Gabriela - Birkbeck - Portuguese

I have had Zoom lessons with Gabriela for a few months and already I think she's having the biggest impact on my adult voice after decades of different teachers and conductors. Each lesson she tunes right in to my voice and what I say about it to do exercises that address a specific issue rather than stick rigidly to a standard lesson plan. I really appreciate the personal approach. She's very good at describing what she needs me to do so that I always understand the task, which is quite a skill when you're not face to face and can't put a finger on your chin for example. I have a health condition which I was concerned would impact my ability to do a full lesson, but Gabriela took the time to understand my needs and adapts to them - this has been a barrier to my music making in the past so I think it shows her quality as a teacher to get the best out of her pupil. Gabriela is working on the basis of building a natural rich sound close to the speaking voice, can then be taken to multiple different styles. I'm very much enjoying working and strengthening the soft palette and vocal cords in a technical and methodical way which feels fun and easily translates to piece of music each week. In summary, I thoroughly recommend this teacher!

I've had various music teachers over the last 20 years and Gabi is far and away the best.

She is hugely attentive: we sing music I am interested in, discuss it in ways that I understand, and focus on precisely the elements I'm finding tricky. Our lessons are always an excellent balance between being stretching and enjoyable, and despite her obvious experience I never feel that I'm receiving some standard lesson she's delivered hundreds of times before.

Gabi's also incredibly knowledgeable and versatile. In the last 18 months we've covered standards, bebop, cool jazz, fusion, funk, soul, broadway, classical Romantic, and that's before mentioning her real specialism in Brazilian music. Her deep knowledge of this culture, history and repertoire have made my singing lessons a gateway to a whole new musical sphere.

But more than all of this, our lessons are fun! I really can't recommend Gabi highly enough.

Before I decided to take lessons with Gabriela, I had graduated from the Academy of Music in the Choir Department, so I had some experience in classical voice emission, as well as out-of-school experience with jazz singing, including SLS technique. And yet also: a heavy baggage of frustration related to the feeling of lack of control over the timbre of my voice and the lack of comfort in disposing of it in the way I would like.

Gabriela, after listening to a few of my recordings, helped me to "diagnose" and name the problem that I wanted to solve in my voice, the cause of my discomfort. Already in the first lesson, we went into details. It was a bit like a game of learning the "anatomy of the voice", because Gabriela quickly and naturally interested me in various nuances, even related to the work of specific parts of the vocal apparatus, which she could explain perfectly! Of course, the explanations were followed by specific exercises that helped me discover how "it all" works. It was this understanding and the feeling that I can control my voice according to my own hearing, discretion or even a momentary desire, which for many years was a source of great dissatisfaction and led to even greater tension and blockages. Thanks to the many exercises that Gabriela showed me, without sparing supportive words and humor, I managed to achieve a level of incomparably greater relaxation in the larynx, around the mouth and satisfaction with the applause of my voice and the way I operate it. Not only that, singing just became ... pleasant! It has become a kind of self-therapy, a moment of rest, not only a creative activity. The voice "leveled out" in the registers, it began to sound as I had imagined it could and it started "to listen" to me and “be obedient” to me. Working with the nuances was not easy, but thanks to Gabriela's vast knowledge, commitment and wise pedagogical approach, it was very fruitful.

I highly recommend working with her to everyone! Even via Skype which gave such great results for our meetings! :)

Gabriela is an accomplished singer and teacher.
Singing used to be a struggle for me and I developed bad habits which made me want to give up singing. Since I’ve started having lessons with Gabi, I have been unlearning those bad habits and started to understand how to sing easily and effortlessly. Gabi’s method is clear, efficient and works like magic.

Gabriela has improved my performance almost 100%. My voice is rebuilt and even my songs are taken into account. Her critics about my songs have increased depth and melody as well as vocal performance. I will keep asking her for her services!

By working with Gabi for several years at the "Dordtse Muziekschool" (Holland), we clearly noticed how her pedagogical skills, combined with her experiences as a professional vocalist, enabled her to become one of our best teachers. She inspires her students with her musical knowledge and positive and enthusiastic attitude. Her teaching methods give them the opportunity to have vocal classes at the highest level. She's a very kind and warm person whom I'd highly recommend as your vocal teacher.