John DeRobertis

One of the most unique and wonderful people I have ever met! You will love lessons with John. I’ll be straight with you… you cannot go in here expecting to come out an American Idol. He can definitely help you get there but that is not the point.
Coming from a guy who found his authentic voice from John!

John is by far the most comprehensive and dynamic vocal instructor I have had. I started taking weekly lessons with him 2 years ago and I’ve only missed a few weeks since then! John calls his teaching «The Power of Conscious Singing,» I would describe it as that and more. He has assisted me in escaping the fears that plague most singers by helping me calm my mind and focus on breathing. He is highly adaptable and willing to work on my personal goals as well as offering constructive criticism. I also appreciate the relaxed atmosphere that is more informal and comfortable than lessons I’ve had in the past. Also his prices are really affordable compared to other instructors! John is a kind soul and I always look forward to our lessons. Even when I’m having a bad day or not feeling like a good singer, after each lesson I am often more optimistic about singing and feel that I have achieved something. I highly recommend you give John a try… I was hooked after the first lesson!

John bridges the gap between the voice and the soul. He is a very special voice teacher and life/​spiritual teacher as well. He puts his whole being and spirit into his lessons. As far as my own path as a singer/​songwriter, John has worked with me intensely and helped me locate my inner voice over the years I’ve worked with him. I also see how much benefit all of his students are gaining through his teachings.

I’ve been taking voice lessons with John for over a year now. When I look back at the time when I started, I am amazed at how far I have come in my singing and musical abilities. He helped me to uncover and develop the gifts I had within to help me express myself fully and truly from my heart to the rest of the universe.

I’ve been singing all my life but I knew I’ve always needed a voice teacher to bring out my real voice. What John teaches goes beyond technique. He incorporates performance with singing, or really, he customizes how he teaches each student attuning to who they are. He encourages singing from the heart and helps you explore what singing/​performance is really about. He also plays the guitar and is a master improviser. He is great for all styles, but I’d say exceptionally great for jazz singers because he creates sounds like no other I’ve heard. He is a very generous teacher, who has even helped me create an album and helped me through shows (including playing the side stage at the Concord Pavilion and Sleeptrain Amphitheater in Marysville for the Backstreet Boys). For the quality and expertise, his fees are really modest on top of that.

When I first went to John I was an aspiring singer/​songwriter. The songwriter piece of it I had a decent handle on. The singing piece of it left a lot to be desired and little to the imagination. I had the kind of voice that would scare off alley cats and send small children scampering into their mother’s arms. To put it lamely, I had a pretty good yell…
I had absolutely no prior experience beyond snickering when I was a child at those church goers, who always seemed to have more gusto in their vibrato than religious fervor, but John somehow seemed to know exactly in which direction to take my voice and he took it there. He taught me to sing more from me, rather than from a contracted mock up of what I thought singing was supposed to be. Eventually, my voice started to mellow out, level off in volume and sharpen up in reality.
He’s a voice teacher with a comprehensive blend of any and every style imaginable (literally) and technique, with an emphasis on singing from the heart in a way that can be powerful and sweet, breathy and lusty, gritty and growly, smooth and wistful, melodic and balanced. He helps you to intensify your presence not only while singing in your shower, but also while you’re on stage in performance (I wasn’t really performing when I met him, because I was terrified to do so. I am now though, relatively comfortably). He’s taught me how to deepen my songwriting and composing ability and how to play my guitar more freely and easily. His easy going demeanor makes voice lessons an enjoyable experience and I often left feeling great and eager to get to work.
John’s ability with his voice pretty much blew my mind and in most ways is more sophisticated than anyone I’ve ever heard living or dead (I recognize that’s a pretty big statement, but true nonetheless). His vocal improvisation is literally unparalleled, ranging from exotically experimental to simply bad ass, and the way he takes a song, old or new, is creative and different every time (I remember having tears in my eyes after he sang «America the Beautiful» to me in his hallway at the end of a lesson — and I’m neither the patriotic type nor the type to cry).
For your more practical types, John’s rates are astoundingly cheap relative to the San Francisco market and his extensive experience (a broadway play, a quality album, etc…) and he’s very flexible with his schedule.