San Antonio Singers!
Interested in voice lessons, but need some convincing?
Whether you’re a student considering a career in music or an adult professional in another field who just loves to sing, voice lessons can help you reach your musical goals while serving as an impetus for personal growth and development. Below, I’ll outline some benefits of voice lessons so that you can start setting your goals for vocal progress.
Musical Benefits
-
If you find yourself frustrated while trying to hit those high notes, voice lessons can help expand your range. We’ll work as much on creating good habits as we do on removing the bad ones that get in the way.
-
Breath support is a tricky skill to build, but with a trained set of ears listening to your singing, you’ll quickly develop the coordination necessary to project your voice in the largest venues in a safe and healthy way.
-
Almost nobody is truly tone deaf. I’ll give you exercises and feedback that will help you sing right in the center of the pitch - the right pitch - every single time.
-
I’m a professional singer now, but I started my musical life as a drummer. I know how to teach rhythm so effectively that you’ll having your inner ticking in time before you can say “hemidemisemiquaver.”
Personal Benefits
-
Studies show that musical study boosts cognitive abilities, leading to higher test scores. Specific areas that benefit from musical study are reading, linguistics, and math.
-
Beyond direct academic success, musical study (and private lessons in particular) help develop memory function, spatial-temporal skills, and attention.
-
We don’t just learn how to sing in voice lessons, we also learn how to learn. Developing skills of independent practice, self-critique, time- and task-management, and goal setting, you’ll find yourself able to tackle larger and more ambitious projects, even outside of your musical study.
-
It should come as no surprise that practicing an art of self-expression carries the benefit of becoming more comfortable and effective in your personal expression throughout all areas of your life, but it’s not just emotional fluff. We also spend time learning to organize our thoughts and communicative goals so that we can masterfully convey any message.
Sold?
schedule your first lesson now!
They say the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, but the second best time is right now. The same is true for voice lessons! Every day you wait to start is a day of lost potential progress and growth. What are you waiting for?
Need more convincing?
Who could blame you? Maybe it would help if you learned a bit about me, your potential teacher!
Mike Young, baritone
I’m a classically trained singer who has performed in a wide variety of vocal styles and genres. I try to split my time roughly in half between performance and teaching because I think each improves the other. My performances give me practical knowledge and experience that I can share with my students. It’s a primary goal of mine that my students understand not only their own singing, but how it fits into the greater musical landscape around them. That means understanding the industry and its opportunities, potential career paths, educational possibilities, notable performances, and everything in between.
On the flip side, teaching has made me an infinitely better singer. Don’t get me wrong, I am eternally grateful to the teachers who shaped me into the musician I am, but the reflective process of helping students in all phases of their educational and expressive journeys has kept me sharp and brought to my attention areas of growth for my own singing as well.
As for my background, I attended the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music for my undergraduate and graduate studies. My primary focus is classical music, so I’ve spent much of my life performing on operatic and symphonic stages. I’ve also worked for over twenty years as a church musician in pretty much every corner of the industry. I sing both solo and choral music, and my ensemble experience includes opera choruses, church choirs, contemporary recording ensembles, video game soundtracks, symphony choruses… you name it, I’ve done it.
My philosophy around teaching is basically that I want my students to become independent. I don’t want anyone to rely on my guidance for the rest of their life. I want to take stock of your goals, work together to form a plan toward reaching them, and give you the skills to do the work yourself while I guide and nudge. I won’t be dragging you along, but rather helping you develop tools to succeed long term.