KATJA BLOWS ME AWAY WITH HER BREADTH OF KNOWLEDGE NOT ONLY OF THE VOICE ITSELF, BUT ALSO A VARIETY OF VOCAL PEDAGOGIES. I CAN’T IMAGINE A SITUATION WHERE SHE WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO MEET A LEARNER AT THEIR INDIVIDUAL POINT OF NEED, AS SHE DRAWS ON A VERY EXTENSIVE RANGE OF EXPERIENCE AND CAN REFRAME CONCEPTS IN DIFFERENT WAYS UNTIL IT SINKS IN. I REALLY CAN’T RECOMMEND KATJA HIGHLY ENOUGH!
I have a Bachelor of Music in classical voice and have been a vocal performance coach and professional singer myself for about fifteen years, so I know my way around my voice (and voices in general) in many ways. However I had a few lingering bad habits in my own singing that I’d never addressed and techniques I’d never solidified from when I first started formal singing training as a teenager that I felt were really holding me back, especially as I started work on a fairly ambitious original vocal project.
I sought Katja’s help to re-establish the basics and to explore the limits of my vocal capabilities. She was recommended to me by a CVT coach I really admire and had worked with before. What attracted me was her online presence, which had already caught my attention, and then the communication we had via email and ‘in person’ on Zoom before I decided to sign up for three months of coaching. It was really clear that she knew her stuff, both vocally and musically – it was really important to me that she understood where I was coming from with a classical background but also the direction I’m going in, which is much more focused on a science-based technique to employ a range of popular stylistic elements, explore the different vocal modes and my range possibilities within them.
I got SO much out of my work with Katja – my sessions with her were the highlight of my week. I was able to identify and fix some really simple breathing and support problems that I can see in my students but that I couldn’t see or address in myself which, as all singers know, forms the basis for everything you do with the voice. I also really dived deep into using my voice high and loud (what some might call ‘belting’) in all its different forms (the CVT vocal modes) – something that has always been a hang up for me as a classical singer. I still can’t believe what I was (and am) able to achieve. We also worked on resonance through overtone singing which has really added a shimmer to my sound (and is super fun!).
Katja blows me away with her breadth of knowledge not only of the voice itself, but also a variety of vocal pedagogies. To put it simply, I can’t imagine a situation where she wouldn’t be able to meet a learner at their individual point of need, as she draws on a very extensive range of experience and can reframe concepts in different ways until it sinks in. She is super organised and structured in her approach, including the use of technology, and this gives an enormous amount of clarity and comfort to the student. This is something I really benefited from, she was a calm and focused influence on me (I’m not the best student – I get scattered and overwhelmed!).
I really can’t recommend Katja highly enough. Enjoy!
Mandy van Zanen,
Singer, Songwriter & Singing Teacher, Australia
WITHIN THE FIRST 15 MINUTES OF MY FIRST ONLINE CLASS, I COMPLETELY FORGOT I WAS IN AN ONLINE LESSON, AND FELT LIKE I WAS SITTING IN THE SAME ROOM, AT THE SAME TABLE WITH KATJA!
I’ve been singing for more than 20 years and my career has taken various turns, like releasing a couple of albums as a rock singer, doing an acoustic solo project, singing musical theatre, performing and touring with a 10-piece Latin party band.
One of the things I was struggling with in my singing, was that my muscles felt completely tense. When I had to sing 4-5 gigs in a week, or do a recording session, I was always struggling, and singing rock music felt really hard. I reached a point where I wanted to get rid of this problem, I wanted to sing with power, but without all the struggle. The problem was, although I had learned a lot from copying other singers and trying to figure out what they were doing, and also gained a good technical base from my voice lessons at the music school and conservatory, I still felt like I needed to access other techniques in order to solve my singing struggles.
Sing Everything was my first experience ever in taking a voice class online, and it was really good! Within the first 15 minutes of my first online class, I completely forgot I was in an online lesson, and felt like I was sitting in the same room, at the same table with Katja. She is so helpful and kind, respectful of all participants questions, and very clear in her explanations. It didn’t even matter that English isn’t my first language, I had no problem whatsoever understanding her.
In the course I learned using my support muscles, and became aware of how to make very powerful sounds without any discomfort whatsoever. The results were immediate, and it was really great to hear the immediate results in other participants’ voices too. I also enjoyed working on modifying the vocal tract, and learn how to access more harmonics. I really like how my voice sounds when I’m applying all of those things! Before taking the course I had read the CVT book. But it wasn’t until I had worked with Katja that the book made sense. Now, after the course, I’m reading the book again and it’s all so much clearer!
As a teacher, I can also pass these new tools on to my voice students. Both beginners and experienced singers that I teach were blown away by the breath management tools, and are now more confident in their own voices!
Nicolás Tabarracci
Singer & Singing Teacher, Argentina
KATJA IS LIKE A BARREL FULL OF KNOWLEDGE AND INSPIRATION FROM WHERE I CAN DRAW WHENEVER I FEEL STUCK
When I graduated from the Conservatory of Groningen 2012, I was looking for a singing teacher who could further help me with my vocal technique. I was experiencing voice problems, and my sound was not always what I wanted it to be like. I had been taught in Complete Vocal Technique during an exchange year at the Conservatory of Antwerp, and was looking specifically to study more with a CVT teacher with affinity for Jazz. That turned out to be Katja!
Over the years I have followed lessons with Katja, and have been coached by her not just in vocal technique, but also in teaching, performance, planning for major artistic projects – and actually in life in general.
For me, Katja is like a barrel full of knowledge and inspiration from where I can draw whenever I feel stuck. Whether it’s a voice related thing, a question about a student I teach, or organizing my work better – after a lesson with Katja I always have new ideas and insights, and it always helps me to get unstuck!
A moment that I never will forget is, when I was experiencing voice problems and sent Katja a desperate message. She immediately advised me what to do, and put me at ease. Besides being a good advisor, Katja is for me an accountability partner, and above all a very smart, sweet and funny coach. And a real voice nerd! I think working with Katja is so great because she can really help you with a variety of things. She has knowledge of so many things, researches different approaches, and is open to many perspectives. In addition to that, she is reliable and really looks at the person she’s working with. I believe you can’t wish for a better teacher.
Evelien Storm
Singer, Songwriter & Singing Teacher, The Netherlands
I’M NOW ADDING NEW SONGS TO MY REPERTOIRE WITH MUCH MORE CONFIDENCE, I KNOW THAT I CAN DO IT!
I’ve studied classical singing, had voice lessons at a musical theatre school, and at the conservatory for popular music. Two years ago, I started my own singing school in Buenos Aires.
With the techniques I studied before, including the musical theatre studies, I still couldn’t access all the sounds I wanted to produce. Some teachers told me: “These sounds are not healthy”, and others said “It’s this singers’ personality that makes them sound like this, you are different”. And of course, I have my own personality too, but what if I want to make that sound? I knew it must be possible for a human voice to do so, because I was hearing it! So hearing it wasn’t possible, made me feel very frustrated. I tried on my own, and I was close to sounding like I wanted to, but it didn’t feel comfortable yet.
So I started searching for answers on YouTube, and that’s how I ended up finding Katja too. YouTube is a great resource, but because I also wanted to be able to teach a variety of techniques to my own students, I didn’t feel that learning only by watching YouTube clips only was responsible enough.
Sing Everything was amazing! It was my first time studying online, and to be honest, I was a bit sceptical. I was wondering what I’d learn from studying with a real person, and how this would be different from watching videos.
It was like having Katja in my own home! Katja’s personality makes it very easy to establish a connection with her. Some teachers use difficult words and are very serious and solemn in their approach, which creates a distance, but the way Katja teaches feels very personal and easy to understand. And the results are right there! You don’t have to wait six weeks to hear results, it’s right there!
I’m now adding new songs to my repertoire with much more confidence, I know that I can do it! Now it’s easier and faster to find out what I have to do in order to sound in a specific way. And I also developed a more kinaesthetic sense: I feel that I am now very connected to my body and aware of how to move and fine-tune very specific parts. I loved the layered approach of tuning the vocal tract, one part at a time.
I got so much out of the course as a teacher too. Explaining breathing and support to my students is now suddenly so easy! Now I can explain vocal technique to my students in a much more organized way, and really build things up “completely from scratch”. I feel more confident as a teacher, and my students love what I can offer them now.
The online platforms that Katja uses for her course are very easy to use and make the learning experience fantastic. The course page with the lesson materials and lesson replays is always open in my internet browser, it’s like a reference library I can return to whenever I want to.
It’s super comfortable too: you can immerse yourself in deep study while being at home in your pyjamas and slippers! And it’s not like you’re spending time with your computer, but you’re connected with other people around the world who are sharing exactly the same passion for the voice as you have. What could be better than that!
Ayelen Insua
Singer & Singing Teacher, Argentina
I LOST FEAR!
Katja’s teaching is very inspirational and out of the general singing teaching box. I have worked with other singing teachers, and they were all more or less delivering one style of teaching. Katja has got many ways of getting solutions to one problem, her teaching is very diverse. Many teachers don’t have an artistic life anymore, but Katja has a living music career that she shares – that’s also inspiring me.
After having participated in Katja’s online course, I lost fear! I guess in every singer, because your instrument is a part of yourself, there is a lot of possibility for fear. But if you work together with other people, you lose this fear, since you allow yourself to make bad sounds in front of others. It’s so relieving, it makes you so strong as a learner.
Katja’s goal exercises helped a lot, and have changed my work ethics and my work structure. To be honest – after her online course, I had a structure in my work for the very first time in my life! And that’s a great feeling.
Tamara Pientka
Singer & Singing Teacher, Germany
NOW I FEEL MORE LIKE A REAL VOICE TEACHER
Katja always puts the student in the spotlight. It’s all about YOU and how she can help you the best. She is empathetic and objective at the same time, which makes you feel very comfortable as a student.
I took a course for singing teachers, with Katja as the course instructor. Learning in a group consisting of peers gave me a lot of confidence in my own teaching skills. There will always be those who have more experience, and who are teaching singing for a longer time than I have, but that does not mean I cannot help singers! The teaching tools I have learned are great. And I have learned to trust that I don’t have to rush into solutions, but can take the time to really listen to the singer I’m working with, and then choose the right tool from my toolbox. Now I feel more like a real voice teacher than I did before!
Floor Horninge
Music Teacher, Singing Teacher & Singer, The Netherlands
SINGING BECAME EASIER
I wanted to learn techniques to improve my “mixed voice” and find more tools for my teaching. I saw a video of Katja on Youtube and wanted to learn more about Complete Vocal Technique. For me, CVT was a completely new approach on working with the voice. It seemed very clear and interesting. I also wanted to learn more tools for my work as a singing teacher.
After having followed an online course with Katja, singing became more easy. I learned better breath support and became able to reach high notes with more ease. I feel my voice doesn’t flip anymore, it’s more stable. Before working with Katja, I did not know why I was doing certain exercices or scales, and I couldn’t apply the techniques into my songs. As a teacher, the course gave me a LOT of tools – simple and efficient exercises, and easy ways to explain things. Now I have more tools to help my students directly in their songs!
Carole Sénecal
Singer & Singing Teacher, Canada
I’VE NEVER LOST MY VOICE AGAIN
As an Early Childhood Music Teacher and choir conductor, I sing every day for my profession: on stage during concerts and teaching young children. To let the children sing with ease it’s important that I sing on their pitch, which is somewhat higher and outside of my comfort zone. I used to become hoarse regularly, especially after speaking for long periods of time, after a busy choir rehearsal or a long teaching day. With coaching some things became better, but my voice always had this weak link. Until I worked with Katja.
Since I started taking lessons with her, my voice can handle much more! I can teach long days, speak and sing: I’ve never lost my voice again! The structured voice techniques for speaking and singing were ingrained in my system already in a couple of intensive lessons. I apply the techniques that I learn directly into my work, and pass them on even to the youngest generation: a healthy use of the voice begins with being a good role model for the youngest of students. Many of the exercises I learn with Katja are possible to bring into the early childhood classroom in game form.
What’s great about Katja is her broad knowledge that goes beyond Complete Vocal Technique, as well as her very personal coaching style. She always finds a way to teach me in a way that I learn the best.
Félice van der Sande
Early Childhood Music Teacher, Choir Director & Singer, The Netherlands
INSPIRING!
Katja is a great and enthousiastic teacher, with deep and detailed knowledge of the voice and how it works. I find her lessons inspirational and I recommend her strongly. She’s the kind of teacher that makes you sing the songs you never dared to sing and has solutions for every ‘problem’ along the way. Inspiring!
Margriet Sjoerdsma
Singer-Songwriter & Vocal Coach, The Netherlands
I AM MUCH MORE CONFIDENT WITH SINGING NOW
I joined Katja’s online classroom because I wanted to know more about the CVT techniques, and be able to use them in my own voice in a more conscious way. I learned a lot and I am very satisfied with this course! Finally I found my ‘head voice’/Neutral, and I can even vary with sound color in it. The course helped me enormously with my breathing, so many things became clearer. I had a lot of discoveries in my voice during this course and keep making discoveries even after it. I am much more confident with singing now, even on stage which is very important for me. I can hit higher notes with more twang, and I can explain much more about the voice to others, it’s amazing!
Liana Rudak
Singer, Lithuania