Voice Lessons in Monroe, WI

Instruments: Piano Voice

It is important to have an atmosphere of trust and honesty, regular communication, and constant reflection for successful growth through lessons. I meet with a student to discuss their interests, aspirations, and expectations in taking lessons, and we choose musical goals and selections together. Every time we have a lesson, I ask for their reflection on their frustrations, progress, and discoveries within their craft and music. This allows us to converse freely about their learning pace, flux of interest, strengths and weaknesses, and how they perceive their improvement, as well as if changes need to occur in the lesson setting, the musical selections, or our initial goals. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

I have different methods for piano and voice: depending on the level of the piano student, I will use Faber method books and supplement performance pieces, technique lessons, games, theory discussions, etc. I do not use method books with voice students, although I do have a curriculum that I follow and adjust depending on the level and age of the voice student. I believe that while beginning and intermediate students continue to learn, it is important for them to practice different genres on their instrument -- this allows them to speak different musical languages, improves their understanding of style, and gives them a better context for their own gifts and interests. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Drums Bass Guitar Keyboard Djembe Acoustic Guitar

As a member of an indie rock band, I understand the importance of being able to play songs on your instrument as quickly as possible! With this in mind, my lesson plan focuses primarily on breaking down songs that we want to learn how to play into their fundamental parts; the chords, the grooves, the fills, what-have-you, until we can put it all together. If there's a song that's particularly difficult and requires sound fundamentals, then we'll pound out those skills until we can get the results we want. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Organ Music Keyboard Acoustic Guitar

Ray has been hailed by Opera News as, "terrific!", the New York Times praised, "Ray C. was effectively cast...a solid professional with vocal elegance." The Taconic Press acclaims him as, an exceptional voiceleaving audiences cheering" with his performances being, ardent and utterly convincing." The New York Sun said of his stage craft: Ray C. makes the most of it, combining savvy stage business with a warm voiceexpertly straddling that razor thin line between parody and poignancyscored a direct hit." While the Berkshire Review simply calls him, "...Perfect!" His travels have led him to make appearances with Grandview Opera (General Co Artistic Director), the Light Opera Company Of Salisbury (General Artistic Director), Prelude to Performance (Associate Conductor), Amore Opera (Principal Conductor), the Opera Orchestra of New York, New York Grand Opera, Connecticut Opera, Connecticut Concert Opera, Greater New Britain Opera, Berkshire Opera, Bardavon Opera, Jacksonville Lyric Opera, Opera Ischia (Italy), Bronx Opera, New Rochelle Opera, Amato Opera, Bleecker Street Opera (Associate Conductor), Regina Opera, Long Island Opera, the New Britain Symphony Orchestra, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Staten Island Philharmonic, the Belleayre Music Festival, American Opera Preview, in collaboration with artists and staff of the Metropolitan Opera, at Carnegie Hall, Bechstein Hall, Merkin Hall, Symphony Space, and Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Synthesizer Keyboard

I first started teaching when I was 17 years old. Then I went to college for training into this area of teaching. I was also involved with the Bradley University Chorus. Some of my teachers included Ralph Nielsen, father of Rick Nielsen of the group Cheap Trick, Mary Weyhrich, Marilyn Cade, and Jan Wanach. My school provides opportunities for two recitals, Christmas caroling, music scholarships and I am the Rockford Founder of the Carnegie Hall National Voice and Piano Exams. Read More

Instruments: Voice

My teaching is rooted in the philosophy of functional singing, which means everything I teach has a purpose rooted in the physiology of singing. We do a lot of different exercises and say a lot of funny sounding words, but each exercise is carefully crafted to maximize training your voice's flexibility, agility, or strength. Similar to how you might do a bicep curl to make your bicep stronger, vocal exercises are part of a broader "vocal workout" regimen based on what your voice needs on any given day. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

Music lessons were one of my favorite activities growing up and continue to be for me as an adult. I want to give my students the same joy that I have for music, regardless of what their goals are. In the first lesson, I ask every new student what their goals area. That is how we start working together. For instance, if I know that a student is hoping to audition for a school production in a few months, I want to make sure that I include performance preparation in our lesson. Read More