Composer and Baritone
Teaching Singing and Speech
In addition to being a composer and singer, I am also a voice teacher and speech coach! I focus my teaching on exploration of the many possibilities of what their voice can do, rather than how to conform to a rigid set of conventions. My lessons are a safe space for students to try new things and figure out how they can express their most authentic selves.
I've been teaching since 2022 to many students of various genders and voice types. I got my start in vocal pedagogy at the Longy School of Music with Carol Mastrodomenico. During my transition, I took lessons with Soren Austenfeld and read the work of Liz Jackson Hernes from the Voice Lab Inc. In the summer of 2025, I've taken Dana Varga's Empowered Pedagogy course and have continued a mentorship with her since.
What I offer
Singing Lessons
I’ve been singing ever since I was 10 years old, had my first voice lesson when I was 12, and sung in multiple musicals, operas, choirs, chamber ensembles, a cappella groups, and bands. Therefore, I know a lot about singing and vocal technique. Through my experience as a performer and a teacher, I’ve developed a unique approach to teaching my students how to sing, including the highlights below.
Student knows best
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My philosophy is that my students know their voice and interests better than I do. These lessons are for them, not for me. I am here to provide knowledge, support, and guidance to help them achieve their goals.
Anatomy Focus
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In every first lesson, I teach my student about basic vocal anatomy and then teach them exercises dedicated to helping them feel for that anatomy in their own body and what they can do to manipulate their voice with those parts of the body. For example, instead of telling my students to project, I tell them to breathe out more air when they sing or open their mouth bigger.
Exercises and Vocal technique
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All my lessons begin with about 10 minutes of breathing and/or movement exercises. The goal of the breathing exercises is to have a steady easy airflow to avoid students from gasping or overblowing air whenever they sing. The movement exercises are to loosen up their bodies so that it’s easier to manipulate if a new technique needs to be applied.
Voice classification
- In general, I do not classify my students’ voices with words like soprano, mezzo, tenor, baritone, etc unless they specifically ask me to. Some of my students are still figuring out what they can do with their voice, some may be in the middle of transitioning their voice, some may not want to classify their voice, and some may be interested in genres where these labels don’t apply. The fewer restrictions a student might face with such labels, the more options they have for trying new things and giving their voice time to develop.
Genres and Repertoire
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I have taught students who sing classical, musical theater, pop, rock, folk, and indie. I have multiple exercises up my sleeve catered to different styles of singing depending on what my student is interested in.
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I let my students choose their own repertoire unless they ask me for recommendations.
Gender Affirming Voice Lessons
It all started when I was considering going on testosterone HRT, knowing that one of its biggest effects is the voice drop. I did a lot of research to prepare for that drop, all while learning about vocal pedagogy during my masters degree. Shortly after I started teaching, I’ve been gaining more students who were transpeople at the beginning of their transition, feeling many of the same insecurities I was, so I passed on what I learned to them.
Here are some areas of focus;
Personal Affirmation vs. Assimilation
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Individual humans are messy, complicated and unique. However, we still live in a world where the gender binary is assumed of everyone. Some people may want to assimilate into the gender binary, but others may not. I have some trans students who identify as a binary gender and want a voice that’s associated with that binary gender. I have other trans students who like their voice the way it is, but want to create a different voice for whenever they’re in public for safety reasons. Some students may wish to have a voice that doesn’t suggest a binary gender at all.
The PIRA scale
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The PIRA scale is a method of gender affirming voice training invented by Liz Jackson Herns when a student of hers shared her observations of the way she teaches. I use this method as an essential aspect of my teaching. The acronym stands for Pitch, Inflection, Resonance, and Articulation. Each of these qualities shape how a voice's gender is perceived. My students and I work on each of these 4 qualities separately, and then together as each of these qualities become more habitual.
Speech Lessons
I've had trans students who want to change their voice into something more affirming for them, and I've had students who are not trans, but want to improve their speech for their own teaching or public speaking. Here are some things we work on in our lessons;
Vowels
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Vowels are a fundamental part of language and English has SO MANY VOWELS!!!!! Therefore, I’ve found it important to practice speaking each vowel individually. It helps with clearer pronunciation and helps gain more control over phrasing, articulation, and volume.
Phrasing
- A sentence can be spoken in multiple different ways. Pausing mid sentence can change the meaning of it entirely. How fast or slow a sentence is spoken can communicate a lot about the person’s emotion and intent behind the sentence. Raising the pitch at the end of a sentence marks it as a question, but if the pitch goes up in the middle, it’s a statement. These are things my students and I discuss and practice in our lessons.
Projection
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One of the most common requests I get from my students to work on is projection. They want to speak to a crowd, or they may want to go to a loud place where they will need to project their voices. We work a lot on breath control and resonance to make a strong loud sound without causing any strain in the process.
Where I teach
Pivate Studio
You can sign up for a $45-minute trial voice lesson at these links below.
WholeTone Music Academy
I'm also a member of the teaching collective WholeTone Music Academy. I teach lessons through them, same prices as above, and offer additional lessons at Connexion in Somerville. WholeTone is full of a thriving community providing music lessons and classes to marginalized communities.
WholeTone Academy also hosts various events for the faculty, staff and larger community, including Open Mics, Recitals, and instrument petting zoos.
Cambridge Center for Adult Education
I teach singing classes at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, incorporating many of my lessons and practices. Check out what I’m teaching here: https://ccae.org/classes?q=Gutman
Testimonials
"I'm a 70-year old man who was told since he was a child that he could not sing. I started taking lessons with Quinn to see if that was true. It was not! Quinn was extremely kind and supportive as they taught me basics and fundamentals, being patient as I struggled through it all. If there was an exercise I had trouble with, they would find another approach that worked better for me.
Although I'll never perform at the Met, I feel confident enough that I am now willing (I think!) to sing along when others do. Quinn, I cannot thank you enough for working with me and nurturing whatever latent ability I had."
- Bryan Cook
“Working with Quinn has been a delightful experience. They took me from someone who was scared to speak in public due to my previous hypernasality to someone who is confident and comfortable using my voice in an expressive and authentic way. Quinn gives you the proper tools to maintain vocal health so that you are able to put your best sound forward without sacrificing the health of your vocal cords. They are an awesome resource, so patient, so flexible and such a welcoming individual!”
- Cam Brillon
"Quinn is an excellent teacher who incorporates many different approaches to vocal pedagogy into their work. I was always learning something new either about the voice or a new technique to elicit better sound from my voice. They are encouraging and easy to work with, and provide good feedback on what could be improved in a respectful and friendly manner.