I specialize in private voice lessons to help you achieve your singing goals, either in person at my studio, or online via Skype lessons.
All levels and styles are welcome.
I am a highly trained professional with a successful international career, profound education (Master of Arts, Doctor of Philosophy) and more than 20 years of experience in helping people to express themselves through singing.
I teach in three languages (German, English & Serbian/Bosnian/Croatian) and have instant access to backing tracks and a huge sheet music library.
For more information and to book a lesson just send me an email.
Seminars and workshops are announced in the “Upcoming” section.
1) This is not a goal for its own sake.
The vocal technique helps you to:
a) improve your performances,
b) make sure that you can do the things that you want to do with your voice &
c) help you with eventual problems before some of your habits possibly make you land in offices of otorhinolaryngologists and/or logopedists.
1) Beware of underestimation of yourself and beware of taking yourself too seriously.
If you would be a neurosurgeon, and if you would need to perform a very risky operation – the worst thing that could happen to you is your poor patient being dead.
Finito, cut, the end, конец.
If you are a singer and you sing in public – the worst thing that can (and most probably will) happen to you is that somebody is not going to like it.
Somebody is always not going to like it and this is really O.K.
So you just learn to live with it.
Even if somebody doesn’t like it – you probably won’t experience rotten tomatoes and eggs being thrown at you.
2) If you love to sing – it’s a HUGE WASTE to sing only in the shower.
Let the people hear you, they are mostly going to be grateful and happy about it.
1) Beware of the vocal teachers who do not sing actively themselves.
If your vocal teacher is not performing live (or barely did and/or never did) – this is a sure sign that they lack the most important experiences they must offer to their students!
Although I do not find music should be competitive, you should make a parallel to sports and think about playing table-tennis, for instance: If my trainer doesn’t bring most of my balls back, why is he/she your trainer and not the other way around?
2) LISTEN TO THEM, DAMN IT!
So-called “voice teachers” love to sweet-talk about their credentials, love to make fancy websites, adore terms such as “phrasing”, “intonation”, etc. – but if they do not have good intonation and good phrasing themselves (live, on stage, in that very moment you are listening) – it is most likely that they are not going to be able to teach you that.
If you do not like somebody singing – just don’t buy it.
3) It is true, that not all great vocalists are great teachers as well
(some of them don’t have the time to teach, some don’t like to teach, some feel that they are too good for doing that and their egos are standing in their way, some don’t know how to teach ‘cause what they know does not flow, etc.) .
Still, the other way around does not function – if somebody just teaches and never or almost never sings, it is time to start being suspicious (although I reserve the right to be wrong and I hope to be wrong in some cases).
4) Trust yourself –
sometimes there are times to move on and learn different things from other people.
5) Let me put one more thing clear: For most of the active performers, teaching is that PLAN B.
This is perfectly cool and honest.
And I am sure that doesn’t apply to every single profession, but I truly believe that in music and in sports you must stay fit by simply doing it.
6) Choose wisely!
Choose your voice teacher as if you would choose your physician!
7) My personal motivation:
1) If your goal is to be famous instead of creatively expressing yourself – don’t take them voice lessons; make viral videos and post them on Youtube, train your dog/cat/any pet to do something strange/unusual, make a quality porn video, etc.
2) Your teacher won’t turn you to Whitney Houston during her glorious days – he/she IS NOT A MAGICIAN.
If you want to take a few lessons and become Whitney, Aretha, etc. – NO WAY, JOSE!
This is a hard job and it’s the same as in other professions – there must be a reason for you not being Roger Federer, Steven Hawking and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel; therefore you are also not Whitney Houston.
3) Now you must forget what you just read ABOVE and realize that you are still exceptional!
YOU CAN ONLY SOUND LIKE YOU, BUT YOU CAN LEARN THAT IT IS TRULY GREAT TO BE YOU!
4) Check your motivation: If you don’t sing because you genuinely love to sing and must sing – we all can’t help you much.
1) BE A MUSICIAN, DAMN IT!
Make your own decisions about what you want and why do you want it!
Learn to play other instruments as well!
2) Do not expect that you can just put the flower in your hair and pretend that you are Billie Holiday, Christina Aguilera (or whatever) – and the rest of the musicians involved (supposing that you do not do all your performances just solo & a cappella) are going to do the rest of YOUR SH*T and YOUR MUSIC for you.
3) YOU NEED TO KNOW:
4) There is nothing worse than students expecting you to make their decisions – if you want to sing, you should at least know what you want to sing and not expect from me to choose out of whole music history for you!
1) Drink more water.
1) Try not to smoke as a chimney, drink as a skunk and do not take drugs except (I do not exactly know why, but here still illegal) marihuana.
Even if you smoke & like pot it will do you good to NOT be completely stoned on your lessons with me and my colleagues and/or on your gigs (out of several reasons I won’t mention right now).
2) Avoid drinking carbonated beverages & eating acidic foods in the evening.
3) Sleep well & enough (not just 5 hours as the legend says about Margaret Thatcher).
4) Enjoy life and don’t stress yourself.
5) If you are a teacher in some school fighting for the presence of your voice in the classroom full of puberty – don’t try to overyell them, but buy yourself a football whistle, ‘cause it’s louder than 30 of them teenagers and/or kids.
1) You must decide – what is it worth to you?
2) And you need to research carefully because some teachers offer nothing for much.
3) Do value this work of ours.
4) My personal understanding of social justice and empowerment:
Single moms & dads, very talented but broke teenagers, handicapped persons, and socially vulnerable people are going to pay less than you – and this is beyond any discussion.
1) If you get sick I have compassion.
Do not come to your lesson, transmit your disease to me and my class and make us all incapable of singing and/or teaching for the next few weeks.
2) Do notify me about your cancellation or any changes by 24 hours before your scheduled lesson.
Otherwise, we lose time and you must pay for that time.
1) If I say to you that I do not have time for teaching you – this is mostly the truth.
2) If I don’t like a student – I won’t teach him/her (it would cost me much time and energy to pretend that I do).
3) If you don’t appreciate my work – please do not approach me for lessons because I value my aesthetic and technical criteria quite high.
4) I love my students to do something with their music and their lives in general – there is a time where they should move on and make entrance examinations, create great bands, write music they don’t need me for, move to more interesting cities and/or countries, do beautiful performances, etc.
This is what I ask from all of you – love what you do, don’t stop doing it, create great music and move on INDEPENDENTLY.
Thank you.
Lots of love, good vibes & strength from me,
Irina