
Gregory V.

Teaching Locations:



Teaching Locations:



Levels taught:
Beginner, Intermediate, AdvancedAbout Gregory V.
Los Angeles native currently looking for New Students who are excited about taking that first step and beyond! The most direct & illustrious methods to unveiling one's musical dreams! Empathic & motivating instructor bringing out the best in you and quite possibly the unexpected! I teach Voice, Guitar, Piano, Ukulele Music Theory & Songwriting.
I am a Singer, Guitarist, Keyboardist, Songwriter & Director of Voice & Music blessed to have worked with artists & group members of The Supremes, Prince, Motown, AIC, Beck, Black Crowes, P-Funk, Tom Petty & personal instructor to families of Rod Stewart, Casey Kasem, Earth Wind & Fire..
The most direct & illustrious methods to unveiling one's musical dreams.. I am empathic & motivating and tend to bring out the best and often unexpected in my students.
A lesson with me is much more than working on your vocal or instrumental ability. We are going to pick the perfect song for you to work on while learning and becoming confident with the techniques. I want to make sure you not only sound great but look like a confident performer whether you are onstage or at your friends wedding or competing. Depending on your goals or time line I am pretty easy going. Within the first month you can expect to learn:
∙Voice:
proper breathing & breath support
∙ vocal placement / resonance
∙ diction / vowel modification
∙ bridging registers & 'the high note'
∙ mixed voice
∙ vibrato
∙ vocal health/maintaining your voice
∙ touring, recording, performing
∙ screaming
∙ rhythmic singing
∙ writing songs/melodies/lyrics to suit your vocal strengths
Mic Technique and
Pop Performance Yoga for singers
∙ ear training
∙ music theory/ music knowledge
∙ composition/songwriting
∙ intonation / resonance
∙ proper breathing & breath support
∙ diction
Interval training
Major scales in one octave
Harmonisation
∙ vocal placement
∙ understanding chest / head voice
∙ bridging registers & 'the high note'
∙ vowels and modification techniques
∙ mixed voice
∙ edgy/bright
∙ clean/distorted
∙ vibrato
∙ screaming and rasp (properly)
∙ Elizabeth Sabine Power Singing
Guitar:
I'll make certain you're working with the right guitar for you and your size, style etc.. I'll lower the action if the strings are too far from the neck, which is the case 99.9% of the time with nearly all guitars (making it hard to fret a note or barre.) We can even spend 20 min of the lesson changing the strings to one's more well-suited and this will be a necessary skill you will learn.
You will be given a step-by-step approach to learning the instrument as a whole, yet in a slow, considerate to your learning pace-fashion..You'll get into it.
I'll be giving you different warm-ups and exercises which induce strength & flexibility & knowledge & technique.
Learning songs or working on developing your own song ideas
Scales, modes, shapes and patterns and how to use them to improvise
How to play with soul and not sound sterile or mechanical.
Piano:
I am not your typical piano teacher. I don't use a method book. We will learn to read music but primarily we will be communicating old school, learning how to use both hands on the piano and voice them in a way which looks and sounds like a pop/ rock/ R&B, gospel and blues piano player/ keyboardist and not a classical pianist. I was trained by a Motown musician and songwriter be versed in music as to be able to speak and communicate it as natural as a 2nd language! You will earn how to read and write chord charts, melodies and rhythms and have the ability to play songs & musical idea in all 12 keys, improvising within the structure if it's what you gravitate toward, personally. Soon you'll feel a new sense of limitlessness and power when practicing, playing and performing.
Many students have gone on to form their own groups and work with major artists around the world. Within the first few lessons, you'll be able to know your way around the keyboard, and as time goes on you'll be able to naturally play what you want. I specialize in Pop, Rock, R&B, Country and Gospel and love working with students of all ages and experience levels. I am not your typical piano teacher. I was trained by a Motown piano/ keyboardist so as to be versed in musical as a 2nd language, learning how to read and write chord charts, notate melodies and play a song or musical idea in all 12 key, providing a sense of limitless when you approach and execute that which you will to do on the instrument.
*** Travel Equipment ***
I can provide portable keyboard, acoustic or electric guitar, access to any songs online with a clear sounding wireless speaker, learning documents which I will provide you with copies of, etc..
ValensLuv Voice & Music - To connect with you on the path of discovering your musical dreams and guiding from an open, experienced mind so as to realizing your objectives and possibly bring forth the unexpected!
Pop, Rock, R&B, Soul, Music Theatre, Blues, Gospel, Current Artists, Country, Comedy, Spoken Word
Reviews
Write a Review
Great teacher. I feel very comfortable during lessons. And I also feel confident that I'll grow and reach my goals with my acoustic guitar.

First lesson was so informative. Jumped right in and he knew exactly where to start with me and what I needed. .Great personality and knows how to teach, that coming from a teacher myself. Looking forward to the next one!

Great Lesson!

Great first lesson! Was great with my 7 year old son.

Super patient and very good with kids. Added on guitar lessons as I see us being long term students.

Gregory is a great teacher, he is so patient! He has a great way of getting through to the student. My son really enjoys going to piano. 🎹

Gregory was great! Looking forward to the next lesson :0)

Great first class! Thanks Gregory

Gregory is an awesome guy who's very good at making you feel comfortable as he teaches. You can definitely see his passion for music!

After studying singing off and on for more than 30 years, i won't be surprised if anyone calls him the best singing teacher in Los Angeles. He has the best sets of vocal exercise which can relax your voice, build your resonance, and help you hit your notes accurately in your range. Very very happy to have him teaching me.
--ben wang

My son loves working with Greg. He is patient, creative and encouraging. We are so happy with the lessons.

I learned SO much in this first lesson! I'm so grateful! Can't wait for the next one!

The first lesson was really great and informative.
Greg was easy to talk to and very knowledgable...and was able to show me some really great things to help me work better in my recording studio.
Highly recommended!

Gregory Valens Luv is a phenomenal vocal coach. He's very detailed in teaching you structure of the body to relax you and open you up for singing. I love his technique. I find myself very relaxed and limber which brings out the best in me. He's very creative and shares various types of vocalizations to help you with every style of music. He's also got a sweet spirit and that makes it very enjoyable to come to class.

Great teacher, with advanced knowledge and skill in his profession.

I have taken guitar lessons with Greg. He is very patient and takes extra care to make sure that I understand the concepts in the lesson before moving on. He is able to determine a student’s experience level and skill set, and teach at any level from beginner to advanced. One of the things that I appreciate very much from Greg is that he has helped me develop my own unique style. My playing and songwriting skills have improved dramatically. Much thanks to Greg. I highly recommend him.

Greg is a fantastic teacher who clearly loves music. He makes classes fun and is very encouraging. I felt I was hopeless at music to start and when we concluded lessons I felt like I could actually sing.
Outstanding!!!!

Gregory was patient and energetic. Cry son had a good time.

It was a very good first lesson. Thanks, Gregory.

Gregory is a great teacher! Clearly has a love for what he does and teaching others his craft. He's super supportive and brings a great energy to your lessons. More than willing to go above and beyond for his students. He helped me immensely with my voice.
rating
Very good, supportive, and knowledgeable my kids love him
Great with kids
My 11 year-old son recently started electric guitar lessons with Greg. I am impressed with how patient and personable he is with kids. Thanks to Greg, my son is have a positive learning experience that's both fun and interactive. I would highly recommend him for music related lessons if you have children.
Sincerely,
A very impressed parent
Excelllent Music and Voice teacher
Studying with Greg was a wonderful experience. I'd sung as a teenager in choir and had studied music as a child. As an adult I wanted to study voice for creative outlet and found Greg through a friend. He got me started immediately on vocal exercises, some music theory to train my ear and we selected songs that I was interested in. I broke through some 'blocks' I had about singing in front of another person and really made progress. I feel much more confident with expressing myself through my voice. Incidentally, I saw Greg perform with one of his students who got a recording contract -- he's a wonderful musician on guitar, piano and voice. A pleasure to watch and then bring that back to the lessons. I highly recommend him as a teacher !
Gregory took me from not knowing how to play a thing to playing guitar and singing in a band in just under a year.
I didn't know what to expect from Gregory because the teachers teaching my friends all taught the same and they didn't want to practice all that much. Greg has worked with some of my idols/ rock stars and he doesn't fool around-he gets you into what you really need to know to get to where you want to go, fast. Thank God for Gregory ValensLuv being my teacher. My friends are thinking about switching to him. I highly recommend him. He's professional, well dressed, punctual, polite and knows what he's doing. Hemay be a little more expensive than the average teacher, but you get what you pay for.
Gregory is truely a wonderful teacher
In all honesty I can't say enough good things about Gregory's teaching. He is technically excellent, patient, generous, very knowledgeable, and a great deal of fun.
Really have enjoyed working with Gregory
It has been a dream of mine to become a friend to my voice and let it delight me. Years ago I took voice lessons and remembered how freeing that experience was. When I found Gregory and started lessons it all came back, the feeling of opening, of expansion, of joy. Gregory has taught me much about my capacity to sing, skills to develop my voice and most importantly hoe to expand out to the world through song. It has been a delight to work work with him over a two year period. He is knowledgable, sensitive and very encouraging.
Gregory V is the best, ever!
I didn't realize all the opportunities that were waiting for me when I began lessons with Greg. I started so I could learn guitar, but before long we were practicing vocals, bass, songwriting, music theory, piano, and singers yoga! Greg is well educated in all fields of music, and any questions you have he can more than likely help you with. Music to him isn't just a skill, but a way of life. ~ Train Girl ~ guitar, voice, piano & bass student
An awesome Voice & Guitar Instructor!
My daughter took voice lessons with Gregory around 6 years ago but for us it's as if it was yesterday. We will never forget his amazing spirit and his incredible talent. Gregory is complety connected and immersed in his lessons. He makes his students feel special while at the same time developing their voices. The results are immediate and as a matter a fact my daughters friend which I thought to be tone deaf took a lesson and the transformation was incredible. I can not say enough about him as a person or as a teacher!
Geraldine R.
Photos & Videos
17 Photos & VideosExperience
Musician/ Teacher
Jun 1986 - PresentValensLuv Voice & Music
Singer, Guitarist, Songwriter & Director of Music blessed to work with such artists & group members of The Supremes, Prince, P-Funk, Motown, ,Alice in Chains, Beck, Black Crowes, Stylistics, Tom Petty & personal instructor to families of Rod Stewart, Casey Casem and Earth Wind & Fire.
Teacher/ Musician
Jan 1986 - PresentValensLuv Voice & Music
Playing music as a very young child and began teaching at age 15. Confident & encouraging in situations -sensitive and open to student as an individual, I regard this to be vital for their self confidence and artistic style.
Education
B.A. Music Composition, Credits toward M.A. Music Education
Aug 1989 - Dec 1995Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pa
Languages
English
Fluent / Native Proficiency
Certifications
CalSAC-The Role of Staff in Behavior Guidance
Aug 2015California School-Age Consortium
Awards
Certificate of Appreciation
Oct 2015Hands 4 Hope After School Arts Program;Lydia Floyd:CEO, Diane Allen:Program Director-North Hollywood Arts District
Affiliations
Music Teachers' Association of California
Jan 2007Broadcast Music Inc.
Jan 2001Let Our Student Counselors Help You
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