Welcome to Weba Garretson’s Vocal Studio!

Weba Garretson by Ann Summa

Weba Garretson is a voice teacher originally from Bronxville, New York. She is certified with The Institute for Vocal Advancement and has a degree in vocal performance from California State University Los Angeles. As a singing teacher, she begins by connecting the voice from the bottom to the top of the range, focusing on the transition between the chest and head voice known as “the break.” Once the voice is connected and balanced, she applies her knowledge of the latest trends in contemporary vocal technique to song work.

Weba recently spent more than two years teaching voice to singers from around the world at the California College of Music where she was Voice Chair. In addition to private lessons, she taught classes in vocal performance, creating exercises to help singers deepen their emotional connection to their songs and centering techniques to deal with performance anxiety. She also taught classes in vocal technique covering anatomy, acoustics and contemporary vocal styles.

During her IVA training, Weba has had the privilege of working privately with its master voice teachers, including Jeffrey Skouson, Kathy Kennedy, Linda Tomkinson, Spencer Welch and Stephanie Borm. She has experience teaching a wide range of genres to students of all ages and backgrounds, including pop, musical theatre, R&B, and classical. She has over thirty years experience in creating alternative music, Avant-garde theater and performance art performing at the Broad Stage, Redcat, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Getty Museum and Lincoln Center.

Contact Weba at weba@catasonic.com, or 323.664.1404

Devoted Students. Real Results.

Testimonials

Shannan Hough

When I decided to begin voice lessons as a female 30-something with not much real musical experience, I was looking for a teacher who would be knowledgeable, supportive, positive, and fun. In Weba, I found that and much much more! I look forward to each lesson and feel that I’ve grown so much as a singer in the year that I’ve worked with her. I couldn’t be more satisfied.

Shannan Hough
Vocalist.

Trang Vu

I had two singing teachers before and Weba is certainly the best vocal teacher that I have ever had. She teaches me many techniques to help me sing a variety of songs, including classical music, jazz, and especially pop songs. She spends time reviewing my videos and my lessons in order to help me find suitable songs and teach me new techniques to master the songs. When I learn a new song, she always spends time to walk me through the technical challenges as well as how to express the emotion of the song. Over one and a half years taking her lessons so far, I have become not only a better singer but also a better performer. I am so grateful for Weba’s great teaching experience.

Trang Vu
A happy singing student.

Steve Summers

The great thing about taking lessons with Weba is that I know each lesson is tailored for me. I came to Weba about 3 years ago with a tired and unresponsive voice.  Having come to teaching through learning to tackle her own vocal problems, Weba has helped me to regain my voice and to really understand how it works. Her deep knowledge of the voice and many different teaching disciplines has been invaluable to me.  I highly recommend lessons with Weba.

Steve Summers
Vocalist.

Christine Wertheim

Weba is not just a great singing teacher, she is a great voice coach. I am a vocal performer – spoken word and sound poetry – and she has helped improve my performance 100 fold. Specifically, she has shown me how to focus on different qualities and colors in my voice, to produce different kinds of sounds to suit different emotions, characters, and affects. She has a vast range of very specific exercises, gleaned from many different voice traditions, to develop different parts of the vocal apparatus which, she has taught me, includes the throat, mouth, tongue, vocal cords, the chest, abdomen, pelvis, and back. She has shown me how to use all these to support my voice, so that it can do more and last longer without being overtaxed.

Christine Wertheim
Vocalist.

E. Bae

Weba is a both a gifted musician and teacher, as well as a wonderful human being.  As a musician, her knowledge of music is both broad and deep, and we have worked together on songs that encompass many genres from pop to jazz to classical. As a teacher, she is grounded, insightful, patient and supportive.  She has deepened my understanding of what it takes to deliver an effective vocal performance in ways that I could never have learned on my own.  As a person, Weba is warm, funny, kind and generous. It is a privilege to learn from her.

E. Bae
Vocalist.

Magie Song

I was fortunate to find Weba through a friend of a friend. I had some anxiety about singing at an upcoming event, since I hadn’t sung a note in front of an audience for quite a few years. This was a request that I could not refuse gracefully. This engagement was coming up quickly so I had time for only one lesson. Weba ran me through scales and vowel articulations to sing notes I thought I could no longer hit. Her exercises are rigorous and effective. Her coaching style is very supportive and I was able to gain confidence to do well at the event. Also, as a healthcare professional, I was highly impressed by her knowledge of the physiology of singing. I highly recommend Weba!

Magie Song
Vocalist.

Mi Kyung L. title

I’m writing review just to say “Thank You!” Sue (my 15 year old daughter) got in her first competition since she got into Los Angeles Highschool for the Arts. The competition was for the Drama Teachers Association of Southern California Festival and Sue was in Musical Division. Her team got second and LACHSA got Sweepstakes first place (school who gets total high score). During the competition I got a lot of nice compliments about Sue’s singing.
So I was once again thinking about how important early vocal education is  (I think it was when she was 11 that she start getting vocal lesson from you Weba ). Thank you for great training that she got from you. 

Mi Kyung L.
Cast Member, Hairspray.

Jena Awad

This lady taught me how to SING! I mean sing RIGHT and sing better than I ever imagined possible. Weba is a wonderful teacher. I have sang all My life! Played countless shows and I would always tire out my voice. Six months with Weba and now I perform Like a BOSS. Weba will teach you all the proper warm up techniques to get your voice in the right place. She helped take me out of my chest voice to reach higher notes by getting me in to my head voice. I would recommend her to any person who was looking for an amazing singing teacher.

Jena Awad
Vocalist.

Student Photos

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