Voice Lessons

In these co-created, one-on-one lessons, you will develop and refine vocal techniques that support the empowered and liberated use of your voice. You will learn a mixture of techniques, warm-ups and melodies that inspire the confidence to sing freely and without restraint. You will study breath control, resonance, vowels and tongue placement, dynamics, vocal health, and singing as a healing practice. Your voice is the messenger of your truth. If you have a desire or a need to communicate your truth out loud in a way that feels good, these lessons will be a good fit for you.

My students are songwriters, performers, actors, teachers, gentle souls and power houses. I work with teens, parents, young creatives, elder geniuses and seekers of all types. If you are deeply committed to music, are ready to prioritize your voice, and looking for a guiding hand, I’d love to hear from you!

Schedule A Private Voice Lesson
Voice

"Adrienne helped me learn how to sing in a voice that is truly mine- not the singers that I try to mimic- so that I can offer my unique voice to the world. She helped me learn how to breathe and hold my body in a way that supports my voice to be more powerful without straining. I'm so much more confident..."

- Iris B.

SONGWRITING & Guitar Lessons

SONGWRITING

In working together, I will help you:

  • Break through your mental blocks / write with clarity
  • Craft your story lines / themes for lyrics
  • Be more fearless with your poetry
  • Write beautiful chord progressions and melody
  • Learn what you need to know about music theory

Songwriting is very personal and can be a mysterious process. My job is to help you navigate the jungles of creativity so that you can see real progress and growth in your songwriting skills.

GUITAR

The guitar can be a companion, a guide, and a co-writer. These lessons are for those of you who are already comfortable with the basic basics, want to write or have written songs and want more skills and tools to accompany your songs as you sing them. (*Please note that I am not currently taking on beginner guitar students.)

_dsc8369 (2)
Schedule Songwriting & Guitar Lesson

"I used to play guitar and sing when i was younger but I lost motivation and confidence for a long time. Lessons with Adrienne are so much fun and in no time I've gained my confidence back and have started learning new songs and techniques. Adrienne is patient, encouraging and funny - a truly wonderful teacher."

- Amy P.

Musical Healing

You and your voice are not two separate things. You and your voice, your music, are one. Your voice is your body, is the expression of your spirit, and it is the manifestation of your Truth.

We all experience ruptures in this awareness at times in our lives.

Music can show us the way back to wholeness, again and again. ​

In our lessons together, we will focus on reclaiming what has been lost or taken from our voices by the storms of life and we will take care to allow our whole self to sing and create - with love and kindness.

Music, songwriting and singing have always been my greatest source of relief from the turmoil in my life, my mind and the world. At the core of my teaching and my performance is a longing to share that gift of healing with others.

Musical Healing
Schedule Musical Healing

"I started working with Adrienne nearly two years ago because I wanted to liberate my voice. I knew that the resonance I carried inside of me didn't match my external expression. What I felt within, I wanted to be able to share with others. And now, having worked across both the technical aspects of vocalization through Western music, and the emotion / connection to the Divine through Persian music, my capacity to express what I feel now matches. My expression is more fluid, expansive and clear.

I’m grateful not just for Adrienne’s technical mastery and ability to translate complex skills into tangible changes in my body, but more importantly for the invitation she creates through loving presence and laughter to bring forth heart -- in myself and others."

- Melissa L.

Schedule A Private Lesson

Schedule A Private Lesson

Schedule A Private Lesson

Private Lessons are $150 per hour.

First
Last
Select the type of lesson:
Would you like to receive email updates?
Roshi Littlelight Photography | Adrienne Shamszad

More About My Teaching Background

After a lifetime of devoted study in the performing arts, guitar and singing, composition, technique and expression, I have developed a deeply informed approach to teaching. As a music coach for over 20 years, I have made incredible breakthroughs with students, seen people through vast and deep shifts in their lives through the work we've done together and transformed my own relationship to music to be one of true empowerment and liberation. I am a patient, non-judgmental coach and build loving relationships with all of my students.

I studied music theory and composition at Sonoma State University and have been a guitar player and songwriter since childhood. In 2018 and 2020, I received the Master-Apprenticeship Grant through the Alliance for California Traditional Arts to study Iranian Classical Vocal Tradition from master vocalist and teacher Mahsa Vahdat and Iranian Classical Instrumental Music on Setar with master player and composer Atabak Elyasi (respectively). I studied Western Classical vocal technique from baritone and (beloved) master teacher Zachary Gordin for nearly 10 years.

Roshi Littlelight Photography | Adrienne Shamszad