Reviews
I have taken voice 5 or 6 times in the past…
“I cannot recommend Chris highly enough. I have taken voice 5 or 6 times in the past, and he is by far the best teacher I have ever had. He is clearly extremely knowledgeable and experienced, and is a natural teacher. Excellent at putting you at ease, he first gets to know your voice and your musical preferences, and tailors his teaching to what is best for you individually. His explanations, suggestions, and exercises are all clear and helpful. He also has a sense of humor, and knows how to make each lesson enjoyable and fun. I can’t think of anything I would change, and I feel fortunate to have him as a teacher. “
Jeanine W. PHD
"The first coach I feel comfortable with and who helps me feel more confident"
My daughter and I highly recommend Chris!! My daughter is a 9th grader in choir with a passion for performance in musical theatre. After her 1st lesson, my daughter immediately said, “Mom, he’s REALLY good. I want to keep going to him.” After the 2nd lesson, she said, “He’s the first coach who I really feel comfortable with and who helps me feel more confident. I actually have fun during lessons and am learning so much already.”
Jennifer R.
I wasn’t sure if lessons would even make a difference..
“I can’t speak highly enough of Chris. He has far exceeded my expectations as a vocal coach. Before I met Chris I was skeptical that I could even become a better singer. I wasn’t sure if lessons would even make a difference. After a couple months of taking lessons with Chris, I can honestly say that I have noticed significant improvement in my singing. He has helped me to have better control over my voice through fun and engaging exercises. Since I was a beginner, it was hard for me to understand the point of some of the vocal exercise and how it translated to me becoming the type of singer I wanted to be.
Chris was able to cater my lessons to help me better understand them by working on a song of my choice and choosing exercise to help me sing the song in the style that I liked. Lessons done in this way have been incredibly fun since I know the meaning and purpose behind the exercises that I do. Also, Chris is great at listening to your voice and finding ways to explain why you are making the sound that you are and what you need to do to create the sound that you want. I look forward to going to my lessons ever week because with every lessons I know I’m one step closer to becoming the singer that I want to be. I couldn’t be happier with Chris and synergistic singing.”
-Si W.
Don’t look back on your life, wishing you had sung.
My Kids Have Developed Confidence in Their Singing Skills
I have a middle school and high school student that have both worked with Mr. Abdo for vocal and piano lessons. He always makes learning fun for his students! Thanks to Mr. Abdo my kids have developed confidence in their singing skills. I highly recommend Mr. Abdo for anyone that loves music and wants to develop their skills! Mr. Abdo is very professional and super easy to schedule and work with!
Kim M.
Chris is wonderful with my daughter. I presented him with a list of issues she was having, and he had a structured lesson tailored to her needs ready the very first lesson. He has a way of making students feel comfortable from the very first lesson. I would highly recommend him!! Rachel M.
I would recommend Chris for singers of all levels of experience. He has helped me work on opera and musical theater pieces, and I have gained a much greater appreciation for the difference between dark and bright sounds. Chris has helped me work on rehearsal pieces and I have gone into rehearsals feeling much more confident than I used to.
Don’t look back on your life, wishing you had sung.
With Chris I feel I am finally going somewhere better with my voice...
I have been a musician and singer all my life but have had some trouble understanding the theories behind correct singing and their practical applications. I have always known I needed help with certain aspects of my singing, but I didn't even know how to explain what I needed help with in a way that made sense. With Chris I feel I am finally going somewhere better with my voice and my understanding of what singing is.
The first thing you notice when you are getting acquainted is that Chris has a pleasant and gracious presence. He is also fun/funny, yet task-oriented. I would imagine with his personality he could make any man, woman or child, whether an experienced vocalist or not, feel at ease enough to bust out singing and get to work!
Chris is so good at telling you 1) what to work on 2) exactly how to work on it and 3) explaining why it will help, which is huge for me. After my first lesson I found myself practicing techniques and exercises he taught me and I almost jumped out of my skin at how much better he'd already made me.
Teaching singing seems to be second nature to Chris. I truly feel he holds all the good info to give people to help them excel. Definitely try his lessons, whether you want to learn how to sing for the first time, get better at singing, or already sound like Mariah Carey but just want someone cool to hang out with!
An Adventure in Personal Discovery Development
An Active and Collaborative Approach to Teaching this Adult Beginner
“Working with Chris is and adventure in personal discovery and development. As a retired research librarian I had to asky myself why.
— Actively Diagnostic — Chris found out for himself where I actually am. We started with a (very) short music / singing history, a directional goal based on what I hoped to do, then actual breath and sound work to find out what my breath and sound was at that very moment. He even used that diagnostic process to begin to help me become aware of what I’m doing now. For example, to breathe in a specific way and notice what happened, and describe it. Then breathe a different way and compare it. Already I was learning the physical awareness I need to develop.
— Discovery not Dogma.– After the first month of lessons I still haven’t been told what ‘the right way’ to do something is. At least not by Chris. My whole body is telling me what it prefers to do when I’m not telling it to things ‘my’ way.
— Experiential Learning. — The beginning for me is to learn to feel breath in my body, to be aware of where it is and how it moves, and what happens to other systems in the body. A new version of learning to rub your tummy while patting your head.
— Collegial and Collaborative.— I’ve begun to think of lessons with Chris as a series of experiments with comments on results of each step, repeating steps as needed, then again with variations. Chris may be the ‘lead investigator’ guiding the experiments, but as co-experimentor I have the dual role of being the subject and a primary observer (aka ‘student’). I’ve asked Chris to repeat an experiment so I see what it looks like from the outside, and to get a better idea of the process.
— Awake and Aware.– Or as I’m more used to calling it – mindfulness. I check in with my body several times a day to see what the breath and body systems are doing at that moment and relate it to the lesson and earlier check-ins. There is a (nearly) daily practice session, focused on 1 to 3 points that emerged from the work in the last lesson.
** Though it’s been only a month since I began working with Chris, I find not only chages in vocal qualities, but some of the principles are creeping constructively into other areas of life (including saxophone lessons).
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When considering the review consider also the reviewer background: Age 59, my last (“real”) music lesson (piano) was 51 years ago, and my last music class was in 6th grade (almost 50 years ago, when we played soprano recorders for a few weeks). Truly a beginner!”
Caomhán
Don’t look back on your life, wishing you had sung.
I Can't Thank Chris Enough for the Encouragement and Support He's Pouring Out
“Chris has helped me exponentially in many regards. In the short time I’ve taken lessons with him, Chris has already introduced me to the world of belting (healthfully of course) and has shown me singing techniques I had never heard of or tried before. He is also helping me explore my more dramatic side by incorporating expressiveness and emotions into my singing. I cannot thank Chris enough for the encouragement and support he’s pouring out, enabling me to grow not only as a singer, but a performer as well. -Kelsey H.
Kelsey H.
A Bright Spot in My Daughter's Day
My daughter is a high school junior, and has been involved in choir and vocal performance since the 3rd grade. Chris is her third voice instructor over those years. He is by far the best. Talented and technically competent, he efficiently uses every minute of instruction time. His very positive, supportive, and just plain fun instruction style always makes his lesson a bright spot in my daughter’s day. As a parent, I am very pleased and highly recommend Chris. Dean. F
Dean F.
I Would Recommend Chris to Anyone...In Fact I Have!
Chris was an excellent instructor for my daughter. She can be extremely shy and she had no issues at all Chris. She was comfortable with him and really has enjoyed the lessons she has been taking. Chris is extremely understanding and flexible when it comes to scheduling. His communication to me as a parent was second to none, I was always kept in the loop. Chris was so understanding with my 13 year old girl who has a love for show tunes!!! He has a an incredibly vast knowledge of music and was able to suggest songs for my daughter that she had not been exposed to and she ended up loving. I would recommend Chris to anyone... in fact I have!
Kate W.
Chris is a Gifted Voice Teacher...
Chris is a gifted voice teacher. My granddaughter has some speech problems and the singing lessons are helping her become more confident using her voice. Chris gives positive encouragement and has a great deal of patience. My very quiet granddaughter loves her lessons Chris makes her feel confident enough that she initiates conversation with him. He is helping my granddaughter control her voice volume when she sings and that has carried over into her speech. He always has a smile on his face and a good humor that puts his students at ease. He communicates well with us and works with us on lesson times. As a grandmother I so appreciate all he is doing for my granddaughter. If you are looking for an exceptional singing instructor call Chris and schedule a lesson. Jamie W.
Jamie W.
Simple, Concrete Explanations
“As someone with only a small amount of vocal training and knowledge, I needed an experience that would cater to my current skill-level and encourage me to move forward. Chris made me feel completely comfortable and emphasized the importance of singing naturally. Chris offered me simple, concrete explanations of how the voice works and why we implement certain singing exercises – this makes our practice together fun and natural, and reveals the relative simplicity in applying certain vocal techniques. He was very personable, consistently offered more explanation when needed, and invited me to help shape the lesson experience by asking for my input and feedback. Most importantly, he gave me real recommendations that I could start applying immediately! Chris is very knowledgeable – I would definitely recommend his services and plan to have more lessons with him!”
-Andi. S
A Breath of Fresh Air
My daughter has been taking voice lessons for a few years and is fairly advanced in her ability and technique. We were crushed when her voice teacher moved out of state, and we found ourselves in the market for a new teacher. We were beyond pleased to find Chris as her new vocal coach. He has helped my daughter fine-tune her vocal tone quality, expand her musicality, and overall take her singing ability to a new level. His professionalism is a breath of fresh air; he’s always on time and has a fantastic demeanor. We would highly recommend! Mele A.
Mele. A
“Inspired! Excellent! Highly Recommended! I was very impressed with Chris. I left excited and informed. He worked with me from where I was and I left with so much more than I imagined. I am inspired. I look forward to my next lesson. I highly recommend Synergistic Singing. Thank you Chris! -Ryan S
Ryan S
Her singing technique has improved exponentially…
Chris is amazing with my daughter. She has been taking lessons with Chris for the past 6 months and her singing technique has improved exponentially. He lets her pick the songs and works at her pace. He is very adjusting of any schedule change (even if it is last minute). My daughter always looks forward to her singing lesson with Chris. Chris is patient, well rounded in different genre’s of music, fun to work with, and an experienced professional. I would highly recommend him. -Hemal S.
Hemal S.
A Remarkable Improvement...
Chris has been working with my daughter for several months now, to prepare for the All-State auditions. I have seen a remarkable improvement in her vocal quality, and she is showing promise to advance even further than last year in the process. Chris has the training and skills to take any kid to the next level. I highly recommend him!
Sara C.