Denise B  
Instruments: Piano, Voice
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, R&B, Musical Theater, Opera

My teaching experience dates back to my college days, as I began teaching private lessons part time more then 15 years ago, and I have been consistently teaching students in my home studio and online for the past 10 years. Encouraging regular practice on a consistent schedule is one of the key points I like to emphasize for younger students, as it tends to help the student progress and gain a passion for the instrument. I've also find that a combination of classical and modern music can go a long way in helping students enjoy singing or playing an instrument and motivate them to practice and continue to learn.

My teaching is based on my own personal, classical training from Europe and North America. Whether it's opera, oratorio, musical theater or pop-style singing that is desired, I believe that classical technique is an essential source of proper singing that can be used to train singers of all genres. Just like a piano, flute or violin, your voice is an instrument. The purpose of voice lessons is to help you develop a beautiful and dynamic singing voice and also to teach you to use your voice in a healthy age-appropriate way that will keep you singing for many years to come! As your teacher, I want your lesson to be more than just singing through a few songs. While what specifically happens during a voice lesson can vary greatly from student to student and from week to week, the overall structure of the lessons remains similar. We will always start with some combination of warm-ups for your breath, body, and voice. Just as you wouldn't go running without first stretching and warming up your muscles, you don't want to start singing full songs without first getting your body and voice warmed up. Warm-ups will also introduce you to new techniques for properly using your voice in a healthy and beautiful way. After warm-ups, we will work on songs. Typically, you will sing through the song once, and then we will go through it in small, manageable chunks, applying the techniques from the warm-ups to the songs. During the lesson we will also work on expression and acting. A song isn't just pretty notes—it tells a story. If it's a song from a musical, there's a specific character that sings it. It's your job as a singer to tell the story and to make it fun and exciting for the audience.