gfire

I love working with children and adults of all ages! And I teach a unique and fun vocal method – currently I am the only one in the United States teaching the wonderful “Yoga For the Voice” technique. You can read my "1000-word intro to Yoga for the Voice" for more info.

Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned pro, my voice lessons, piano lessons, folk guitar lessons, and songwriting lessons are geared to the individual.

How does it work?

I find that these 3 platforms work well for lessons:

• Skype
• FaceTime
• Zoom

I have been teaching voice, piano, folk guitar, and songwriting for over 25 years, having studied at the University of Maryland, College Park, and privately in Baltimore, Maryland, in Austin, Texas, in Los Angeles, and in London, England. Lessons are a great way to express your creativity!

Lesson Testimonials

"Annie is DONE and went well! We were all so impressed by Eliza’s confidence and grace under pressure (she handled a couple prop mishaps without missing a cue!) and can’t thank you enough for working with her on the Annie songs. She had a mic on so it was a good thing she was already really comfortable with the songs as they didn’t get to practice with the mic until the dress rehearsal right before the show. Only 3 (her, Annie and Tessie) of the 10 orphans on stage were mic-ed, so we could really hear her. The time and money we spent with you was sooooo worth it. Thanks for being such an amazing singing teacher!"

Anne Dara Bowen
mom to 5 year old lead singer/actress
Austin, Texas

"gfire teaches people of all ages - piano, guitar, voice - and has a true desire to instill a love of music in her students. She tailors her sessions to fit students’ interests which is highly motivating and has practical explanations (and fun for children) for theoretical applications and gives great rational to keep you practicing. My two daughters have taken lessons for over 2.5 years (they are now 6 and 9). gfire’s Patience and energy has been wonderful - they WANT to keep taking lessons and I highly recommend her! It’s been a joy to watch my daughters discover and love piano - and that is thanks to gfire."

Elizabeth Hampton
piano mom
Austin, Texas

"I appreciate the way you balanced the technical aspects of learning piano with fun. You identified teaching materials that included fun pieces that taught me the basics needed to play blues piano. This balance kept the lessons and my practice time interesting.

You are a wonderful teacher. You taught me the discipline needed to learn difficult passages that I will be able to use as I progress in my playing. You kept lessons fun and time always moved too fast."

Mark Ballard
pianist
Seguin, Texas

“hi gfire,
just wanted to write and say that the gig went really well! i played 1 hour of background music first, then we had our little “concert.” i decided to play the first line of ‘in time content’ along with my singing- just like we did it in the lesson, and i think i will just continue that! it sounds fine, and makes me feel more confident. ‘gift,’ and ‘every night’ went well too.…there were almost 80 people there, and i sold 11 cd's! and 2 stores in town are going to continue to sell cd's for me, so that is cool. i will talk to you at our next lesson! thanks for everything!”

Kristi Bartleson
singer-songwriter
Boulder, Colorado

"gfire combines the techniques of Sinus Tone Production and the practices of yoga with her own purposeful intentions to bring out the best tones of the singer. Her teaching style is relaxed, spiritually grounded, and attuned to honor both the voice and the listener. She inspires confidence in me, and has quickly improved the quality of my voice. I look forward to my lessons!"

Martha Pinto
singer/songwriter
Georgetown, Texas

“I was essentially a ‘blank slate’ coming into my first voice lesson in YEARS. It’s been especially appreciated to receive confidence building reinforcement respective of my individual learning style. gfire is inspiring and moving; (she helps me) to reach inside my own musical identity. Kudos!”

FML
musician
Austin, Texas

“gfire is excellent. She paces the lessons perfectly to fit the student’s needs. She is incredibly supportive and encouraging. gfire’s years of experience both playing and teaching the piano are evident: She skillfully and effortlessly passes on her knowledge of piano to her students. gfire has reignited my passion for learning and playing piano.”

Andres Lopez
counselor
Austin, Texas