Teaching, Favorite Singers, Musical Theatre, Singing, About Me Amy Cheifetz Billings Teaching, Favorite Singers, Musical Theatre, Singing, About Me Amy Cheifetz Billings

Julian Patrick, American opera singer, teacher, and mentor

Julian taught me to sing, to make music, to act, that it was ok to love Opera and Musical Theatre equally. He helped me become a better and stronger person, to take risks on stage and off. And, even though I didn’t realize it at the time, he taught me how to be a voice teacher. He was always professional but so personable. He shared his gifts as an artist and as a human being freely, with love and generosity. He somehow always made me feel like I was his colleague as well as his student; such a gift to a young aspiring singer.

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7 things I learned teaching at AMDA NY

I learned to teach every voice type, gender, vocal problem, temperament, and musical style.

I taught sopranos, mezzos, soprano belters, mezzo belters, sopranos how to belt and belters how to sing soprano; tenors, bari-tenors, baritones, basses, and baritones who wanted to be tenors; dancers who had never sung before and actors who had never sung before.

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Voice Lessons, Vocal Technique, Teaching Amy Cheifetz Billings Voice Lessons, Vocal Technique, Teaching Amy Cheifetz Billings

You have to be carefully taught

I had to take a vocal pedagogy class in graduate school. It was supposed to teach us how to teach a voice lesson. I confess I learned the exact opposite: I discovered what I never, ever wanted to do if I were ever to be a voice teacher, which ironically at the time (1996) I thought I would never be. (Hilarious, I know.)

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Singing, Student Success Stories, Students, Voice Lessons, Teaching Amy Cheifetz Billings Singing, Student Success Stories, Students, Voice Lessons, Teaching Amy Cheifetz Billings

One singular sensation, a student success story

He said he was very serious about pursing this and wanted to do whatever it took to be a successful singer.  And so we began his vocal training and it took quite a few months for him to be truly comfortable singing. But he fought through the nerves and his voice blossomed. In just a few years, he went from never having sung a note to booking the National Tour of A Chorus Line as the part of Greg!

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Singing, Students, Teaching, Vocal Technique, Voice Lessons Amy Cheifetz Billings Singing, Students, Teaching, Vocal Technique, Voice Lessons Amy Cheifetz Billings

Sing your own song

A voice lesson must be a safe place to put it all out there, the good, the bad, the ugly, the embarrassing. If it isn’t, you are with the wrong teacher. And if you are a Musical Theatre belter, or desire to be one, please find a teacher who understands (and preferably likes) that sound and style and how to teach it.

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Vocal Technique, Teaching, Voice Lessons, About Me, NYC, New York City Amy Cheifetz Billings Vocal Technique, Teaching, Voice Lessons, About Me, NYC, New York City Amy Cheifetz Billings

An offer I couldn’t refuse

In March of 1998, my life changed forever. This was when I first met Cornelius Reid, the man who profoundly changed my singing voice, the way I sang, the way I thought about singing, the way I taught, the way I thought about and viewed the world, musically and otherwise, gave me a career, a profession and a new passion.

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Proud of my girl, a student success story

I am especially proud of one of my students this week and I feel it necessary to brag about her publicly. However, I also want to tell her story (even as it continues to unfold) because I believe she is a perfect example of the extraordinary vocal transformation that can happen using Cornelius Reid’s vocal techniques and philosophies (as he taught them to me).

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Auditioning, Auditions, Choosing a song, Singing, Advice Amy Cheifetz Billings Auditioning, Auditions, Choosing a song, Singing, Advice Amy Cheifetz Billings

Choosing a song: making mistakes Part 1

the multi-layered topic of choosing repertoire, for young singers in particular. This is a subject near and dear to my heart as both a singer and a teacher because I know first-hand how incredibly important it is; song choice can make or break an audition or a performance, or a voice for that matter.

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