Scott F. TakeLessons Instructor Music Theater voice, Rock singing, Pop / R&B Singing, Beginning to Intermediate Music... Ave B, Bayonne, NJ

I have been singing and acting almost since I could walk.  Born and raised in San Angelo, Texas, I grew up singing in choirs and performing and musicals.  I continued this love for singing through college when I earned a bacheor's degree in Musical Theater with a minor in Acting from The University of Northern Colorado.  I now live in Bayonne, New Jersey with my wife of nearly seven years, where I continue to work as a professional actor and singer.  In my professional career as a performer, I have performed in such projects as the Broadway production of "Brooklyn the Musical", several Off-Broadway projects including "Sessions" (original cast), and several productions of musicals around the country.  I have performed with such broadway names as Eden Espinosa, Ann Crumb, Robert Cuccioli, John McDaniel and Hugh Panaro.  I also continue my work as the lead singer and keys for "Rock Road", one of New Jersey's best rock and roll cover bands.  I have a wide variety of music that I love and have performed for years from Country, to Broadway, to R&B and I am comfortable teaching all of them.

As a voice teacher, I have recently begun teaching in the New York area after having taught in Denver for 4 years.  As I believe that a teacher is somewhat made up of the teachers he or she has had, I will do just a little more name dropping.  My voice teachers in Colorado  included  Lesley Manring, who performed  alongside Luciano Pavrotti,  Heather Hollingsworth, who was the vocal consultant for such artists as Sting, and Bruce Springsteen, and Vance Fulkerson, who's students have performed in broadway and national touring productions like "Wicked", "Mamma Mia", "Jeckyll & Hyde" and "Little Women".  I have taken a great amount of singing knowledge and techinque from all my teachers and fellow performers and would love to pass that knowledge onto you.

First and foremost, my objective is for my students to have fun singing.  I teach a lot of techinque and music theory, but there is no reason for someone to be taking voice lessons if they don't have fun singing, and truthfully, nothing really ever gets done until they start having fun.  With that in mind, there is a lot of work involved.  My style of teaching is hard to nail down, because I will tailor it to each individual's goals for their voice.  For instance, I will always teach singing with a healthy voice, which should be used in all styles, but if the singer wishes to be on American Idol, I won't spend as much time teaching them the classical voice.  If they want to sing at the Met Opera, we won't work on Alicia Keys.  I also want you to know, that although I will get picky and work my students hard during a lesson, the only thing I don't like is when someone apologizes for messing up.  I feel that a positive teaching environment is key to the development of a student, and honestly, a lot more fun.  One more thing you need to know is that no matter what style of music you may be looking to learn, THERE WILL BE HOMEWORK!  Don't worry, it's not what you think.  Yes, there is some learning music theory involved in order to become a better musician, but most of the homework is simply practicing the good habits that I will give you in your everyday speaking and singing.

All in all, expect a healthy balance of learning music, singing technique, and of course, having fun.  I hope I get a chance to pass my passion of music on to you.

I really like to focus on supporting from the diaphragm and keeping a nice relaxed throat. My style is that of learning how to read the music, then working on the voice. I can teach how to sing rock without destroying your voice. The same goes for Pop / R&B.

Music Theater voice, Rock singing, Pop / R&B Singing, Beginning to Intermediate Music Theory, Beginning Piano, Choral Singing.