Samantha C  
Instruments: Voice
Styles: Jazz, Pop, Folk, Latin, Latin Jazz, Swing, Samba, Bossa Nova

I knew I wanted to be a teacher even before I knew I wanted to be a musician. I have been teaching for the last 7 years (as long as I've been studying), and I absolutely love the challenge of communicating with students who learn in different ways than I do. Along with teaching in-home lessons, I have provided beginner piano/advanced voice lessons at three private music schools - the most recent of these being the Community Arts Program in Miami, Fl. Teaching is a learned skill as much as it is something that comes naturally, and I have been encouraged in my pursuit of knowledge by a host of my own private teachers over the years: Susan Trainer (classical voice), Johnaye Kendrick (jazz voice), Kelly Ash (jazz voice), Jessika Kenney (experimental/Persian voice), Dr. Kate Reid (jazz voice).

There is no point in learning what to do if you don't know why you are doing it, so teaching "the why" of every exercise is very important to me. The idea is to eventually teach myself out of a job! While I provide a general syllabus to each student, I prefer to customize my lesson plans to the individual, first finding out what their goals are and then deciding what will help us achieve them. I usually find it is in the best interest of myself and my student to begin with familiar repertoire and then to expand as we become comfortable and adventurous. A lesson might include any of the following: • Warm-ups/breath work/agility • Vocal improvisation via line, phrasing, syllables, dynamics etc. • Ear-training/sight-reading using common modes/scales/chord progressions/solfege/interval recognition • Basic piano grips for practice accompaniment • Performance etiquette education: calling tunes, counting off, knowing a form etc. • Composition • Arranging for small vocal/instrumental ensemble • Finale Music Notation Software instruction