Yukina Kita Tutor Interview

Q. Hi Yukina! First, could you give us a brief self-introduction?: A. Hello everyone! I am a jazz vocalist, Yukina Kita. Nice to meet you! I live in Sapporo, Hokkaido, but I am active in Kanto and Kansai regions as well. What do you think of your voice? You use your voice when you chat, sing and when you give a speech at work. There are actually many people who have some troubles using their voice. For example, some people struggle with their volume, or feel difficult hitting high notes. However, many voice lessons in general focus on just singing or speaking out laud, which do not really help those people solve their problems. In my lesson, I focus on the basics and teach my students how you can use your voice more efficiently without hurting your vocal code. Every person has a unique and beautiful voice, so why do not we appreciate and polish it, instead of fixing it!
Q. Could you tell us about your hometown?: A. I was born in Kyoto. I spent my years there until I graduate from college, and then I lived in several places including Tokyo and Osaka before I moved to Sapporo. When I lived in Kyoto, I had never really pay attention to my surroundings, but after I left, I have come to realize how historic that place was.
Q. What led you to teach voice?: A. One day, after my live performance, a person in my audience reached out to me and asked if I could teach her a voice lesson. I used to teach at a cram school as a part time when I was in college, so teaching was something I was happy to do. When I taught her a lesson, I found it really enjoyable. After that I started thinking about teaching voice.
Q. How do you spend your time outside of your teaching? Do you have any hobbies and favorite things to do?: A. Well, even when I do not teach my lessons, I am often working. For example, I prepare for my own live performance, study about voice, and do some workouts in order to maintain my good voice! I do cook, but I would say that is something that I have to do to sustain my life...so, I think I just love working constantly. But, I actually like cooking, so I guess I can call that my hobby. Isn't a big cooking de-stressing, or is it only me thing? (Laughter) I also love drawing, and I sometimes draw portraits of my musician friends' on our events' fliers.
Q. As a vocalist, who is your favorite artists? Which one is your favorite piece of music?: A. Well...that is hard to decide! I have so many favorite artists and songs. My interest in voice actually began with listening theme songs used in anime TV shows. When I was little, I used to love singing along with the songs played on TV. I still like the number named “Butter-fly,” which was used as the opening theme song to Digimon Adventure.
Q. Could you tell us about your voice workshop, which you call as Singing Mr. Skull?: A. Sure! In my twitter account, as a character I named Singing Mr. Skull, I tweet some useful tips about using voice every day. That is, however, just a tiny part of what I teach. In my workshop, I tell my audience how they can use their voice efficiently by making them focus on their postures. I also teach how one can amplifiy the sound of his/her voice. I started out my workshop as a small celebration of Singing Mr. Skull’s hitting a hundred twitter posts. Then, some people asked me when and where I would have my next workshop. So, I have continued to do my voice workshops in Tokyo, Osaka and Sapporo until today.
Q. To those who might be interested my your lessons, could you tell us how you teach?: A. People often misunderstand my lessons and say, “Well, you only teach professional singers and performers, do not you?” But, I actually do offer my lessons to ordinary people, who struggle with using their voice. When I first meet my student, I ask them what problem he or she has with using voice, then I explain how one’s body can affect his/her voice sounds. I make my explanations fun and full of wits, trying not to make me sound too serious.
Q. It seems that your “Professional Vocal Lesson♪ [Beginners]” is popualr among the Cafetalk students! In average, taking how many lessons of this would give a noticeable improvement to your students?: A. Those students who has a good sense of using their bodies notice their voice’s imrpovement just by taking this lesson once. But, it seems to take about three months even for those people to be able to fully apply what they learned in this lesson into their daily life. I would say, typically, a student who takes this lesson twice a month start to feel the changes in the sound of his/her voice by the end of the third months after his/her first lesson.
Q. Are there any other lessons that you recommend to your students?: A. When people hear I am a vocalist and teaching voice, they tend to think that I only teach how to sing well. But, that is not actually true. I also teach the use of voice in speeches and business conversations. Many people lose their voice after they spoke for a long time at work because they do not know how they can amplify the sound of their voices. Once you master that technique, they can keep speak out laud without hurting their vocal codes. I offer lesson specific to those people who struggle with speeches. When you know how to use your voice effectively and make it sound more clear, people start seeing you as being more confident!!
Q. Finally, do you have any message to your current and future students?: A. Each person’s voice is always unique and thus beautiful. There are many people who struggle with using their voices, and you could be one of them. If so, I am more than happy to help you. Your voice will start to shine and sound out! I am looking forward to seeing you in my lesson! ♪