Voice Lessons in Rectortown, VA

Instruments: Voice

A typical hour voice lesson involves three parts: 1) warm-up/vocalizing and listening to ones voice to learn more about the voice, sound production, breathing and placement; 2) working on a particular technique or perceived shortcoming; 3) applying the techniques from the lesson to a song or gaining confidence in performance. My teaching style is relaxed and fun but devoted to working on proper vocal technique and confidence building. For example, to be a good singer one must have a good understanding of the muscles and parts of the body that are involved in breathing and how that relates to making beautiful sounds. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

I have been involved with music for as long as I can remember. My first love was singing, and I still enjoy singing today. My first instrument was the accordion, after which I moved on to piano and keyboards. I remember my piano teacher, Mr Scholl, was a neighbor and he would come to my house for lessons. I had no idea that years later as an adult I would be "paying it forward". Read More

Instruments: Voice Music

There are many different methods and styles to teach voice, but there are some basic fundamentals to good vocal technique and so for me its always important to start with a few basic warm ups, which normally includes simple vocal exercises such as scales and/or arpeggios, as well as working on good breathing. Its important for me to know what the student is interested and what they want to get out of the lessons, and specifically what repertoire they would like to work on, and from there we can work on a plan moving forward. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

I have also performed with the prestigiousCincinnati May Festival Chorus and had concert appearancesat Disney Hall in Los Angeles, New World Stages in NewYork City, The Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford, England,among many others. In addition, Rebecca I am a clinician for many master classes- this year teaching and performingat Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. Most recently I have enjoyed working for Disney and singing back-up for Kevin Spacey! Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Bass Guitar Synthesizer Ukulele Keyboard

My preferred piano method is Piano Adventures and I recommend using the Lesson, Theory, and Sight Reading books at each level. For guitar and voice I typically do not follow any specific method unless the student has a preference. For more advance piano students I typically will begin using Suzuki or move them to Burgmller Etudes and Schumann's Opus 68 - Album for the Young. I perform an assessment of new students in the areas of sight reading, music theory, rhythm, performance, and ear training. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice

Lessons are geared towards student needs. Beginning guitar and piano lessons follow standard curricula. Voice lessons are usually 15-30 minutes of technique work followed by 15-30 minutes of work on repertoire. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

We also learn age-appropriate songs, of course. In lessons with young children, everything is play-based. I make learning experiences into games, and we move between activities quickly to accommodate the kids' attention spans and keep them engaged. I gradually shift my focus to technique and more advanced repertoire once the students reach middle school. For high school and adult voice students, we focus primarily on technique and learning repertoire. In an hour-long lesson, we might spend 15 or so minutes warming up and doing technique exercises, 10 or so minutes working on music theory, and the remainder of the lesson working on one or two songs or arias we've picked together. Read More