Sing With Me - Performing Arts School

hnikon in 1999 with a Higher National Diploma in Drama specializing in singing and dance. In my capacity as an actor, I have presented for television, done voice work for radio and television, as well as appearing in corporate, musical and children’s theatre productions. In 2000 I completed my first international contract in Taiwan as a dancer at 'Encore Garden Park'. I travelled overseas as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for “The Online Band”. The band had numerous contracts in 5-star hotels in Asia and the Middle East from 2001 to 2008. Since then, I have been based in Johannesburg, freelancing, and dividing my time between performing, recording, teaching and writing my own music. My teaching career began facilitating group workshops for children aged 7 to 18 at the National Children’s Theatre in Parktown in 1999 and I taught singing and music workshops there from 2007 to 2012. The workshops included singing, acting and dance to give young people a holistic set of skills to perform on stage. I started “The Tulla Show – School of Music” in 2008 due to a demand from private students. My students include people from all walks of life; they range from 6 to 65 years old and have varying levels of musical knowledge. All my students have their own ambitions and reasons for wanting to learn more about music and singing. I am passionate about tailor-making an individual plan to help them achieve their goals and ultimately overcome their inhibitions. I feel my time spent with a student is so much more than just a singing or music lesson; I like to think of it as an “Artist Development Session”. Throughout my teaching career, I have had a calling for working with people with special needs. Despite no longer being based at the school, I am continuing to nurture my students from Bellavista. They have a range of learning and developmental challenges and I create specific programs for every student. My lessons are designed to get the best out of every individual and help my students build their confidence. Singing and music is a wonderful therapeutic outlet for everyone. I have been teaching contract at Crawford College in Benmore since mid-2008 until the present. I have taught Junior Music Theory and Subject Music but mostly I teach all grades of singing students. Some are doing singing as an extramural and others do music as a subject with voice as their main instrument. I also teach from my studio at home in Franklin Roosevelt Park. In 2011, I attained a Rockschool Trinity Grade 8 Performance Certificate with distinction. It was a great experience which inspired me to study further. In 2012, I attained a level 6 Teaching Licentiate (LRSL) from Rockschool, where I also received a distinction. Singing Lesson Information:

As a starting point for my lessons, I focus mainly on developing and strengthening my student's optimal natural voice through correct techniques including vocal placement, good breathing, and posture. I teach scales and a variety of vocal exercises to improve overall pitch and tone. In the latter part of my lessons, I usually focus on learning songs which are chosen together with the student. All songs require specific or varied techniques and understanding how to master them. Learning songs helps my students to strengthen their techniques and become better singers. The more songs that my students can learn throughout the year, the more they will learn about music as a whole and gain the knowledge required to build a varied repertoire. In this way, we will continue to add songs and build a solid repertoire with various styles of songs from different genres. Once my student is comfortable with the song, I focus on perfecting their performance and delivery of the song. This results in my students learning about the many different aspects of singing and music. They will develop their musical appreciation and confidence as a singer and performer. This could lead to enrolling the student in an external exam, joining an ensemble or band, auditioning for a show, or working towards a performance of some kind. I believe strongly in giving my students tangible goals to work towards so that they can expand their singing horizons on a practical level. Although I am not a classical singing teacher, I use some classical singing techniques in my teaching. The repertoire I teach is mostly pop, rock and contemporary music and it is based on the ‘Rockschool’ and ‘Trinity Rock ‘n Pop’ syllabi. I am always keen, however, to learn new songs and styles and incorporate music and genres specifically requested by my students. Music Lesson Information:
I teach a variety of instruments including recorder, piano, keyboard, guitar, drums, ukulele, percussion, and music theory. I also facilitate higher music qualifications including professional diplomas from Rockschool (Level 4 and Level 6 Licentiates). For more information on any of these lessons, please contact me directly. Rockschool is based in the UK and is the leading accredited provider of contemporary music exams worldwide. The Graded Music Exams, Diplomas and Vocational Qualifications are taught the world over and are renowned for their flexibility and creativity. Inspired by the legends of rock and pop, the qualifications are created with the contemporary student and musician in mind. Students learn by playing or singing the music they love and gain an internationally recognized qualification in the process. For more information visit: https://www.rslawards.com
Trinity - Rock ‘n Pop is the contemporary music syllabus that has been created for vocals, guitar, bass, drums and keyboard by the Trinity School of Music in London. These exams teach performance skills, boost confidence, improve technique and are internationally recognized qualifications. For more information visit: www.trinityrock.com

P.S Having a party? Arranging a function? Need entertainment, sound, and lighting? Look no further! I can perform at your event as a solo artist and/or M.C or with my live band, even adding a D.J or any other combination required. I have a diverse selection of music including jazzy background sounds, building up to light rock and pop classics and then partying the night away with today’s hits, all the while keeping everyone on the dance floor. I play guitar and percussion and especially enjoy performing South African songs in a variety of languages. I also provide my own high- quality sound and lighting. Please do not hesitate to contact me for all your entertainment needs. Thanks so much for choosing The Tullashow – School of Music. It is always a pleasure to teach you!