Composer and Tenor
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.​​
Training and Experience
I've been teaching for almost 3 years 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.
What I offer
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, and I passed what I learned on to them.
Here are areas my students and I focus on when changing their voice;
Internal perception vs. societal perception
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Individual humans are messy, complicated and unique. However, we still live in a world where the gender binary is not only enforced, but 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 new voice for whenever they’re in public and need safety. Some students may wish to have a voice that doesn’t suggest a binary gender at all.
Resonance
- Resonance can make or break the perceived gender of a voice, even more than pitch. Additionally, once one is able to control their resonance, their pitch will be much easier to control as well. A loud reverberant voice makes it easier to bring down the pitch. A light and airy voice makes it easier to bring the pitch up.
Prosody and articulation
- The sound of a voice is only one factor that plays into its perceived gender. How that voice speaks/sings words, sentences, or phrases is another. Typically a voice that uses volume to emphasize words is perceived more masculine than a voice that uses pitch to emphasize words is perceived as more feminine.
Singing Lessons
I’ve been singing ever since I was 10 years old. I had my first voice lesson when I was 12. I’ve 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.
Exercises and Vocal technique
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I try to exercise all parts of my students’ voices; their chest voice, their head voice, their belting range, everything. The more a student knows what their voice can do, the more possibilities open up. Some students may decide to not pursue some of these techniques after all, some may choose to pursue all of them. The idea is to give them options.
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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, and some may be pursuing genres that are not classical music or musical theater 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 singing in multiple genres, including 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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Most of the time, I don’t assign repertoire to my students unless they specifically ask me to. Otherwise, my default is to go with whatever my students are interested in and like to sing.
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Some of my exercises are geared toward certain genres of music and I choose which ones to use based on my student’s interests.
Speech Lessons
My speech lessons are mostly for my gender affirming voice students, but my techniques have also been applied to students who are just looking 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. Wherever you pause 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.
I offer lessons on zoom and in person in Somerville, MA.​​​​
60-minute lesson -- $85
45-minute lesson -- $75
30-minute lesson -- $60
Sign up for a half-priced trial lesson!
Lessons in Somerville​
Lessons on Zoom​
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. They also offer a scholarship for LGBT and BIPoC students, providing them 1 free lesson per month.
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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
“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.