, sight-singing, and ear training. I also work with each student to be rhythmically correct.
Free your natural voiceThe chance to free their natural voice — I encourage you to sing with a natural, open, and free voice. Each tone is warm and produced without strain. My goal in this is to help you expand your vocal range.
Listen without judgementThe ability to listen without judgment to the performance style and vocal production of others — My goal here is to train your ear to not only listen, but to hear. Oftentimes, I will encourage you to participate in an activity that I call, “active listening.” I want you to explore and research other artists. I want you to really listen to them and not simply say “I like them” or “I don’t like them” but to be able to articulately critique them. I want you to know that it is more about the WHY and HOW, than the WHO or WHAT.
Emotional vocabularyThe chance to explore dramatic interpretations — I’ll work with you to develop an emotional vocabulary. The singer’s demeanor can be just as important in expressing their feeling as their voice.
Practice mindfullyThe skill to practice mindfully — Another of my goals is to inspire in you the knowledge of deliberate practice*. You will understand what it takes to really practice and learn. My goal here is to establish a firm foundation for a lifetime of learning through self-discovery. I believe true education doesn’t stop after high school or college. I still study. In addition to taking regular voice lessons, I attend summer music programs, such as the Eastman School of Music “Practical Vocal Pedagogy” class to continue my own education.
