VOICE LESSONS

Private voice lessons of either half an hour (30 minutes) or an hour (60 minutes) are available to individual students. During the early stages of development, my teaching style focuses on building healthy vocal production including posture, respiration, phonation, support (appoggio), resonation, registration, articulation, and relaxation. In later stages of development - with more emphasis being placed on style and languages - students will be encouraged to work on elements of expression and interpretation and, if desired, to perform in master classes and music festivals.

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Having participated in a cross section of teaching situations, I have seen vocal students come not only with varying musical and life experiences, but also with different abilities and intentions. My role as a voice teacher is to take all of these factors into account, and to guide and support the vocal development of my students as they prepare to meet the challenges of learning to sing. This has led me to adopt a multi-faceted teaching philosophy founded on diagnostic, preventative, holistic, and musical principles. 

From a diagnostic point of view, a student’s vocal production is assessed in terms of what Barbara Doscher describes in her book as the "functional unity" of the voice. Vocal processes are broken down and introduced as a series of building blocks (or events) which encourages the student to explore how the voice works as a complex whole. By helping students to recognize vocal and/or physical tensions which may be restricting or preventing their instrument from functioning naturally, students have the ability to acquire the skills necessary for proper vocal technique. Sometimes this involves a process of ‘undoing’, leading the voice towards its own economy of function. As the proper musculature is assessed, strengthened, and employed, each problem is addressed in a variety of ways. While this taps into the student’s particular way of learning, it also helps identify and correct individual vocal weaknesses. 

Gaining an understanding of how the voice works also enables students to protect their instrument while away from the teacher’s studio. By providing students with a foundation of the interrelationships that exist between human physiology and the physics of sound, students learn preventative measures. That is, they became able to self-diagnose and correct vocal faults to avoid over-singing and other forms of habitual vocal abuse. 

I apply a holistic approach to vocal studies because the singer’s ‘body’ is their instrument. Affected by things such as stress, fatigue, and emotions, the body can react negatively and leave students feeling vulnerable in performance. While students learn to recognize the emotional and physical signs of vocal distress, they also develop skills to reverse these processes. I use a variety of 'embodied' vocal techniques (such as somatics, Feldenkrais, Alexander technique, and vocal massage) and place focus on the student’s self-understanding, allowing students to develop a sense of confidence and adventure as their personal, artistic, and professional objectives are realized, fostered, and nurtured. 

Musically, students will be exposed to a variety of styles and languages. Emphasis will be placed on applying fundamental vocal technique to repertoire, examining the 'functional' relationship between pronunciation and the vocal articulators. Repertoire is chosen collaboratively to reflect their artistic personality or to broaden the student’s knowledge of vocal literature. Students will be encouraged to choose wisely not only for future roles, but also for their voice type, temperament, and desired lifestyle.