Singing with Catherine W.

You can sing for life! I love to sing and I have been doing it all my life. I also love to share my enthusiasm, skills and knowledge with people. I started singing at a very young age and lived in a household where everyone sang. When I was fifteen, I got my first professional singing job and never looked back. I think it's my experience along with my education that is a great benefit to my students. I have sung in every vocal genre you can think of: pop, rock, jazz, blues, Broadway, opera, and choral music. I share this experience with my students, helping to guide them by providing them with insights on phrasing, interpretation, and stylistic nuances. I pair this experience with my knowledge and skills to help them learn correct and appropriate vocal support and techniques. Good vocal technique is efficient and protects and strengthens your voice which is why I say you can sing for life. As for my education, I am a graduate of the excellent choral/vocal music education program at California State University, Fullerton. I am a fully credentialed music educator with a focus on vocal music. I have been teaching privately since 1995. I believe that singing is for everyone and I'm happy to work with any kind of singer, from the hobby singer who just wants to develop skills for their own enjoyment to the serious, career oriented singers. It's all good in my eyes. For those serious singers, I am a member of the Music Teacher's Association of California and, through them, offer the Certificate of Merit Program for Voice. This is a program that not only focuses on solid skills as a singer but also on musicianship skills such as music reading, theory and sight singing. And, as for that lifetime of singing, I still actively perform to this day! *** Lesson Details *** I always make my lessons fun and I tailor the program and the music we study to the likes and goals of the students. If you're just interested in singing for fun, for friends or for family, we take a light approach. If you're a serious singer with professional goals in mind, we look at a more academic approach that might include musicianship skills as well as classical music. We will always work on at least two songs, one that you pick and one that I pick. That way, the student always gets to work on something they like. The song they pick can be anything - singing is supposed to be a joyful activity and picking what you want to sing is a big part of that. The songs I select are geared to help build skills but will be drawn from the genres that you're interested in as well. We start each lesson with some light stretches, followed by breathing and vocalizing. No matter what your goals are, it's important for your vocal health to be warmed up prior to singing. We spend the bulk of the lesson working on your songs, focusing on getting you to a place where you can enjoy what you're doing. At the end of 6 months, and depending upon the age of the student, their goals, and the length of the lessons, a student should know about 10 - 15 different vocalizes and have a repertoire of 8 - 12 songs. If you're a serious student, you should be able to read melodic lines with simple rhythms correctly and know some basic music theory. *** Studio Equipment *** Lessons in the upstairs office, desk, book cases, piano, mirror, music stand, karaoke/amplification system, white boards, laptop computer. *** Travel Equipment *** I can provide a portable electric keyboard but would prefer to have a keyboard at their home. For music theory lessons, we would need a quiet area with a desk or table to work on. For all voice lessons, there would also need to be a quiet area. *** Specialties *** Vocal training, vocal coaching, Music Theory including composition and arranging, Orff Schulwerk in the classroom.