zinglizh

About The Classes

Regardless of your singing skills at the present time, the classes are held in a private residence in Rohnert Park, CA. This is a safe fun place to get to know, or to improve or free up your voice. The house is easy to find as you can't miss my colorful pink and green Honda in the driveway. Maybe you've seen it around town?

I am a certified voice technician as well as a contemporary vocal coach. I teach based on how the body/vocal instrument works, dealing with the specific muscles you are using to sing. I will teach you some basic anatomy so you know what's going on in there!  AND make it EASY for you to sing. I can also help you prepare a song for performance. 

Class tuition for regular beginning adult classes includes a 30 minute private voice lesson and is good until the last day of that semester. This is to give you a little one-on-one time. But you do need to use it before the last class as it does expire.

And we do a lot of laughing! My goal is to make it fun. I love using visuals and to help you learn by doing. Don't be surprised to find balloons, straws,soup ladles, a shield, rubber bands, a turkey baster, and a very cool vintage 1987 Yamaha Keytar as part of my teaching toolbox. You might even learn a few vocal tricks from Mickey Mouse and Scooby Doo!

 I often use a rubber band to show students how the vocal cords stretch. A funny thing happened one private lesson when the rubber band flew out of my hand and landed on the floor in the shape of a Treble Clef. Wow! That was amazing. I excitedly told the student." Look! My vocal folds turned into music!"  And so they do!

Class Format

At the start of each class, we spend a few minutes sharing stories about singing related subjects experienced, or noticed, outside of class. There is a short lesson planned for each class, but after that, what will be taught is determined by student questions and individual needs. I often will start or end class with group singing because it's just so much fun to sing together!

Sometime beginners aren't yet comfortable singing by themselves in front of other people, and that's okay. In my beginning classes, you are never put on the spot to sing alone unless you want to. It is always your choice. Singing should be fun and not intimidating. It is valuable, however, for me to hear just your voice so I can help with your instrument's specific needs. The intermediate students, even though the stage fright is still there, will be asked to sing solo. People are encouraged to bring an instrument, like a guitar, uke, or we can use recorded music. Currently, the accompanist for my intermediate class is Bruce Loring.

Toward the last classes, I introduce a little bit about song writing and we do some improvised singing where we make up a song or two. I also touch briefly on harmony, what it is, how to do it, and a bit of ear training. (Special workshops are offered on ear training, harmony and songwriting.)

I won't have you do generic scale exercises, but instead do melodic isolation exercises which work specific muscles of the singing instrument to gain strength, flexibility and control. I will create specific exercises just for you based on on what you need at the time. You will be surprised what your voice can do with ease once you know how. 

Having a song or two to work on can be a good learning tool. Some students do a different song each week. Some do the same song because they are working on something for a performance, maybe church or a wedding, and would like specific feedback on that song. Maybe you are a songwriter and need help coming up with a melody or interpretation.

I also work on stage fright and we do some powerful, but playful games to help deal with our insecurities.

This is the type of class you can take over and over again, as each class is based on the needs of each student in attendance. Every person has different challenges and different goals and we give ample class time to those issues. Most students repeat the beginning/intermediate several times. Hearing similar information with your singing skills  at higher level, feels like whole new information! It is an affordable way to get some basics, and then add private lessons or the workshop classes.

I have decorative curtains around the room to create a fun atmosphere, one looks like a piano, one a wall of guitar amps, and the other looks like a stage curtain. It's a way to engage the "pretend" part of you to keep the class fun and lighthearted. Much easier to learn if you are having fun. I even have a small platform you can stand on if you want to. It's up to you. You can always just sing from your seat (but it really is fun to stand on the "stage.")