Randy Smith

My name is Randy Smith; I hold a Bachelor of Music and currently pursuing my Maser of Music in Vocal Performance and Choral Conducting. I've been singing for twenty years. My specialization is Sacred Music, Classical Voice, and Musical Theater. I am 29 years old and a native of California, I currently reside in Reno, NV, where I attend school. 

I use a holistic approach to teaching music, both what is written on paper and what is physically perofrmed. We have often heard the term "holistic," but what does that mean? It simply means, we follow what works best for you. This approach requires three areas of treatment: the physical (your posture, reduction of muscle tension, etc.); the mental (your level of stress, comfortability, understanding, and controll); and emotion (how you connect with music and particular pieces, character develop and acting, and your personality. Furthermore, a holistic appraoch recognizes that each of these areas is connected to one another; that means, when one area is addressed,  either it will help fix other areas or help inform our approach. This is all grounded on a foundation that you feel safe and able to make mistakes in lessons. My foundational philosphy can be summed up like this: a friendly and informative space that meets the student where they are. 

How we will address each area: physical—balance exercises, breathing, alignment, vocalises, ; mental—mindfulness exercises, confidence training, postive affirmation; emotional—character development, acting, discussion. A typical lesson will begin with a verbal evalluation of how your voice and body are performing this week. This is an opportunity for studetns to communicate any concerns they may have. Based on these concerns, we will adapt the lesson to addres those things. We will focus on a particular piece of music where we will analyze the character, emotions, and settings of the piece. Finally, we will work on transfering all that information into our own emotional energy. All that sounds quite confusing, right? Don't be afraid, voice lessons sound intimidating when you read about it; however, having a lesson is the best way to discover the fun and joy of singing.