Voice Lessons in Long Beach, CA

Instruments: Piano Voice

I believe the ultimate goal of teaching piano lessons should be to make the student independent of the teacher. This requires years of training, while the student learns how to listen to his or her playing and acquires a musical technique and the requisite skills.Focus on developing musical skills is essential to good piano teaching. Traditional methods immediately teach students to learn to read music, while other methods (such as Suzuki and piano-by-chords approaches) ignore music notation altogether, citing other advantages. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Ukulele Music

My teaching experience dates back to college, as I was the Vice President of the collegiate choir, and small group leader for international tours. After that point, I had the privilege of working at the elementary, high school, and collegiate levels teaching voice, piano and acting. I have over ten years of experience as an orchestal conductor and music director for Azusa Pacific University, Cal Baptist University and Life Pacific College. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Organ Keyboard

I have been teaching for the past 17 years.  I enjoy the challenge of meeting each student's needs and creating an individual teaching plan to help students achieve their goals. I have had the opportunity to work with preschool through undergraduate students. My experience as a high school chorus teacher, Teaching Artist with the Washington National Opera, guest vocalist for the Ghanian ambassador, and part-time professor have bolster my ambition to bring music to students "where they are". Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

Music is my life! I'm currently finishing up my Bachelors of Music in Vocal Performance at Portland State, and teaching music in the Portland community. I am also very fortunate to be an active performer. I've sung lead and supporting roles in many musicals and operas, and am thrilled to be a part of the internationally renowned Portland State Chamber Choir. In all of my experience I have found that there is nothing as exciting or rewarding as watching the growth of a student in music. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

My Methods: Fundamentals of breath work - incorporating several physical exercises and methods of showing the coordination until it is ingrained Focus on the use of the resonators - projecting the sound to the different cavities where sound resonates before leaving your body and into the room (i.e. 'the mask', mouth resonance, chest resonance, etc) Reducing tongue tension - a common issue is root of the tongue tension and I have several exercises to address this Improving range - most of my students gain notes in their belt range and their head range, and often in their low range as well Increasing the legato vocal line - here we focus on linking the vowels properly supported by the breath Jaw tension - similar to tongue we have evercises for this Style - different approaches such as riffing, back phrasing, using a glottal attack, using a breathy attack - creating colorful expressive phrases that link to the emotion of the song and the style desired Musicality - learning to read music, counting tempo, sustaining pitch, syncopation, dynamics, etc Diction - correct vowel shapes and enunciation + awareness of when tension closes down the vocal line if diction is carried over from speaking habits Performance - using tools from acting training to perform a song effectively and believably Career consultation - when appropriate, also offered Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

For both voice and piano lessons, I always try to demonstrate the techniques I'd like students to learn to make sure they understand the correct way to practice. For both instruments, I use scales and chords for teaching, and I implement quite a bit of music theory in my piano lessons. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Drums Ukulele

My teaching style is goal-oriented and centers on positive reinforcement. This should be fun, not a chore. I love creating weekly/monthly/yearly goals so the student has something tangible to work towards. That might be a showcase for parents, a more formal recital, or an audition for a group! Each student brings a unique perspective to the lesson room, which is what makes it so exciting for me. No two students are the same, which mean I can learn something from the student as well. Read More