Services
Music lessons
Voice lessons: Beginning to pre-professional level
Piano lessons: Beginning to intermediate level
Guitar lessons: Beginning to intermediate level
Songwriting lessons: Beginning to intermediate level
Music Therapy for Mental Health
What is music therapy?
Music therapy is an evidenced-based practice that uses music to work on therapeutic goals. To become a board certified music therapist, an individual must complete a bachelors or masters in music therapy, complete 1200 clinical hours under the supervision of another music therapist, and pass the board certification exam. More info about different types of therapy can be found at https://www.musictherapy.org/.
What does that look like for mental health?
Music therapy can help with various mental health goals such as emotion regulation, relationship skills, trauma processing and more. These goals are addressed through music creation, music listening and songwriting. Music therapy is appropriate for any age or level as long as the client has some sort of connection to music.
Music Therapy for Trans Voice Work
What does trans voice work look like in music therapy?
I believe in a trauma informed approach to voice work. How you use your voice in expressing your gender can often be a vulnerable experience. Due to this, I usually combine three different elements in voice work. The first is grounding and coping skills, as working with voices can bring up a lot of different feelings and past experiences. The second is vocal techniques that allow someone to gently expand their range and learn how to use their voice in healthier ways. The third element is exploring and processing how people feel about their voice, and how they want to shift their voice to express themselves.
Can I train my voice sound higher or lower?
It depends on what hormones your body has been exposed to and your individual body. Generally, testosterone will thicken the vocal chords, making the individual have a lower range. Some of the higher range can be maintained, if people practice regularly before being exposed to testosterone, though it will still likely become slightly lower. Genetics will impact how much of a change testosterone has on someone’s voice. Much of voice work can sound more feminine, masculine, or neutral, depending on the inflections used. There is a range that many people can reach that is perceived as more neutral. In that range, the inflections play a much larger role on how it is perceived. The cultural background of an individual can also impact how their voice is perceived.