online music lessons

Study with me

achieve success with your musical aspiraitons

As well as being a prolific songwriter and performer, I have been teaching music since I graduated college with a degree in Fine Arts in 2012. I specialize in teaching women of all ages, holding their hand as we explore the land and universal language of music.

I am passionate about sharing the knowledge and techniques I’ve picked up from a lifetime of exploring instruments and stages. I love singing harmonies with myself via loop pedal, feeling the surge of a song in my veins during the week(s) I’m writing it, and communing with the ivory and wood of the piano, my first instrument.

Nature, food, and wellness are my other callings.

I studied classical piano as a child and young adult. I grew up singing while doing the dishes, in high school choir, in Catholic church, and in the school musical “The Sound of Music.” I was also taking dance classes since age 3 and was in a performing group for many years.

During college, my musical interests branched off into old-time 5-string banjo and Appalachian folk choir in college. I finished my studies in Arizona, where I picked up ukulele. In 2009, I was picked up by a French-Canadian record label and moved to France, touring Ireland, England, Germany, Spain, and of course, France. It was there I collaborated with producer Vincent Stockholm on our album “This Is Alaska: Folks of the Dark and Still Lake.”

Upon returning to the states without my accompanist and heart-throb “Wild Harmony,” I began my pursuit of guitar in earnest. I started a girl-band called Larkspur. Since then, I have taught out of my home for years, and recently spent several years teaching at Music & Arts in Charlottesville, VA.

If you’re interested in studying with me, we can meet for a free session. I’ll do an “intake” to discover your interests, goals, and assess their compatibility with what I have to offer.

Simply head to my Contact Page and let me know you’re interested, and we can find a time to connect. Studying with me in person in Staunton, VA is a possibility if you’re local to me.

Instruments i teach:

Piano

Whatever your goal is with piano, we can approach it through the time-tested lens of classical music.
- in time, we’ll learn a performance piece of your choice, as an inspiring challenge and stretch goal.

Guitar

The typical student is starting from scratch, so we learn through studying theory and chords. This focus on theory is so you can apply your knowledge of guitar to any musical pursuit in the future and speak to musical collaborators in a way they can understand.
- We can select songs you love and learn them as covers, making them your own in the process.
- We can learn on acoustic or electric, or transition from one to the other.
Banjo
- I got started by studying claw-hammer and old-time style on 5-string banjo, so if you’re interested, we can walk down the annals of early American history via folk songs.
- I can share the style I devoloped myself for bringing a fresh, indie sound to my songs.
UKULELE
- I've written an entire album on ukulele and have innovated my own way of learning and playing on this “mini guitar.”
- Uke is a great first step into music and guitar. It’s also a serious instrument in and of itself.
  - Learn easy classics and discover universal notes and chords along the way.

Additional areas of expertise:

Singing at the Charlottesville Sprint Pavillion.

Songwriting

I can support your song-writing, as I'm an accomplished, prolific songwriter.
We can also collaborate and write and jam out on songs together!
Alexander Technique
- I've studied several months with Sandra Bain Cushman of Orchestral Movements.
  - I can share the basic principles I've learned to staying in dynamic alignment for pain-free, proper use of instruments.

Voice

I believe everyone has a beautiful voice capable of great music: its qualities must simply be unearthed. I also believe EVERYone can benefit from understanding this built-in, flesh-bound instrument.
I can share the tips and tricks I've learned to enhance my vocal performance, both from decades of performing and recording, and from teachers and voice therapists I’ve studied with along the way.
- If you’re interested in an instrument as well as singing, we can set aside time out of our lesson for studying vocal technique.
Recording
- I have a mobile studio as well as in-home studio where I can capture the student's current sounds
- For those with interest, I can share the fundamentals of recording. This is great for future sound engineers, producers, and DJ’s.
- I can also work with the student to produce their song— that is, flesh-out their ideas with other instruments and sounds.

Creative Coaching

I can help the student through blocks and confusion, to bring out the artist within.
- I can share tools and philosophies I’ve learned from three semesters at The Art School, an elite mastermind course for creatives and coaches.
- I’m well-versed in communication and coaching techniques, so can help you access your inner wisdom and cultivate break-throughs.

resume

10 years of private piano lessons with Mrs. Watkins and Mrs. Byler in Harrisonburg, VA.
B.A. from Prescott College in Fine Arts, where I combined studies of Appalachian music, improvisational dance, visual arts, and performance.
Won two grants from Prescott College to make two albums and a multi-media lyric book of my photography, paintings, lyrics, and a magical realism narrative.
Went on 5 international tours and 2 national tours performing solo with my banjo and ukulele.
Began teaching in 2012.
Have since worked with students age 5-75 (or thereabouts), mostly female.
Won a $75,000 grant to record the album of my dreams in the nation’s capital.
Launched a highly successful kickstarter with my girl-band Larkspur to record an album.
Employed by Music & Arts Teaching Studios for 4 years.
Recorded a total of 7+ full-length albums and have been featured on several others, and have a new album in the works.

ARTIST’s STATEMENT

Music has been a lifeline for me-- it's always been there no matter what. It's a touch-stone I can always reach for, as easy as reaching out to a warm wooden instrument and seeking the harmonies latent in its strings.

Music is the magical key to my life-- I can sing and suddenly I'm present, filled with oxygen and resonant frequencies that please my bones. I can sing with others and suddenly we're connecting in a rapturous state of transcendence. I can sing and suddenly I'm plunged into a watery world of wavelengths where I can shut my eyes and dive beneath the waves and forget my troubles, erase my troubles, or express my frustrations and swim past them.

Teaching takes all this another step along the path to share my knowledge. I get to mold golden keys and hand them out to the seekers who have come to knock on the door to Music. Through accessing this portal, they can learn to speak and write and dance and live and breathe the music medium until they are fluent.

For me, music is a landscape, a wondrous place made up of soundwaves of different colors and shapes. I love to take the student's hand and lead them into this place, where we can briefly take respite from the constant demands of modern life.

Imagine for a moment, this magical land:

Jazz is to the west, folk is to the east, broadway is to the north, and latin music is to the south. Rhythm and percussion is at the highest height, melody is deep in the forest, and harmony is out on the ocean. Lyrics are the roads and paths that weave them all together.

This is a mystical land of adventure, where strong emotions are welcomed. Where being highly sensitive is a crucial asset. Where good taste is discovered and refined. Where creative identity and artistic confidence is formed.

In each student, I see a Great Creative. I KNOW that with time and diligence, they can become the wonderful musician they dream to be. I am happy to be their guide in the sometimes overwhelming world of music potential.

In this musical land, we can just BE, in the flow. The greatest technique is to become completely absorbed in the moment. With our powers combined, we can strive for our dreams, patiently working through challenges, and speaking together in the *secret language of music.*

Take my hand, and we'll explore this wondrous land together.

Next steps

I am a thriving modern musician and recording artist. I teach because it brings me joy and meaning. Register now if you know this is how you want to make your life more meaningful and creative.

If you’re new to my studio and have questions, we can begin by setting up a free introductory consult.

You can contact me on my phone (text or voicemail): 434-373-0001

Or simply email me at annabethsingssongs(at)gmail.com

Please don’t hesitate to reach out via my contact page.

xoAnnabeth