Pat Wynne

I am the «friend» mentioned in Jay C’s review who told him that singing with Pat had increased my confidence. This review is long overdue — I took weekly voice lessons with Pat for about three years, from 2010 – 2013.
Here’s my story: I used to be one of those people who mumbles and lip syncs when everyone else is singing «Happy Birthday» at a party. I was terrified of being heard singing, and convinced that I could not sing on-​key. To make it worse, my brother has sung in public all his life — as part of an «a capella» quartet, and leading the singing for 1000 people in his congregation at church. He’s the singer in the family. I always wanted to be able to sing, but couldn’t decide if it was a hopeless cause.
After a death in the family, I realized that life is too short to accumulate a list of missed opportunities. A colleague at work recommended Pat, and so I thought, «Why not try it?» Given my issues, I was most worried about being judged or criticized, even implictly. I got nothing but warm support and good training from Pat — never a moment of impatience, but many moments of laughter together. For the next three years, I learned how to control my breath, warm up, use my «head voice», sing Italian, sing French, sing German, sing Beatles, sing Gershwin. Sometimes I brought in something I wanted to sing, sometimes I let Pat introduce me to one of her favorites. I do know how to read music, thanks to ten years of piano lessons as a child, so that helps a little. And guess what? I can sing in tune. It’s more of a breath/​voice control issue than a tone-​deafness problem. Yay!
What I ended up realizing too is that I had been throttling not only my singing voice, but my voice in general — I was afraid to be too loud, stick out too much, be noticed. Learning to sing full throttle with accuracy changed the way I showed up in meetings at work, and changed my public speaking capabilities. I’m no longer distracted by anxiety when my friends suddenly want to sing the opening song to Gilligan’s Island or The Brady Bunch. I go to the sing-​along Sound of Music at the Castro Theater and actually sing along. My «inner voice» started emerging in parallel with my singing voice. Imagine that.
Thank you, Pat. I hope that other people have the opportunity to get the gift of their own voice in the way I have.

I took voice lessons with Pat on and off for about three years. She helped me with my basic singing skills and also coached me through several shows and projects. She helped me learn an eight act puppet opera that was way beyond my ability as a beginning singer. She pushed me to my limits and beyond to pull it off and significantly improved my musicianship. She has a great sense of humor has a clear vision of where her students musical ventures are going.

About a year ago, I ran into a friend and asked him what was new. He said he’d been taking voice lessons and it had greatly increased his self-​confidence. I had always believed I couldn’t sing, but my friend’s experience persuaded me to try. With Pat’s instruction, I progressed from someone with no musical experience to a half-​decent singer over the course of a year. Pat is a wonderful teacher — very knowledgeable, clear, extremely patient, and quite funny. I highly recommend her!

Pat has been my singing teacher since I was ten years old. She is adept at teaching all kinds of music, including show tunes, jazz standards, contemporary pop and rock songs, and folk songs. With Pat, I have learned breathing technique, vocal exercises, vowel placement in my singing, and most importantly, confidence.
One of the most wonderful elements of Pat as a teacher is her astonishing capacity to listen and offer in-​depth advice and insight about my voice. With her I have learned invaluable lessons about the importance of a healthy voice in connection to a healthy body and soul. I recommend Pat to anyone interested in a voice teacher gifted with the outstanding ability to teach not only voice technique but a love of music, always encouraging your voice to be healthy and strong, and for you to have the confidence to use it to sing your heart out.