Vocal & Piano Instruction

Kim's primary instrument is Voice and she teaches vocal training to beginners, intermediates, and advanced level students. Her secondary instrument is Piano and she teaches beginners and intermediates on piano. Kim tailors her teaching methods to suit a student’s individual strengths. Helping her students acquire a theoretical yet practical approach to learning and performing music while losing themselves in the moment, as well as helping students discover and dissect the nuances of their own voice and/or playing style is at the core of Kim’s teaching philosophy. Establishing rapport with each of her students, introducing them to diverse artists and music to strengthen and build their vocabulary, repertoire and their own musical style makes for an enjoyable learning and sharing environment. Kim also has a special place in her heart for teaching those children or adults with disability, whether it be physical, emotional, or an unclear combination of the two; she has a great deal of experience and compassion for helping people build confidence and a sense of well-being through the use of music.

 

Vocal students (ages 12 and up)

***will learn healthy and productive singing technique (including diaphragmatic breathing, ear training/pitch accuracy and tonal balance, developing and enhancing natural, middle/low, and head voice, vocal placement and projection, sustaining notes, song structure, studio voice, live performance, improvisation, lyric diction, vibrato usage, and the ability to sing in multiple registers while creating evenness throughout the vocal range). Students will also be introduced to harmony theory, and the basics of harmonizing with others (for choirs, vocal groups, singing in bands, or studio recordings).

Piano students (ages 9 and up)

***will learn healthy and productive playing technique (including note recognition, basic scales, major and minor chords and progressions, dynamics, and song structure). Students are welcome to bring original vocal and piano pieces to work on. Handouts are typically given; and piano lessons are generally taught from classical and popular books including Faber & Faber series.

Kim's Teaching Philosophy

I believe that the voice carries every frequency in our bodies: spiritual, emotional, and physical. Shedding a brighter light on the subject and practice of therapeutic vocalizations, quality toning, and the powerful ability of the singing voice to bring about focus, clarity, relieve stress, and enhance performance and over all well-being is my philosophy not only as a teacher, but also as a life-long student of music. I aim to conserve knowledge and inspire learning amongst my students. As a musician, songwriter, and teacher I’ve learned how to affectively adjust my teaching methods to suite a student’s individual strengths while diminishing his/her weaknesses by offering a specific yet diverse perspective on classical as well as modern approaches to vocal music-making. Regardless of a student’s experiences, temperaments or background, each one has the ability to strengthen and improve his/her vocal abilities and musical understanding to better relate and express at a higher musical level from where he/she began. Singing is very personal, and I believe that a singer should allow him/herself to be vulnerable during the process. Helping my students acquire a theoretical yet practical approach to learning and performing music, while losing him/ herself in the moment, is at the core of my teaching philosophy. I teach students the value of breath control and singing on the breath visualizing the breath flowing freely throughout one’s body while shaping vocal tones which are full of life and pitch accuracy. I also teach students valuable studio performance practices as well as live performance techniques which serve to enhance their personal lives as well as professional careers. Going beyond words to rest inside the song in a place of familiarity serves to connect the song from singer to audience with the hope of everyone experiencing degrees of consciousness through the voice and music. Introducing students to musicians and musical ideas or techniques, old and new, serves to spark their own desires to incorporate and/or learn a myriad of possibilities of each perspective ultimately pushing them beyond their own self-perceived limitations which allows expansion in every direction. My teaching philosophy is designed to help enrich a student’s ability to think about, research, and dissect the nuances of his/her own voice, the melodic capabilities of the voice, and music-making through voice as a whole with fresh awareness and creativity.

About the Instructor - Kim Wright

Instructor Kim Wright has been teaching voice and piano lessons (individual and group) for over 14 years. With over 25 years professional vocal performing experience, Kim's versatile singing style includes R&B, Jazz-Traditional/Contemporary, Christian/Gospel-Traditional/Contemporary, Soul, Pop, and Progressive Rock. Her educational training includes an MMus Performance (Jazz Vocals) degree, earned with Honors of Distinction, from London College of Music at the University of West London, UK where she and her husband, Steve, continued their work and performance. She was also an International Ambassador Scholar at UWL. Kim completed a year of doctoral studies at University of Nottingham in Music Performance & Health (Vocals) with a focus on vocal toning awareness, and has professional membership with BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.), Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and the College Music Society. With a background in counseling, Kim's B.S. degree in Rehabilitation Counseling, and a minor in Vocal Music, as well as her graduate studies in Clinical Rehabilitation Counselor at Georgia State University have aided her work as a musician using therapeutic tools to foster her students' learning. She has taught vocals and piano theory, technique, interpretation, application, songwriting and performance to beginners, intermediates, and professionals with and without neurological and behavioral disabilities including Asperger Syndrome, Mild Autism, ADHD, and Tourette Syndrome. It’s been Kim's experience that helping people uncover their natural artistic abilities; whether it be in the art fields, technology fields, health fields, or customer service industries, affords those willing to receive the help a consistent positive expression and motivation to improve their personal and professional lives while overcoming any limitations. 

In addition to teaching in her private studio, AMH Music Studios, Kim teaches at local community music schools including Gwinnett School of Music/Red Clay Music Foundry and New School of Music, and she also conducts music and vocal health workshops. Previous teaching assignments have included being the workshop clinician at Berkshire Hills Music Academy in Massachusetts and the Intwasa Arts Festival in Zimbabwe. Kim believes that her educational and professional history give her a unique perspective into what it means to be a working/performing musician (vocalist). The skills she's acquired on and off the stage, as both a performer and instructor, not only contribute to her growth but to that of her students. As performing vocalist and vocal instructor, she has the good fortune of pouring into her students the benefits of both musical worlds; textbook theories and practice as research, actual live performance and recording scenarios. For more information, and to register for a trial lesson, contact Kim below.

Notable events and appearances: Intwasa Arts Fest (Zimbabwe, Africa) as featured artist & workshop clinician, live concert at 606 Club (London, UK), featured artist at Atlanta Jazz Festival, European tour as background vocalist for other international artists, and guest appearances on BET J, TBN weekly and WGN “Good Morning Chicago”, among many others.