"The voice comprises the most complicated muscle group in the entire body, using more of the cerebral cortex than any other part of the body. Because it's so complex, in a lesson you can't just say, 'change this, change that.' What I do suggest is that in order to get the result you want—and we talk about what that might be—students should try different approaches with my guidance. I'll say, 'This way might be more effective,' rather than, 'What you're doing is wrong.' I believe that if you simply tell someone that what they're doing is wrong, it makes the body tense. A tense body has a harder time singing, and that's counterproductive.

"I'm a great advocate of technology in the classroom. All of my students record their lessons using their laptops, and we use those videos as learning tools outside of our lesson time. Then, also, I have students make a video on their own every week and send it to me, and sometimes I'll also Skype, because I believe that one of the pitfalls of private instruction is that we only see each other once a week. In those seven days in between, a lot of things could happen to change habits."

"These days, we're all expected to do a lot of things. Very rarely can you just go out there and be a singer and have someone hand you a record deal and suddenly you're famous. There's a lot to be done, and you really have to do most of it yourself. So I try to share these things with my students, everything from home recording to arranging and communicating with the band. I like to be honest about how difficult it can be to strike out into the world as a musician, so they stay on their toes. At the same time, I want to acknowledge that there's some room for magic, you know?"

"Charlie Parker said, 'If you don't live it, it won't come out of the horn.' A musician should be engaged in activities other than music. So I give multifaceted assignments. I ask instrumentalists to listen to singers, and I ask singers to listen to instruments. And I always give my students something to read. No teacher ever did this with me, but it makes so much sense. And the students who get it really grow."