

Natalie L.


Teaching Locations:
Songwriting lessons are in some ways similar to Composition Lessons (see "Composition") with a focus on popular songwriting, including musical theater and commercial music. You will learn about harmony and form, but lyric writing and also how to tell a story through song. You will also work on how to create a catchy hook, how to keep your song focused and clear, how to create a "turn" at the end, and how to grab and keep the listener's attention.
About Natalie L.
Natalie is a NYU and BMI Workshop trained composer of songs, musicals, and concert music who has helped many songwriters find their voice and fine-tune their skills. She is particularly adept at identifying what is keeping a song from working (whether it be music, lyrics or both) and helping writers get to the heart of what they want to say.
Natalie is also a classically trained pianist, currently on the piano faculty at Music and Arts in Franklin, TN.
Natalie's work has been heard in New York at Lincoln Center, 54 Below, The Duplex, Laurie Beechman Theatre, The Flea Theatre, and Greenwhich Music House, as well as in San Diego, LA, and Nashville. She wrote the music, book and lyrics to Home/Front which was produced in 2014 to sold-out audiences. It was a semi-finalist in the New York New Work Festival in 2016 and in currently in development for a U.S. base tour.
Other musicals include: Across a Wire (reading 356 Studios, New York, NY), Hall Pass ("Flyers and Fryers," Rancho Bueno Visto High, produced by Blake McCarthy), The Big C (songs, Dramatists Guild), "Performance Anxiety" (music/lyrics, The Flea Theatre, Raw Impressions Musical Theatre Marathon), andThe Music of Natalie Lovejoy (The Duplex). She is listed in The Directory of Contemporary Musical Theatre Writers at Contemporary Musical Theater.
Natalie holds a Masters in Music Composition and Theory from New York University where she studied songwriter and concert composition with Dr. Steven Rosenhaus. Natalie is an alumnus of the famed BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop in New York whose other alumni include Alan Menken, Robert Lopez (Avenue Q, Frozen), Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home), Tom Kitt (next to normal), and Flaherty & Ahrens (Ragtime). She also studied songwriting through the Johnny Mercer Workshop at Northwestern University with Craig Carnelia, and Andrew Lippa, Nashville songwriter Lari White, and Amanda McBroom ("The Rose").
Natalie loves working with composers and songwriters of all ages and ability levels. Please click on individual lessons to learn more.
"I took composition lessons with Natalie and looking back on my work before starting with her, it was scattered, lacked structure, needed honing. She is already a crazy talented composer herself and it translates to her teaching. Natalie is really great at asking the right questions. Why did you write this? What are you trying to say with this piece? What feeling are you trying to tap into with those chords? I can attest to writing with much more confidence and just as important, REWRITING with much more confidence. If the song doesn't work she will let you know but subsequently, she will let you know what DOES work and what to build on. Very supportive, as well as very critical, in the best possible way. It means she cares about the work you're creating. So much so that after running several rounds of rewrites by her, I completely trust the product I am putting out there. I will continue to come back to Natalie to hone my craft." -- Tristan S, composition student, New York, NY
Reviews
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My daughter is really enjoying the lessons with Natalie!

Great instruction! Have Natalie be your teacher!

She’s really amazing

Kelsey loved Natalie!!! I meant to suggest popular country music for what Kelsey wants to play- sorry about that.
She loved the lesson with Natalie!

She's great!

Natalie is a great piano teacher, She is very patient and assertive at the same time. We only took few lessons thus far , but I already see improvement in my daughter, I love her attention to detail and highly recommend her.

Natalie was a good listener and gave me good suggestions in ways to practice and to improve the piano skills I already have. Which I appreciate

First lesson was great.
Natalie very knowledgeable in piano. Patient
Flexible to your interests as to style of play and approach.

Great first lesson, looking forward to the next.


Natalie is always very insightful! Excellent!!

Natalie seems like a really good piano teacher.

Natalie was great with my 7 year old daughter. They worked together on warmups, and she gave her a song to practice during their off time. Natalie was pleasant, and a joy to work with! She is really great with kids.


We have only had one lesson so far but my kids really like Natalie. I had a lot of questions before booking and she was very patient and prompt with her answers. Glad we found her!


She is a great instructor! I am 9 yrs. old. She is kind,pretty,and a lot more than that. She gives you breathing instructions when you start and then you start to sing.. you have to start singing the....do re mi fa sol la ti do. I think if you pick Natalie you will think the same way as me. I can't wait until my next lesson!!!

very easy to work with, especially if you are nervous!

Excellent teacher. Very knowledgeable and patient. Highly recommend.


Natalie demonstrated patience, understanding and professionalism while working with my granddaughter. Tierra had never taken lessons before and was extremely nervous. Natalie is blessed with a very nurturing and kind demeanor. Her calm and supportive demeanor was much appreciated.


While Natalie is a supremely educated and experienced voice instructor, she remains supportive of the novice singer and is insightful in her curriculum.


It was a Great first lesson! Perfect location and look forward to the next one.

It was my very first lesson and it was great! I actually learned a song already. She gave me some music to practice. I'm taking 30 minute classes but I think after this session of classes is over I'm going to upgrade my time.

Very professional and knowledgable. Starts on time. My son will takes voice lessons and now interested taking piano as well.

Natalie L. Is a great instructor. I'm learning a lot about how to improve my technique as well as music theory and how to play songs with chords and melodies.

Natalie L. was wonderful to work with. She really helped me with sight reading and tempo (which I sorely needed). She also helped me build my audition repertoire and play with my voice to find new ways of singing. I highly recommend Natalie! She also plays the piano very well, which helps when you're learning new material.
Photos & Videos
10 Photos & VideosExperience
Private Songwriting, Piano and Voice Teacher
Aug 2017 - PresentMusic & Arts
Composer/Lyricist/Librettist
Oct 2016 - PresentHall Pass ("Flyers and Fryers")
Hall Pass is an immersive musical set and performed inside a high school, offering a glimpse of the world young people navigate everyday. Brimming with moments any former teenager will recognize and relish - as well as those they might rather forget - audiences choose their own adventure as the experience the trials and triumphs of the class of 2020. "Flyers and Fryers" is one such story about a cheerleaders whose dark secret comes out during practice right before the big game. "Flyers and Fryers" premiered at Grace Church School in the East Village, Manhattan, in October 2016 and continues to be performed around the country.
Teacher/Founder - Sighting-Singing for the Actor
Jun 2013 - PresentSelf
Composer/Lyricist/Librettist
May 2013 - PresentHome/Front
A new musical about the conflict between those who deploy and those who stay home. Premiered Off-Off Broadway at the Abingdon Theater in NYC in 2013.
Private Songwriting, Piano and Voice Teacher
Jan 2009 - PresentPrivate company
Composer
Oct 2018 - Nov 2018Tennesse State University's Meistersingers Choir
Natalie's choral piece "By Night when Others Soundly Slept" was performed on two separate concerts by Tennesse State University's Meistersingers Choir.
Composer/Lyricist
Jan 2016 - Apr 2017Muse Match: A Musical Theater Blind Date
MuseMatch is a Musical Theater Blind Date Collaboration, where composers are paired with singers they don’t know and are asked to share their deepest, personal joys and fears; and make a song together. Natalie has been asked to write for Muse Match twice, once for Ally Bonino ("Put on a Smile") and another for Lucy Horton ("How to Read a Room") who is currently on the national tour of "Anastasia."
Private Voice and Piano Teacher
Sep 2013 - Jun 2016The Bergen Academy of Music and Art
Composer - "Movement to Contact"
Sep 2013 - Sep 2013Veteran Artist Program
Composer the score for the Veteran's Artist Program's PSA "Movement to Contact" which has played in Times Square and various TV networks.
Private Piano Teacher
Mar 2010 - Sep 2011Finger Power Music
Music Director
Jan 2010 - Mar 2010Tisch Twisted
General Music Teacher
Sep 2006 - Jun 2007Corkan Middle School
Education
Certificate
Sep 2010 - Jun 2012The BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop
Master of Music
Sep 2009 - May 2011New York University
Master of Music in Music Theory and Composition
Sep 2009 - May 2011New York University
Bachelor of Music
Sep 2001 - May 2005The Catholic University of American
Private Study
Sep 1989 - May 2002Classical Piano
Certificate
Sep 1998 - Jun 2001The Peabody Preperatory
Languages
Spanish
Limited Proficiency
Affiliations
Dramatists Guild, The
Feb 2014American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
May 2005Pi Kappa Lambda
Sep 2002Let Our Student Counselors Help You
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