Ms Norwood is an excellent instructor of voice. I took one lesson with her, but lost my confidence in myself due to decades of traumatic abuse unrelated to this. She was extremely patient and kind, and very encouraging. Most of all I appreciated her honesty and although it has been several years I still remember her more encouraging comments. As such I have not abandoned singing completely and am moving back to it. Since she gave me a recording of the lesson I am able to go back and practice techniques she taught me. I hope to be able to afford her again soon. read more

Virginia is an incredibly intuitive and supportive vocal coach. She took me from being completely out of shape vocally after a long period of disuse to being in excellent performing shape for live shows. I always look forward to her lessons and have a great time. read more

Joe is the best electric guitar player in San Diego county. I've been taking lessons from him for two years and I went from basically being an acoustic guitar strummer to knowing scales and modes very well and being able to improvise solos on any song in real time. I have easily eclipsed all the other guitar players I know who aren't professionals when it comes to playing lead and rhythm guitar. Joe knows music theory as well as tricks of the trade that made me advance incredibly fast. I also take voice lessons from Virginia, and she helps with range and technique as well as getting the right vocal "attitude" for songs you want to sing. Both her and Joe and great and patient teachers. read more

Both Virginia (for voice!) and Joe (for guitar!) are excellent, caring instructors! I started taking voice from Virginia last year and while I'm not (nor trying to be) a professional singer, I wanted to strengthen my mixed voice. Virginia knows how to do it! She helps you to take your voice to a much stronger & clearer tone in a very precise and helpful way. Joe is an excellent guitarist and really helpful to take your guitar playing to the next level whether you are a beginner or advanced guitarist! Both Joe & Virginia are very encouraging and good at what they do! read more

Our daughter has taken guitar and voice with Joe and Virginia for almost 9 years. She continues to grow and learn about music, music theory, performance and correct technique. Joe and Virginia are encouraging and highly effective teachers. They work miracles to help students of all ages find their voice and their guitar style. Seeing their recitals is always a study in courage and the magic of watching performances for kids/adults who may have never done it without support and excellent preparation. read more

Before meeting Virginia, I couldn't sing even 1 note in tune, even though I've played guitar most of my life. I was lucky enough to find her, and I can happily say that I've far far far exceeded my initial goals and am happy with my singing voice! I'm writing songs and have the tools to last a lifetime thanks to Virginia. I've since recommended several friends who have also learned to sing thanks to her! Best of all, the techniques and methods encourage a natural singing voice, so nothing feels or sounds forced. She teaches all ages as well, I've heard some amazing students of hers of all ages from kids on up through adults. In addition to private lessons, I've taken some group classes and sang in recitals, and you can tell that everyone she teaches is grateful to have her as a teacher. If you are even considering singing or improving your singing, you will never find a better teacher and coach to get you to the next level! read more

As far as the other teachers in this studio, I cannot comment on them, this review is strictly about Virginia's lessons. Virginia may be ok for kids and people who only want to learn to sing for fun, but if you have real career aspirations she isn't really focused on helping you develop into a professional singing career. I spent a lot of money for two years and had very slow progress. She barely got me to 2 octaves, and I wasn't very strong with those octaves and I struggled with staying in key. We spent too much time working on Nays, Mums and syllables and no time on breath support. In the end she didn't keep up with her promises to help me with a song I was recording, although she expected me to follow her rules which I did. I was disappointed how it would take her up to 3 weeks to reply to me yet expected no less then 24 hrs notice if I owed her something. She simply didn't come through with the assistance she promised in a timely fashion and drove me to seek a new teacher. After reading how SLS doesn't train you with the proper breath support, I tried a Bel Canto teacher who in 3 lessons had me singing over 3 octaves with excellent resonance and perfectly in key simply by teaching me the proper breath control. Because SLS requires the teacher to not teach anything outside of its curriculum, Virginia's method will always be lacking unless/until Seth Riggs starts putting in breath control into the method or she chooses to abandon teaching the technique. SLS is incomplete and lends to the crippling her teaching proper and effective singing techniques as my experience has shown me. I was very upset at how she kept forgetting me but wanted to keep on with Virginia until I figured out how much I wasn't getting much for my money. If you are serious about your career as a professional vocalist, and aren't just learning to sing for fun, I cannot give my recommendation for her (or even SLS style of singing at that). Otherwise if you just want to be somewhat decent at the local karaoke nights YMMV. read more

Joe Norwood is a fantastic guitar teacher who works at your pace and is great with kids. I have a ten year old and 14 year old who see him weekly and he switches gears between them just like that. A very no pressure make it fun environment but coupled with really learning music. I cannot recommend him enough! read more

I started with Virginia just recently. Not as a complete beginner, but rather as someone who has enjoyed singing and little performances here and there for years. I had a relatively pleasant voice, though I knew it was much softer than it could be. After starting in a more rock/soul oriented band, I realized I needed access to power in my voice, and a steadier, more confident progression through my range. And to learn just how the heck are you supposed to use that diaphragm anyway?! Learning by video exercise can only do so much! And thus, I found Virginia on Thumbtack. Her experience, continuing vocal education, and participation in bands herself greatly appealed to me and I let this good feeling lead me to her tutelage. And then..one lesson. That's all it took to open the gates to the improvement I was looking for! I was by no means -there- yet, but the level of power and clarity I increased to after that one free intro was really surprising to what I had expected. She seemed to know what parts of myself I had strength in and which parts I was having trouble utilizing. Instead of vague guidance she had clear, precise troubleshooting. She showed me a technical diagram of what my vocal cords were doing to my sound. She also instructed not only with exercises to train cords, but also with explanations for them. She also gave helpful ways of imagining sound in the head to assist in vocalizing each exercise correctly. Also, she seemed to "learn" my voice very quickly, picking up on what I needed work on and what styles matched me. And there is a helpful little stage in the back with a mic to practice actual stage presence as well. Throughout the two other lessons I've continued with her, things just keep getting better. It seems to me this is complete package training here! The exercises are smoothing out my weak spots, boosting my chest power and I'm learning how to correctly engage the stomach, and keep everything in my mouth positioned correctly. And I got tips on technical performance things like usage of in ear monitors, etc. I feel like I've already gotten a lot out of the mere couple of lessons I have so far attended. I managed to shock all my bandmates with my sudden improvement, which was a reeeeeally great time =). I can't wait to see how I'll progress later on down the line! read more

Virginia is great! My daughters are loving learning to sing with her. Their voices have improved in many regards, and Virginia is kind, fun and good-natured. She's a pleasure. read more

I am completely impressed by this music studio. My son has been taking weekly guitar lessons with Joe Norwood for two years and has learned so much that, with some work and rehearsal, he can play lead guitar on songs like "Apache," "Sleepwalk," and "Pipeline" with an ensemble band. I think one of my favorite aspects of this music studio is that Joe and Virginia work really hard to set their students up for success by teaching them the tools and providing the rehearsal time students need to perform at their best. Joe is the consummate teacher--he moves at a pace that's equal parts rewarding and challenging for each student. For my son, Joe decided to introduce music theory in addition to standard guitar lessons, and it has brought my son's understanding of music to a higher level. Joe has taught my son how to take proper care of his guitar, how to change the strings, and how to understand the relationships among notes and chords. Joe has also made sure my son understands how important it is to use an amp at a low volume and to use protective earplugs if he's going to be around loud music. My son may not always listen to what his parents tell him, but he listens 100 percent to what Mr. Norwood tells him. We couldn't be happier to have found Norwood Music Studios. read more

I visit the Norwood Music Studios southern location at their home studio in San Diego, CA. Virginia's husband, Joe Norwood is quite an accomplished guitarist and my favored guitar instructor. I have been playing guitar for years and have only progressed to a decent level. Under instruction of Joe Norwood, a new door of achievement has been tapped into. Joe as an instructor teaches what other guitar instructors don't. ( How to play the guitar as an extension of your body.) A new world has opened up for me. I strongly recommend Joe as an instructor for all levels of guitar playing. Since my six months of studying with Joe, I have been able to work my fingers for lead work which has improved under Joe's instruction. He offers what many other past guitar teachers of mine have not. I highly recommend Norwood Studios for guitar and other music instruction!!! J. H. Lesser La Mesa, CA read more

I have been taking voice lessons from Virginia for just under two years now, and am extremely happy with my experience. I had taken vocal training before, but never felt like I really got it. What does it mean to push your diaphragm down? How do you go from chest to head voice? My goal was to develop my soprano voice and increase my upper range. What I found was that this occurred by developing my chest voice and getting my vocal chords together. As a result, I have a crazy terrific expanded lower range and can sing higher than I ever thought I could. Virginia guided me through many different types of exercises to use my diaphragm and develop good breathing habits, get my vocal chords together, shape vowels, and move my larynx down. We worked on different styles of music, each offering their unique challenges. Virginia's Solana Beach studio is equipped with microphones and a stage, so you can really practice performance techniques. Virginia records each lesson and gives it to you at the end of each session, so you can review material as often as desired. I have received a lot of compliments on my new voice, and I would recommend Virginia to everyone! read more