My
Teaching Philosophy
I teach process over product. Many teachers teach solely with product in mind.
Having to meet certain test requirements and produce a certain amount of work all contribute to this diversion from
process and focus on product.
I am in the position, as a private teacher, to focus on process. I believe 100% that if you have a supportive,
productive, knowledgeable, healthy and thorough process, the product will naturally be amazing. Focusing
on the product over process leads to not knowing how things work. This results in not knowing
how to fix problems. However, focusing on the process automatically fixes challenges as they arise.
Learning how to sing
is not just about singing. It is learning about the following:
how to relax and let your
body sing;
how
to listen to your body;
what to do physically when you are singing;
what to do mentally when you are singing;
what to listen for;
how to interpret song;
how to become a better
musician;
how
to sing with your own, unique voice.
What I teach:
I teach an organic, natural approach to singing.
I believe easy singing is better singing. This does not mean singing is
not work. It does mean, however, that the singer has to rely on the feeling of singing and allow the body
to create sound in a relaxed, healthy way.
Each person has a unique voice. Tone, pitch, timbre, color and articulation
can be manipulated. I teach my students to be comfortable with their individual, unique sounds without
manipulation.
Singing should be
intense not tense. Relaxed singing is healthy singing.
Singers who sing in a relaxed, organic way are able to sing much longer and healthier. Every singer
wants to continue to sing as long as they are able during their lives. I teach my students how to attain
this.
I also take teaching
very seriously. If my student does not understand what I am trying to get them to do, it is not their fault,
it is mine. I recognize it is my responsibility to communicate in a diverse and varied way, tailored to
each of my students. My goal is to always have clear perspective and infinite patience. Healthy
solutions to challenges are always possible.
I have extensive experience teaching interpretation of song.
I am able to teach most styles and languages. Different styles of music demand different interpretations.
However, the fundamental production of sound and articulation all stem from one source: from each
singer’s unique, healthy voice.
Why I teach:
I teach for
many reasons:
It is very satisfying;
I enjoy the challenges of communicating with people on a very personal level;
I constantly learn from
all my students as I teach;
I enjoy nurturing future musicians and helping them to discover their unique, dynamic, individual
voice;
I
have been able to study with a number of different voice teachers and have learned different approaches and techniques from
each teacher;
I have sung professionally for many years and have a clear perspective on song interpretation as well as performance
technique;
Where I teach:
I teach in my music studio located in the top floor of our house.
Our house is located in south Kansas City, Missouri between Wornall and Holmes Roads at 128th Street.
How
I teach:
I am a very interactive teacher. I ask a lot of questions and rarely ask rhetorical
questions. I challenge my students to think and find answers. I also teach my students
to be smart singers. I am able to provide my students with tools but they must apply those tools themselves
and come to me with further questions.
Smart, self-aware singers are able to recognize challenges
and find solutions when they have tools to do so. Sometimes it is difficult for a singer to figure out
just what the problem is. My job is to recognize the challenge and offer multiple possible solutions.
When
I teach:
I encourage my students to take a one hour lesson at least once a week. This has
proven to be very effective and produce the best results. However, if a student cannot afford to do this,
I completely understand.
Consistency is very important. If it is one hour
or ½ hour, meeting regularly produces excellent results.
Some students schedule lessons on the same day and time each week. Others are performing or their schedules
change weekly so we schedule lessons each week as it arrives.
I can be contacted for scheduling via email, text message or voice mail.
My
schedule tends to change slightly each week but there are certain slots which do not change. Therefore,
I enjoy a lot of diversity and flexibility working with each of my students to accommodate all of our schedules each week.
