Lauren G  
Instruments: Piano, Voice, Clarinet
Styles: Classical, Pop, Rock, Blues, Country, R&B, Gospel, Musical Theater, Opera, Showtunes, Spirituals, Soul, Marching Band

When I was ten, I made the decision that whatever career I chose, I needed it to allow me to help people. As I got older and discovered that music was the thing I most wanted to do in this life, teaching voice and piano became the vehicle I needed to keep doing music as well as help people, like I wanted. In training my voice classically, I had the very best instructor who taught me how to sing the healthy way. I don't care what anyone else says, there is only one way to sing and that IS the healthy way. My training in piano is also classical as well as pop. I can teach a student how to read a lead sheet or how to play Beethoven. It's whatever their heart desires!

The technique I use is based on the Alexander Method of teaching and promotes proper breath control and tone placement over volume production and belting. Most singers, young and old, come to me with the idea that to create volume, you must yell or sing from your throat. With that mindset, what oftentimes happens is the voice will give out after five years and will result in the need of surgery to remove things like vocal nodules. With my teachings, each student will experience a voice that will rarely get tired, won't sound hoarse and will stay healthy their whole lives. I am also a major proponent of learning music theory. All of my voice and piano students learn basic theory under my tutelage through the Keith Snell piano theory series. When I teach my students, I typically begin them on classical training. We start off learning Italian art songs, but will always have their favourite pop tune in the mix to show them how classical technique can make them a better pop singer. I am classically trained on piano and have been studying for many years. My piano students learn theory, as well as rhythm and end up very well versed in how to count properly. I also teach them proper hand technique as well as expression in a piece. Many students believe that it's impossible to be emotional on piano, but I make them dig deep to find the beauty and meaning in each piece and they come out the other side better players for it. Depending on their skill level, my students either begin on John Thompson's course for the piano or in the Keith Snell Piano series. Through these books, they study finger technique, chord theory, as well as basic concepts like dynamic and meter markings.