Meredith Colby
About
Meredith Colby has been teaching private voice for 28 years and spent 20 years as a professional freelance singer, practicing what she preached. In that time she sang with touring bands, rock bands, big bands, jazz and society bands. She’s sung on cruise ships, at casinos, for fundraisers, and corporate sales events. Meredith has been a band leader, was in the nationally touring accappella group The Hi Tops, has released Dream Girl, a CD of original jazz songs, and was the singer for the Nelson Riddle Orchestra as well as many other well-known Chicago bands. Through The Center For Voice, a Chicago non-profit she co-founded, Meredith taught individual voice lessons, music-directed theater for adults and children, and taught music and skills classes for groups. She has been the go-to Chicago voice teacher for record labels such Sony, Columbia, and Island Def Jam, as well as for several area music producers.
Meredith was graduated from the University of Miami with a Bachelor of Music – Studio Music & Jazz. She is the author of Money Notes: How to Sing High, Loud, Healthy and Forever (WiseInk Publishing). She is also a member of the Voice and Speech Teachers Association and The Voice Foundation.
Teaching Style
The decision to improve your singing is not a decision made lightly.
A singer knows the potential is there, but may not trust that someone else can hear and nurture that potential. Voice teacher and vocal coach Meredith Colby is known for her ability to recognize and honor that potential - quickly and expertly guiding each of her students to bring out the best version of the singer they already are.
The author of Money Notes: How to Sing High, Loud, Healthy, and Forever, Meredith has successfully taught hundreds of professional and avocational singers to achieve healthy singing since 1989.
Specializing in technique for CCM (contemporary commercial music) styles like rock, R&B, metal, pop, and music theater, Meredith created and teaches Neuro-Vocal Method. This ground-breaking vocal method uses brain science to quickly achieve vocal breakthroughs. Using Neuro-Vocal Method, Meredith guides singers to overcome limitations and reveal new possibilities.
Described as encouraging, knowledgeable, and non-judgmental, Meredith’s steady, nurturing demeanor is the foundation from which she skillfully guides people through the process of vocal growth.
People can experience many emotional and logistical objections when they consider investing in themselves as a singer. Making changes takes time and commitment. Students grow and experience change quickly when they are willing to be guided, and to engage in the process of vocal growth. People find it deeply fulfilling to feel and hear their own voice stronger and more free than they had dared to imagine.
Curriculum
Voice coaching: Meeting only once, or a few times, and with no expectation of regular lessons, coaching helps the singer create the best performance possible based on their existing skill level. In a vocal coaching session, Meredith will give you tips, help you overcome trouble spots, and improve your presentation.
Voice lessons and vocal development: Working toward improving foundation skills will change your singing, and what you're able to do. To achieve that, voice lessons require a commitment. Meredith asks singers who want voice lessons from her to commit to weekly lessons for at least 6 weeks. Having taught for over 30 years, she knows that a singer who will make this commitment will begin to experience positive changes in their singing.
Credentials & Affiliations
Meredith was graduated from the University of Miami with a Bachelor of Music – Studio Music & Jazz. She is the author of Money Notes: How to Sing High, Loud, Healthy and Forever (WiseInk Publishing). She is a member of The Voice Foundation, as well as the Voice and Speech Trainers Association. She is a contributing writer for the VASTA Voice, the quarterly publication of the Voice and Speech Trainer's Association.
Meredith Colby has been teaching private voice for 30 years and spent 20 years as a professional freelance singer, practicing what she preached. In that time she sang with touring bands, rock bands, big bands, jazz and society bands. She’s sung on cruise ships, at casinos, for fundraisers, and corporate sales events. Meredith has been a band leader, was in the nationally touring accappella group The Hi Tops, has released Dream Girl, a CD of original jazz songs, and was the singer for the Nelson Riddle Orchestra as well as many other well-known Chicago bands. Through The Center For Voice, a Chicago non-profit she co-founded, Meredith taught individual voice lessons as well as music and skills classes for groups. She has been the go-to Chicago voice teacher for record labels such Sony, Columbia, and Island Def Jam, as well as for several area music producers.