Letitia S
Instruments: Piano, Voice
Styles: Classical
Letitia S
Instruments: Piano, Voice
Styles:
Classical
Where I Teach:
Ages Taught: 7-80
MM, Vocal Performance, with Distinction, Longy School of Music, Cambridge MA
BTEC Higher Diploma in Furniture Conservation, London College of Furniture
General Education, Wells Cathedral School, Somerset, UK
2004- Honors winner, Longy School of Music
I am a passionate teacher who believes that everyone can make progress in their chosen instrument, including in singing. I meet you where you are and we work to make progress from there. Whatever style you want to sing, learning to use the instrument in a healthy way will make things easier and more satisfying. In my studio we learn by playing games, using imagery, using yoga to experience how the body feels and sometimes just good old fashioned counting. My students generally improve if they have a chance to make time for even just a little practice each day. Why not give some lessons a try?
I began teaching voice in 1998 and have had a few students ever since. I had a previous career in furniture conservation and taught classes in that field too. I teach in my home studio, or I go to students' homes, which ever works best. My students have ranged in age from 6 to 85. I find they make the best progress if they can make some time to practice regularly: I endeavor to ensure that the student has repertoire that they find interesting and fun, and that will stretch them. Lessons are generally playful. I meet the student where they happen to be that day, and we go from there.
My aim is to guide students to be independent musicians, therefore lessons include vocal technique, breathing and vocal production, reading music, music theory, how to learn a piece of music effectively and efficiently. I suggest repertoire based on a student's previous experience, if any, or relate repertoire to their life experience, if appropriate. Young children often start with folk songs or rhymes, more experienced students move on to more complicated repertoire. I find the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music syllabus useful as a framework within which to find repertoire. I also find their graded examinations useful for students who are interested in a very structured development path.
I meet my students where they are when they come into the studio and base the lesson on what they need that day, within an overall framework of growth. Lessons consist of some warm up exercises followed by working on a piece of music, or multiple if lessons are long enough. Exercises are given in which techniques found in the repertoire are practiced. I teach students how to read music and offer graded music theory workbooks so that their comprehension of what is on the page keeps pace with or exceeds their technical ability. Teaching voice is about so much more than teaching technique and learning a song. To sing freely one must feel safe and at liberty to try things, to make sounds which in other places are frowned upon. I aim to provide a place where students can try things and receive positive reinforcement for what works, rather than judgement about what is wrong. I believe everyone is capable of being more expressive and learning more notes, and I aim to foster that positive attitude.
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