FAQs
- What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
I teach hourly lessons for all my students, regardless of age, and charge $50 per hour.
- What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
I ask each student to fill out an information sheet with contact info and basic musical experience. I also provide a printout of my financial & lesson procedural policies for new students. I give new students an overview of how I work and the tenets of achieving good voice production. I begin by finding out their range - from the lowest to the highest notes that they are able to sing. Then, while accompanying them on the piano I listen to them sing a simple song. From there I talk with them about what I hear in their singing and how I think we should proceed to improve singing techniques. How we begin depends on the particular problems that I hear, because each person is different. We may proceed working on phrasing and musicality and helping the singing to flow. We may also being by working on the forward placement of the voice. It is usually appropriate to find a new song for the new student to learn if the technique of the student is ready for that. I explain what I think the student needs to work on in their own time before the next lesson. Practice is essential to progress, because not all the magic can happen during the lessons. We establish a schedule and move forward.
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I have a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education with a focus in vocal music from The University of South Florida. I have studied singing privately with Jerald Reynolds and Everett Anderson from the Univ of So Florida. When I lived in Mendocino, CA I studied with Nadine Patton of WIllits, CA where I learned the tradition of Bel Canto singing, integrated with speech therapy and vocal mechanics - the most dynamic singing lessons I have ever experienced. I participated in a singing workshop in Mendocino with the late Will Parker of New York City Opera. Under his direction I went to New York City and studied with John Bullock and also sang for the director of The Joy of Singing workshop. I was encouraged by these professionals to move to NYC for a career there, but decided to stay in Tampa, FL, my home.