Singing Teaching Philosophy

“The more technique you have the less you have to worry about it.”
—Pablo Picasso

“It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”
—John Wooden

I approach teaching with the single goal in mind of healthy vocal production. And just like any other instrument, singing requires mastery over the mechanics of playing that instrument. With solid vocal technique comes the ability to sing anything and to avoid injuries such as nodes, vocal hemorrhages and overuse.

Kinesthetic memory consists of only 3 elements: Isolating and strengthening muscles, learning good form (coordination), and consistent repetition. No matter what genre you choose, singing effortlessly uses the same vowels and consonants. I will give you the tools to measure results. And as Warren Buffett says “It’s not enough to just measure things, you have to measure what matters.”

Good technique is the ability to sing in tune, go high and low, fast and slow, soft and loud. It gives you the chance to be the artist you want to be and brings out the beauty in each individual voice. It means never suffering vocal abuse and needing to “rest” your voice. Good technique makes you the master of your future.

If you have taken lessons before, then this will be a new experience for you. Your lessons will have little talking by me and minimal demonstration. Instead you will be doing most of the singing. Your muscles need to learn what mine already know. Through a series of vocalizes composed by Lamperti over 200 years ago, and breathing exercises that address breath support, you will have a structured proven method to learn how to sing flawlessly and with ease. You can’t decorate rooms without first building your house on a strong foundation.

Because our instrument is located within the body, a certain level of maturity both physically and mentally is needed before beginning lessons. If lessons are begun before then, you run the risk of serious injury due to the demands placed on the fragile cords. Consequently, students should not begin formal lessons until the vocal cords are fully developed which is usually around puberty (12 or so in girls, and after the voice has changed for boys). Singing in choir or at school is fine and of course learning to read music or taking piano lessons is recommended to be prepared for private lessons later on.