SESSiONS WITH JULIE

Believe

I believe everyone can sing! I believe you can learn to make sounds you love. My training in voice science has shown me that everyone’s voice can get stronger and more flexible with the right exercises and that strength and agility makes differences in the sound. My fastest growing population of singers are 40-70 years of age, beginners to professionals. From the traumatized (told they couldn’t sing when they were kids - nonsense!) to the amateur (“I always wondered if i could”), teaching adults who are timid but passionate about the learning process is one of my favorite things. Almost every new client says that they want to have more confidence when they sing. Read here why singing can be so scary…amazing how so many of us can’t imagine doing anything else!

The professionals are working on maintenance, stamina, or unwinding long-held muscle habits that are getting in their way now. It is incredibly rewarding to help someone find their voice, whether it is a new skill, or a lost one!

heal

There’s also healing. Finding they can make a sound they like after all those years of being told it was bad, or they couldn’t, is so healing. And joyful! Healing for the professionals too! A gigging professional musician is the greatest voice user; it’s hard on the body. I work with a local voice team at the Charlotte Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Associates in continuing re-habilitating injured voices. Most of the folks come to me working on balancing out muscle tension and weaknesses. It is scary when one’s voice no longer is there for them in the way they’ve been used to their whole lives. Belief in the healing process, and learning new skills can bring it back. Grateful to have had the opportunities to work with clients on this very special journey. Healing comes through physiologically and psychologically as so many of us see our voices as a reflection of ourselves.

personal - performance - progress

Sessions are customized for each student. Students are educated on anatomy, how the voice works, body/sound awareness. Technical training is based on muscle function and strengthening, the goal being to make any style of music accessible to be sung free of tension and with emotional expression. Sessions include vocal exercises and work on songs for performance (if that is a goal). JDVS typically offers quarterly open mic style singing get-togethers each year with. We’re pretty informal, and like to have fun performing! This fall 2020 we will be on-line, and regular lessons subscribers will get to participate in a monthly Performance Master Class and monthly Song-Share.

A frequent question I get is “how fast can I expect to progress?”. That depends on many factors, most importantly the frequency and intention of practice you set up. Weekly students will likely notice more significant progress because of the accountability and consistency of training with me. Read a little bit more about this here. I have found that clients that take notes during a lesson and during their own practice time tend to progress at a faster rate. So, bring a notebook to your session if writing is a good way for you to learn. I also recommend recording your session. Most clients use their phones to record the session with exercises to sing along with through the week. Last but not least, bring a willingness to be silly and make funny sounds! Most of the exercises we use are not meant to sound good, but to strengthen muscles. Wouldn’t it be funny if you could hear what your abs were saying when you did a sit up?

In addition to my passion for voice science and getting people to make the sounds they always wanted to, or making the sounds that they used to make again, I also specialize in contemporary music singing. Much of the voice training at the collegiate level and choral experience is stylistically classical. So, not all of the muscles in the throat are being utilized. Most of my singers want to sing contemporary music - pop/rock, folk/country, R’nB, Jazz/Blues. Guiding classical singers into contemporary training to sing their favorite pop songs is a thrill!

I’d be honored to be your teacher, guide, coach as you discover or continue to develop your voice and artistry!

All lessons are on Zoom until further notice due to COVID-19

2020 fall is booked!

one-on-one private coaching is booked for the fall. You may schedule a consultation session ($99/50-minutes) after filling out the session request form.

GROUP SESSIONS

Vocal Bootcamp - (Nov 9 - Dec 14) 6 weeks

• Need more power for your high notes? Getting tired during fast paced or long songs? Voice getting tired on a gazillion Zoom calls every week? Are you told that you’re too loud, or people can’t hear you? Are you a gigging professional that is fatiguing after a set or two? All of these situations tell us you need some strength-training vocally. JDVS gym is open! Meets for 6 weeks.

Mondays 6pm - $149

The benefits of group learning:
- Quickened learning by watching and listening to others
- Camaraderie - we’re living and working in this twilight-zone time together!
- External feedback watching yourself and others on Zoom (adult brains need more external feedback in learning!)
- Affordable
- Soak it in, and hide behind your mute button until you're ready (benefit of on-line 😉)

studio policies:

I want to be sure we both take the appointment seriously from the moment you reserve this time, so all appointments are pre-paid and non-refundable. When you reserve this time with your payment, I protect this time in my schedule for you at the exclusivity of all other potential clients. It is important that we both value the energy, time, and work we're both putting in.