About This Site

Welcome to my new lessons resource website.  This site is designed to be a valuable aid to help my voice students practice at home between lessons.

Please read the rest of this carefully so you will know how to use everything on it.

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voiceteacher

Why Do I Need a Voice Teacher?

The voice is the quintessential human musical instrument: we literally are using it from the day we are born, and many people sing throughout their lives on their own.  So why hire a voice teacher?  Because though you may know how to sing, you likely have not learned all of the techniques that professionals have developed over the last few millennia to sing louder, on pitch, with a good tone and beautifully pronounced words while not damaging your voice from misuse.  You pay for a voice teacher’s knowledge of singing technique, knowledge of how to get your voice to where you want it to be, and for their ear. More >

Making the Decision to Major in Music

Should I Major in Music in College?

For many teens who study music the question eventually comes up: should I major in music in college? The answer to this question is not easy. Ultimately, it will require some personal soul-searching along with plenty of counsel from the student’s teachers and parents. It requires an analysis of whether the student is well suited—in musical skill, work ethic and determination—for studying music in college and, most importantly, what realistic life and career goals that course of study will serve. If big these questions are answered satisfactorily, majoring in music can not only be a very rewarding collegiate experience, but the opening to a world of both future satisfaction and financial stability.

This is the first in a set of three articles designed to help potential music majors decide if it is right for them and where they can go with it. More >

Why Major in Music?

Why Major in Music?

This is the second in a set of three articles designed to help potential music majors decide if it is right for them and where they can go with it.

This is a question to which every music major must developed a strong, satisfactory answer. What are your goals in pursuing a degree in music? Are they reasonable? Will they lead to a career in which you can support yourself and your family? Do you love music enough to make it this big of a part of your life?

There are many different answers to these questions; some are reasonable, some are not. This is where the trusted advice of teachers and parents will prove invaluable. A music degree can take you in a lot of directions, often ones that you never anticipated as you began. It is your responsibility to make sure you end up where you want to go. More >

Preparing to Major in Music

What Can I do Now to Prepare for Majoring in Music in College?

This is the third in a set of three articles designed to help potential music majors decide if it is right for them and where they can go with it.

You have been preparing your whole life in school to enter into a major such as math, science or literature in college.  Music is no easy exception.  A music major entering into college is expected to have a set of skills and knowledge that also take years to develop.  Here is a quick overview of what those expectation are: More >

Einstein Playing the Violin

The Benefits of Studying Music

Plato, Aristotle, Boethius, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton, René Descartes, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Robert Oppenheimer, Stephen Hawkin — What do all of these great men have in common? They were all were musicians. Coincidence? Certainly not. Years of scientific studies are proving what many of us have known all along: Music education makes smarter, more successful students that grow up to be more productive adults.

Several studies by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which is based at Brown University, explored the effects of art and music education on young children’s learning. The conclusions of these studies support the theory that music instruction can help build intellectual and emotional skills, facilitate children’s learning and strengthen other academic areas, such as reading and math. Also, these studies indicate that music can positively affect children and adults of all ages. More >