Where is your studio located? The studio is in my home, on a quiet cul-de-sac in Pleasanton (off Hopyard) between downtown and the 580/680 junction. I have a vintage Steinway grand piano in a big open space with hardwood floors and great acoustics. If I study voice, will the sound of my voice change? With regular, consistent voice study, your voice will still sound like your voice (your body will always be your body) but it will become an enhanced, all-that-you-can-be version of your voice. It will change in quality, becoming more free, resonant, and full. The goal is not to try and make your voice sound like something that it is not. The goal is to unveil the beauty of your own voice by training it in a healthy way, which will boost your confidence and make singing a more enjoyable experience for you. I feel like I am tone-deaf but I enjoy singing. Is there any room for improvement with someone like me? Yes of course! The main reason why you have trouble matching pitch is because you do not know how to get your voice to "go" to the notes you hear. Once you get used to how it feels in your voice to sing all the notes in your range (which will expand with study) you will develop the muscle memory that will enable you to match pitch all the time. And once you get used to singing this way, you really will begin to sound like someone who CAN sing. I am a beginner, with no prior musical training. Do you teach beginners? Yes, I do teach people who have no prior musical training. You do not need to know how to read music. All you need to have is the desire to sing. It seems difficult to find a voice teacher that will teach children under the age of 12. Do you teach younger children? I feel that some children under the age of 12 are able to benefit from private voice lessons, and there is no harm that can be done. The work is mainly teaching the child to sing with good posture, and to sing without pushing or forcing. However, it is more beneficial to wait until the child is at least 11 or 12 years old to begin having her work in a focused manner with a private instructor, no matter how much she loves to sing. I believe that children under the age of 9 are better suited for music classes such as those with a Kodaly or Orff-based emphasis. In almost all cases, their stage of development is such that private voice lessons are of little benefit, for at this age it is best to have them enrolled in the sort of music program that combines singing with movement and the playing of instruments. I have no experience with this type of music education, so I normally will not accept any students under the age of 9. The 9 and 10 year olds that I do accept must first pass an audition in order to show me that they have a positive attitude about learning, and to prove that they have the ability to stay focused for 30 minutes. For more information, please contact Jeannette Smith at 925-484-9634 or e-mail sing4me@jsvocalstudio.com