Chad W.

The voice is one of the most mysterious instruments, and difficult to master, but doesn't need to feel impossible! A great voice comes from great breathing. In our voice lessons we will always start with a fun and light breathing exercise, and then go on to simple interval recognition, and go over any songs or material that we have scheduled. We will also explore the recent history in the human voice in recordings and the challenges that have then driven developments in genres. Most of my vocal students have graduated to become better public speakers and more comfortable with their true selves It is for these transformative experiences that teaching the voice has become a favorite area of mine within music.

A typical songwriting session usually begins with reading something that either I or my student had written. We break it down to the different parts of the song and explore different elements that might need more work or bring in different themes that help to tell the story more vividly. The main goal in this lesson set is to develop the students voice and style of writing, but also to exercise the decision making process and make choices that add to the songs appeal.

My background with keyboards starts with the piano. At around the age of 8 I had always had a piano around to play on and start my ear-training. I have since become proficient in using and programming various types of synthesizers and other types of electronic music equipment.

The bass guitar at first glance looks much like the guitar, but when you pick it up, you realize how much more power is in the lower instrument. The bass guitar 'sings' more than a drum, but 'thumps' more than a guitar. And of the player, the instrument requires a keen ear and precise dexterity. Most people don't know that the guitar and bass are not as close historically as they might appear to be today. Where now they seem hand-in-hand in a typical rock band, they each demand different considerations of their players.

From beginner to advanced students, one can expect to gain knowledge of different microphones types and use, recording session engineering, and working within a DAW performing tasks like Mixing, FX processing, Sound Design, a Mastering and more.

For my students on guitar, typically I aim at song learning, and listening for ways to help them play clean and more relaxed. However, learning the chords and scales necessary can be a challenge with any new song. If it's basic guitar chords to open and extended variations, or traditional scales to non-western explorations, we can sit down away from the instrument and illustrate on paper the abstract ideas in music theory as they apply to the guitar. To take the lessons further, we will look at different ways of articulating lines, how to 'play outside' the key signature, and building and altering chords from scratch.