What styles do you teach? I have sung professionally and I teach all styles from Gospel, Blues, Rock, Pop, Jazz, Musical Theater, Classical, Country and Opera. I also have a Conservatory Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance. I sang in many different bands in Los Angeles for 20 years, before completing my Master’s Degree and performing lead roles in Opera. I have been a paid performer in Rock, Jazz, Musical Theater, and Opera. I am also a published songwriter, and I teach songwriting.

What ages and levels do you work with? I work with all ages and all levels from beginner to advanced.

What are your rates?
$25 Consutation Session
$220 Four ½ hr lessons
$330 Four ¾ hr lessons
$440 Four 1 hr lessons
$1100 Ten 1 hr lessons (earns 1 free hour)
$2200 Twenty 1 hr lessons (earns 2 free hours)

How do I reserve a consultation session? Go up to the “Register” button, click on $25 (pay now). I will then be notified to contact you at the email address you provide.

What happens at the consultation session? Consultation Session - Setting your goals We will discuss your goals and how I can help you with them. The consultation is not an audition or lesson. Here is how the session is structured?• Vocal Evaluation- you will sing some basic scales so I can evaluate your voice. You can also sing a song if you would like to, but it is fine if you don't want to!?• Goal Setting: We discuss your goals and how I can help you with them.?• Policy Review: I go over my studio policies.?• Scheduling: We pick a time that works for you on the schedule and you are put in the schedule for the first four sessions.?• Payment: You will make payment through my website for the first series of lessons.

How do I make payment for the consultation session and the lessons?

Click on the register button at the top of the page. Once you click on the appropriate payment you will go to a secure site where you give your credit card information and then submit the payment.

How often will I take lessons? A minimum of one lesson per week is necessary to make vocal progress. Consistency will ensure that you progress more quickly. Students may take more than one lesson per week. You may take 1 hour, ½ hour, or ¾ hour lessons. Lessons are at the same time every week- you pick a time that works for you, and that slot is reserved for you with your pre-payment.

What is your teaching schedule? I currently teach 7 days per week, usually until 9pm. We will find a slot that works for you, at the same time every week.

What other instruction do you offer? I teach songwriting, keyboard, theory and ear training. Please visit the “songwriting” page of this website for more information.

What will this technique do for me? You will have a healthy, strong voice with great high notes, and no strain. You will be able to sing in your “chest” voice, and you will learn to “mix” into the higher registers so your voice will be smooth with no “register breaks” and balanced throughout the range. Your range will extend dramatically. You will learn to sing with “soul”, emotion, and flexibility. Your voice will remain healthy for a lifetime of singing, if you continue to practice the principals of good vocal production.

Why do I need this training?
Because without realizing it, most singers use incorrect muscles such as the swallowing muscles to “help” them reach high notes, to sing louder, or to imitate a particular style. This resulting muscular tension raises the larynx, leading to vocal abuse and damage to the vocal cords.
You may have experienced hoarseness after an evening of loud talking at a party, or perhaps even lost your voice on occasion from too much singing. This happens because your vocal cords have become swollen from being used incorrectly. With continued abuse, a blister appears on the vocal cord, which over time hardens into a callus, also known as a vocal node, nodule, or polyp. There may even be more than one of these nodules or nodes, and their appearance will dramatically and negatively affect your speaking and singing voice. The cure is complete vocal rest and perhaps even surgery, with no guarantee that your voice will ever be the same again. And you will definitely need to retrain your voice correctly, or the nodules will inevitably return.
The good news is that SLS training will teach you to sing with a healthy, correct production that will prevent this from happening! If you have been singing incorrectly, the exercises will help you correct bad habits. These exercises, if practiced faithfully, work because they automatically create the correct neuromuscular coordination, which continually improves as you continue to practice!

Will I still sound like myself if I train my voice?
YES! SLS training will enable you to sing in any musical genre you choose, in a natural and free production which can be applied to any style. SLS singers can be found on broadway, at every major opera house in the world, and on every record label, singing in every possible musical style. SLS teaches you to sing freely and effortlessly in any vocal style with stamina, consistency, emotion, control, and power. We teach you how to be the best YOU, with your unique sound and quality, rather than forcing you to sound like someone else! In order to access the emotional powerhouse within, you need to have a reliable technique which will allow you to express all your emotions without worrying about your voice falling apart. You need to be free to perform from the heart. Training your voice with SLS will give you the vocal freedom to be a true artist.

What is “belting”? Do I need to be able to “belt” to be successful in popular music?
Poorly trained singers often “yell”, particularly on the higher notes of a song, or when pushing for high notes. Directors and producers may demand that a singer belt out a song for greater dramatic effect. When a singer sings entirely in chest voice, pushing for the high notes and spreading the vowel, the results are; swollen vocal cords (which may develop nodules), distorted pronunciation, a decrease in vocal quality and control, and an inevitably shortened career. Belting, using ONLY the chest voice, is unhealthy because you are using muscle to force the vocal cords to function in a way in which they were not designed to be used. The voice is not balanced, and range is severely limited. Obviously, this is not a good thing. Traditional classical training emphasizes only the legitimate sound, which limits the singer to singing only classical music; the use of the chest voice is discouraged, so singers often cannot be heard on the lower notes. Again, the result is an unbalanced voice which does not sound authentic singing current music. This is also not a good thing. With SLS training however, you will learn to negotiate the “ bridges” of your voice, which will allow you to sing with freedom, power and emotion in any style you choose. SLS creates a BALANCED production which results in a smooth transition from chest voice to head voice, and NO BREAKS or abrupt changes in the vocal quality as you ascend in pitch while the vocal cords remain adducted, or connected. THIS is a GOOD thing!

Why does my voice crack when I sing high notes?
Almost every untrained singer experiences “voice breaks”. Some singers deal with the break by forcing the chest voice up, other singers are taught to sing in only the head voice, staying away from chest voice altogether, and others simply lower the keys of songs to avoid high notes. None of these solutions are correct, and all can result in limited choices in song material and an ultimately deteriorating instrument.
A break occurs when excessive air builds up and forces the vocal cords open, causing the voice to crack. This “air blast” causes the cords to tighten in resistance and they jam up. SLS teaches you to sing in an easy CONNECTED tone from your chest voice to your highest notes with no strain, because the correct amount of air is sent to the cords, allowing coordination to occur between the vocal cords and the air.
Many singers make the mistake of thinking “more is better” when it comes to high notes, so they push harder and blast more air. Actually, the cords should thin and “zip up” on higher notes if they are sung correctly, and less of the cord is vibrating, far less air is needed than most singers think is necessary! Too much air blast and pushing will cause your voice to crack. Achieving balance and coordination will enable you to sing high notes easily and consistently!

What is a “bridge”? How do I know where my “bridge” starts?
Throughout the program you will hear terms like “registration”, “ head voice”, “middle voice”, “chest voice”, “mix”, “breaks”, “ bridges”. All of these terms refer to the coordinating of the voice as a singer ascends or descends in pitch. Bridges reveal changes in vocal coordination and occur in relatively predictable parts of the scale. If the bridges are not negotiated smoothly there may be an abrupt disconnection and interruption of vocal tone, known as “ cracking” or “breaking”.
The chest voice is your lower voice, which most people use for speaking. It feels as though the tones are coming straight out of your mouth when you sing, and you if you place your hand on your chest as you sing a note, you will feel vibration in your chest. As you sing a scale starting from your lowest note ascending upward, you will notice at a certain point that you will begin to feel that you have to choose between disconnecting into falsetto, (which is a lighter, more airy sound which can not blend or connect to the chest voice), or yelling, straining, and reaching for higher notes, which sounds bad, hurts a lot, and damages your voice.
You are now in your first passage area. Think of this area as the passageway or bridge to your high notes! Men will generally experience three of these passage areas, and women have at least four. Sopranos with extended range may have as many as six!
This first “bridge” is a critical area of the voice because this is where your outer muscles are most likely to try to “help” the process, by pulling and tightening in order to stretch the vocal cords to reach the higher pitch. So what do you do?
First of all, RELAX! This is one of those places where “less is more”. Your SLS training will enable you to build a strong bridge which will result in a smooth transition from the chest voice upward. With a good mix, or “middle” voice, you will ultimately be able to go
up and down the entire range of your voice no with breaks, no uncomfortable weakening of volume or intensity, and best of all, a healthy flexible voice that will enable you to sing in ANY STYLE! You must allow the vocal cords to thin and shorten so the larynx can function without assistance from other interfering muscles. Rather than pushing harder, forcing air, and yelling, you will stay in a connected, somewhat lighter-feeling position that allows the sound to be balanced as you easily ascend higher in pitch.
Remember, what you hear inside your head is not what the rest of the world hears! So, when you are mixing, you may think you sound wimpy and small. Perhaps in the beginning your sound may in fact be less loud than yelling in chest was, but, if you have patience and work on your coordination, power will follow! Just stay connected, and don’t push!

Why do I sometimes sing out of tune?
Singing out of tune means that you are not singing the pitch accurately- you are either “flat” (too low) or “sharp” (too high).
Often singers who belt with too much chest voice sing flat-a common result of carrying too much weight up and reaching for high notes. The solution is to use less air pressure and volume, so you can find and develop the “middle voice”. Similarly, pushing too hard can cause you to go sharp when too much air blasts against the cords. The solution is to achieve balance and coordination at lower volumes using less air pressure.
Your vocal coordination will improve as you practice the exercises, and your voice will be able to negotiate the desired pitches more efficiently and with more agility. Studying an instrument such as piano or guitar, and taking ear training and theory lessons from a qualified teacher will also help your ability to hear pitch. Pitch problems can also be caused by the sheer volume you are surrounded with onstage. The solution here is to invest in really good stage monitors, and to make sure your voice is prominent in the mix. In-ear monitors are great. A great microphone won’t fix pitch problems, but your voice will sound much better on an excellent microphone!
Remember, when you practice at home, don’t turn up the volume on your karaoke machine as high as it will go! This just causes you to strain, and creates bad habits instead of good ones. Keep the accompaniment volume at a medium volume-enough to hear the track, but not so loud you start to push! Any time you feel the building of air pressure in your throat, back off the volume!

I want to improve as quickly as possible. How can I speed my progress up?
SLS will get you singing quickly. The goal is to have you applying your new technique to songs as soon as you are ready! You will progress if you work at it every day, but don’t overwork the voice at any time. A little bit every day is far better than a whole bunch on one day! If your voice feels sore or you notice hoarseness, you are either working too hard, or you are not doing the exercises correctly. Record yourself singing or rehearsing so you can evaluate your progress as well as your problem areas.
You need to establish coordination before you go for volume and power. Think about it like this: you wouldn’t go to the gym and bench press three times your limit on your first session- or even your tenth session! Give your voice time to grow. Be patient. Do your technique exercises before you sing songs, so your voice is warmed up and balanced.
Until you have the technique well in hand, we suggest you sing only songs designed for beginners, keeping the range requirements reasonable, and don’t pick songs that require constant runs and licks which may tempt you to use unwanted throat muscles.

What can I do about stage fright?
You may not realize this, but most performers (including professionals) become nervous before a show. Just allow yourself to be nervous, and use that energy to boost your performance on stage. You can tell yourself that what you are feeling is really excitement and that you can’t wait to get out there and perform! Allow yourself to have fun on stage, and your audience will have fun watching you. Most seasoned performers have a pre-show routine that works for them- whether it’s meditation, stretching, deep breathing, running in place, or standing on your head, find what works for you! Lip trills are awesome….

What about diet and health habits?
Anything that can affect your health, body, skin or mood can affect your singing. The most important element (other than good technique) is WATER. The vocal cords need to remain hydrated (wet) in order to function optimally. Most people do not drink enough plain water, and singers need to drink more water than the average person in order to maintain vocal health. The motto is “pee pale”. That’s right, the more clearly you tinkle, the happier your vocal cords are! Air conditioning and heating units take moisture out of the air, affecting the hydration of the cords. Inhaling steam or cool mist will help replace the lost water. You should be aware that nothing you drink actually touches the vocal cords, so the old “tea and honey” remedy, while it might feel nice, doesn’t ever reach the vocal cords. Liquids which are swallowed go down a different pipe in the body! Steam or mist, if inhaled, will hydrate the cords, and help minimize swelling. Humidity, steam, mist, drinking water, and warmth are good for the vocal cords; smoke, pollen, dry air, air conditioning and heating, caffeine, alcohol and drugs are dehydrating and therefore BAD for them! Some singers find that dairy products like milk or cheese cause thick mucus, so these products should be avoided on performance days. Allergies are also mucus producing, but you should avoid most antihistamines because they are too drying. If you must take them, counter the dehydrating effects with plenty of water and steam. Breathing through a warm wet towel will do in an emergency, as will inhaling steam from boiling water, or the local gym’s steam room. Acid reflux is a problem many people do not even know they have. It occurs when stomach acid regurgitates up onto your esophagus, touching your vocal cords and damaging the cords and surrounding tissue. You can prevent this common problem by avoiding late night eating, and by sleeping with your head elevated. Check with your physician- there are new medications which may alleviate this issue for you.
Women may experience changes in the vocal cords during the menstrual cycle. Make sure you get plenty of rest, and minimize the effects of cord swelling by warming up properly using SLS exercises. Also avoid potentially emotionally charged situations during this time if possible. Your emotions can have a dramatic effect on your voice! Speaking loudly, conversing for long periods of time, or talking on a pitch which is too high or too low are all very wearing on your voice. Avoid shouting at parties and sporting events, particularly outdoor events. When you do this, you are constricting the muscles around your larynx to push the sound. Conversely, whispering is not great for you either! It irritates the vocal cords by pushing air through them. If your voice is tired or you are hoarse, STOP TALKING! Many performing artists are on complete vocal rest (that means no talking OR singing) for two days before a performance. Of course you should avoid smoking, alcohol, and drugs. If you want to be a great singer, you need every cell in your body functioning in top form! We know you know this, but we thought a little reminder wouldn’t hurt….
Finally, it really does help to be physically active and fit. Dance lessons will help you with stage movement, and will make you more graceful onstage. Aerobic exercise, stretching and weight training will not only make you look and feel better, but will reduce stress. Maintaining a physical fitness regimen is a smart investment of your time.

Do you have connections in the music industry? Yes, I maintain my connections with the music industry in Los Angeles, Nashville, and New York, and I refer students who are ready to move forward with their careers.

What if I don't live in Atlanta, or don't want to drive in traffic? I offer webcam lessons using Ichat (apple) or Skype (PC) These are inexpensive or free, and a webcam is inexpensive and easy to set up. I have taught lesson this way all over the US, and it really works! You can even take a lesson by speakerphone, or even cell phone!

Do you work with groups? Yes. I can help with songwriting, background vocal arranging, and performance, and style development.

How do the distance lessons work? The process is just like the "regular lesson" process, but you don’t have to drive!.

What if I don't want to use webcam? We can use SKype to do an audio- only lesson, or we can do lessons by speakerphone, or even cellphone with earbuds.

Why is SingLikeAStar! the studio for me? SingLikeAStar! brings you an unusual combination- 25 years of performing and teaching experience in all areas of voice- pop, rock, R&B, gospel, and classical singing as a professional, songwriting instruction, demo production, and preparation for university degree programs. Professional experience backed up with academic qualifications (Master's Degree in Music), and referrals of qualified students to music industry connections.

How quickly can I expect to improve? Most students tell me they notice dramatic improvement in range, power and tone immediately! The more consistently you practice, the quicker you will see results.