Vocal Training with Candice M.

Kindness and understanding are the foundations of a successful student-teacher relationship. I believe in building students up so they can see how innately gifted they truly are; there is no such thing as a person who “can't sing.” I teach students of all ages and with all kinds of musical backgrounds. My studio is a place for patient, supportive growth: you should expect to work hard and have fun at the same time. If you choose to take voice lessons with me, we will spend your first lesson exploring your skill level as a singer, determining your musical interests, and reviewing or learning the basics of vocal technique. My goal is to help you grow as a musician by giving you the tools you need to sing music from any genre with confidence. As we continue our work together, you will develop or refine excellent breath control, consistent, beautiful sound production throughout registers, and an understanding of what healthy vocal technique is and why it matters. We will also spend lesson time practicing ear-training, sight-reading and music theory as they apply to the songs we are working on together. In addition to regular voice lessons, I offer coaching for singers who have upcoming competitions, auditions or other performances. Vocalists who work with me as they prepare for these events often go on to land their preferred roles and win their competitions. Whether you need guidance in repertoire selection, diction, or help with a few tricky passages, I am available to assist you as you prepare for your singing event. Please see the Policies section below for more information about coaching sessions. My open-communication policy as an educator enables me to answer questions and provide additional resources, including customized warm-ups, outside of regular lesson time. I also maintain flexible scheduling for all of my students: studying singing is a fun challenge, but lessons should never be a source of stress. I am always happy to work with you to accommodate your schedule. Background: I am a classically-trained lyric soprano with over seventeen years of vocal education. I studied with PhD and MA professors of voice at universities in Kansas and Washington State. I also have many years of experience as a performer: my background includes solo concert work, lead and supporting roles in opera and theater productions, and event performances and competitions. I taught voice and beginning piano lessons, often on a volunteer basis, to students part-time from 2006 to 2012. I now teach voice lessons and provide coaching full-time. Students can study with me online or in-person at my studio. *Studio Policies* Updated for 2023: **Potential/new students and parents, please read the following carefully** Our student-teacher relationship will be most effective if we are clear on expectations from the beginning of our work together. In order to be fair to all students, my policies are non-negotiable. Policies for students and/or parents: *Communicate with me about your schedule. I am happy to cancel/reschedule lessons as needed, but students and/or parents must inform me of their intent to cancel/reschedule before the lesson, not after. If you do not inform me of your intent to cancel or reschedule before the actual lesson time, this counts as a missed lesson. Take Lessons' official policy is that I should charge for missed lessons, however, I provide students with the chance to miss one lesson without penalty. If a second lesson is missed, I reserve the right to charge for the missed lesson as per Take Lessons policy; a third missed lesson will result in the termination of our work together. *Students and/or parents must purchase personal copies of the materials required for lessons, including sheet music, books, and piano accompaniments (as needed). I will not make or share copies of sheet music. *If you purchase a lesson (or lessons) for yourself or your child, please plan to be in the Zoom meeting or at the lesson at the appointed time. I teach most lessons back-to-back each day; it is important that students plan to begin (and end) lessons at the correct time. I understand that scheduling difficulties are an unavoidable part of life. If you do need to be late, please try to let me know as early as possible and I will make every attempt to accommodate your schedule. *Students who would like to work with me in preparation for an event (audition, performance, competition, etc.) must book coaching sessions at least three weeks (equaling at least three sessions) in advance of the event. *I do not learn piano parts for students and do not provide accompaniment except for warm ups, exercises and melody lines of songs. I am happy to help you find accompaniments in the correct key signature as needed. YouTube offers an incredible selection of piano accompaniments for free. You can also purchase books with professional accompaniment included. Finally, you can hire a practice accompanist to attend lessons and play the music you are learning. Online lessons work best when the student plays accompaniments (in any form) from their end. *Parents of students under the age of 18: Please do not sign your child up for lessons longer than 30 minutes without reaching out to me first. I will occasionally agree to teach students, especially those age(s) 13 and older, for more than 30 minutes. However, we will most likely need to establish a student-teacher relationship (at least two sessions) before talking about moving to a longer lesson time.