About

About

Hi, I’m Karen Lyu (she/her) — an award-winning queer, Korean-American Holistic Voice Coach and jazz singer/songwriter/actor. I help sensitive, creative people speak and sing with confidence, clarity, and joy.

Since 1997, I’ve taught over 1,000 students from 17 countries — especially those who’ve been silenced, bullied, or afraid to speak up. Clients call me “Karey Poppins” because I blend science, technique, compassion, and a little magic to help people finally love how they sound.

My tools include trauma-informed technique, vocal science, mindset coaching, and creative play. I’ve worked with students in schools, churches, theaters, music festivals, and everywhere in between.

*  Education: BSS Jazz Studies, Vocal Performance – Cornell College

*  Certified:  IMIA, CCHI, TNAOC, TESOL, New Science of Singing

*  Author of Singing in Tune: Solutions for 25 Pitch Problems (5-star rated)

*  Honors: Won 20 honors/awards

A creative explorer at heart, I have donned many hats, including—Facilitator of the Female Musician Academy Songwriters Group, Executive Director of West Bank School of Music, Hmong Idol USA judge, Steppingstone Theatre Teaching Artist, and elementary ESL teacher.

Also, I am a unique and animated jazz singer/songwriter who loves to give playful, powerful and unforgettable performances. I swing, scat and soulfully savor heartfelt, brave and quirky songs about life, love, and things that matter. My music is touched by jazz, folk, pop, funk, Motown, 80’s, Broadway, classical, Latin, and world music. Vocal inspirations include Ella Fitzgerald, Janis Siegel (The Manhattan Transfer), Sarah Vaughan, and Eva Cassidy. My singing has been featured on National Public Radio, documentary film, TV, radio, cable, and on all kinds of stages. 

As a neurodivergent mental health advocate, I offer a safe, nonjudgmental space where your voice can heal and shine. I’ve lived and worked across the U.S. and South Korea — and now teach globally online.

Let’s connect if you’re ready to sound like the strongest, most free version of yourself.

 

Location

United States

Geolocation

37.09024,-95.712891

Instrument(s) Taught

Singing, Songwriting

Where do lessons take place?

Teacher's Location, Online

Prices

30 minutes

$75.00

45 minutes

$112.50

60 minutes

$150.00

Other Lesson Prices

Schedule a FREE 30-min Vocal Solutions Session:
https://tinyurl.com/vocalsolutionssession

4 x 30 min x $75 = $300
4 x 45 min x $112.50 = $450
4 x 60 min x $150 = $600

12 x 30 min x $75 = $900 + 1 FREE 30 min lesson
12 x 45 min x $112.50 = $1350 + 1 FREE 45 min lesson
12 x 60 min x $150 = $1800 + 1 FREE 60 min lesson

Discounted Introductory Lesson

Yes

Preferred Payment Currency

🇺🇸 United States (US) dollar ($ USD)

Lessons Frequency

Weekly, Flexible Schedule

Payment Plans

Block Bookings, Monthly, Lesson Vouchers

Payment Methods

Online Bank Transfer, PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay, Stripe, Venmo, Zelle

Cancelation & Rescheduling Policy

WHAT TO EXPECT

I teach with kindness, encouragement, and a focus on both your strengths and ways that you can grow. Each lesson blends vocal solutions, fun, and clear guidance to help you reach your full vocal potential. And, I will create a personalized plan to help you reach your goals, with music that inspires you.

 

​DIVERSITY, EQUITY, and INCLUSION

All students are welcome and respected, regardless of their race, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, or disability status.

 

❤️ YOUR FIRST LESSON – 100% MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE

If for any reason you feel that holistic voice coaching is not right for you, just let me know within 72-hours of your first voice lesson, and you will get 100% of your money back.

 

24-HOUR CANCELLATION POLICY

Please contact me at least 24-hours in advance, in order to reschedule your lesson.

 

PAYMENTS

Voice lesson payments are due ahead of time.  When you finish a package of voice lessons, the next payment is due after the 2nd-to-last lesson in the package for continuity  (ie. the 3rd, 7th, or 11th lesson, etc).

 

RECORDINGS, TRANSCRIPTS, and NOTES

​You have the option to receive a video recording, an AI Quill transcript, and AI Quill notes via email for every lesson to help aid in your progress, unless you object for any reason.

 

​TERMINATION OF LESSONS

If, for whatever reason, you feel the need to discontinue with your lessons, please kindly let me know at least 4 weeks in advance, so I can have some time to search for another student to fill the lesson time.  Unfortunately, I cannot give refunds for pre-paid lessons.

 

Contact

Get in Touch

Teacher Profile Enquiry

Lessons

Level(s) Taught

Beginner (up to Grade 5), Intermediate (Grades 5-8), Advanced (Grade 8 and above), Professional Musicians/Teachers

Youngest Age Taught

8

Examinable Discipline(s) Taught

Musical Theatre, Acting, Screen Acting

Class Sizes

One-to-One (Individual)

Graded Exam Preparation

I don't teach grades to my students

Performance Opportunities, Performance Coaching & Accompaniment Services

My voice students range from absolute beginners to pro singers, SAG-AFTRA actors, contest competitors, and scholarship winners.

I can help with upcoming auditions, open-mics, performances, filming, voiceovers, contests, interviews, and more.

LESSON MENU

SINGING LESSONS
For singing lessons, we will do fun warm-ups and personalized exercises + sing songs that you like. We can work on breathing, vocal health, vocal technique, vocal range, vocal tone, vocal projection, vocal mix, riffs, harmony, scatting/improvising, performing live and virtually, fan interactions, genres/styles, repertoire,  music theory, vocal biology, singing in different languages, auditioning, recording, singing with a band, being a bandleader, making a setlist, booking gigs, artist development, music business, and more.

​​ACTING/VO LESSONS
For acting/voiceover lessons, we will do fun warm-ups, exercises, games, partially based on Chekhov Technique and Stanislavski Technique + work on sides/scripts/librettos/books that you like. We can work on breathing, vocal health, releasing tension, vocal projection, vocal tone, emotional expression, connected movement, male and female character voices, efforts/vocal violence, auditioning, improv, monologues, character development, scene study, acting on-stage vs on-camera, and more.

SONGWRITING LESSONS
For songwriting lessons, we can work on your own songs and study what makes a good song; creativity, song titles, hooks, prosody, imagery, rhyme schemes, song structures, melodies, chord progressions, genres/music styles, English grammar, overcoming writers block, collaborating with other songwriters, copyrighting, music production, music sync licensing, custom songwriting, and more.

SPEAKING LESSONS
For speaking lessons, we will do fun warm-ups, personalized exercises, and games. We can work on WEIRD voice issues, breathing, vocal health, vocal projection, vocal tone,  public speaking, podcasting, presentation skills, job interviewing, mouth clicks, laryngitis, spasmodic dysphonia, stroke recovery, vocal dysphagia, acid reflux, allergies, General American English diction, South Korean diction, and more.

Genres

Genres Taught

Blues, Christian Music, Classical Music, Country, Disco, Electronic Music, Folk, Funk, Jazz, Middle Eastern Music, Music for Children, Music of Africa, Music of Asia, Music of Latin America, New-Age Music, Pop, Reggae, Rock, Ska, Soul music, Traditional Music

Sub-Genres Taught

Acid Jazz, Afrobeat, Ambient, Americana, Arabian Pop, Avant-garde, Baroque Pop, Big Band, Bluegrass, Bollywood, Bossa Nova, Cajun, Calypso, Celtic, Chanson, Cumbia, Dancehall, Dream Pop, Dubstep, Electro House, Emo, Experimental, Flamenco, Flamenco Pop, Folktronica, Garage Rock, Gospel, Grunge, Gypsy Jazz, Hard Rock, Hardcore Punk, Indie Folk, Industrial, J-pop (Japanese Pop), K-pop (Korean Pop), Klezmer, Lo-fi, Mambo, Mariachi, Merengue, Motown, Musical Theatre, Neo-Soul, New Wave, Noise Rock, Nu Disco, Nu Jazz, Post-Grunge, Post-Punk, Progressive House, Punk Rock, R&B (Rhythm and Blues), Salsa, Singer-Songwriter, Ska Punk, Smooth Jazz, Southern Rock, Surf Rock, Swing, Tango, Tech House, Turkish Pop, West Coast Swing, Worldbeat, Zouk

Qualifications

Qualification

BSS Jazz Studies, Vocal Performance – Cornell College

Year

1993

Qualification

New Science of Singing – John Henny Voice Teacher Certification

Year

2010

Reviews

Reviews

September 15, 2022

“Karen Lyu has taught me so many practical solutions for improving the quality and endurance of my voice. I sought her advice first for simultaneous interpretation and then for singing. But it’s surprising how much the singing voice lessons cross over into improving the interpretation voice. I had no idea what I was missing before training with her. Each of her techniques are so clever and make so much sense. Every lesson is like a light bulb going off in my head. She is a therapist, treating the whole person, not just the vocal cords.”

Michelle J. Gonzales Pooler GA State Certified Court Interpreter
Verified
September 15, 2022

“Karen is an excellent voice coach. She’ll have you learning so much about your instrument and how to fix those bad habits that you never knew – whether you’ve been a voice user for ages or not.”

Curtis Michael Holland Hong Kong Audiobook NarratorDrama TeacherVO Actor
Verified
September 15, 2022

“Learning from a trustworthy vocal coach is an amazing experience!! Karen is very caring and makes you feel like a friend even tho she is a teacher she lets you be you and help you understand where you need to be for singing. The lessons feel like an enjoyable hobby or activity without any worries. She lets you know where you’re going wrong and find ways to make it simple for you to get better at singing. I really am grateful to find an amazing coach like her and I hope you guys can give her a check-up and let you experience the great times of learning from this vocal coach!!!”

Brian Aguayo Lexington NE Factory WorkerAspiring Pop SingerRapper
Verified
September 15, 2022

“Karen is one of the most underrated accomplished and technically-oriented vocal coaches available. I’m a singer/songwriter who wanted to improve my vocals and in just one lesson, Karen showed me that my body is my instrument, not just my throat and torso. She had me do some stretching and exercises that gave me an immediate improvement in resonance, ability to project, and FEEL in my bones! I feel honored to be able to still access private lessons at an affordable rate. Do yourself a favor and take one lesson. You’ll know what I mean and I’m sure it won’t be the last. Thank you, Karen. I look forward to many more lessons moving forward!”

Lili McGovern Bellingham WA Life CoachSingerSongwriterArtist
Verified
September 15, 2022

“Karen is an incredibly sweet person and she always works hard to tailor lessons and techniques to your individual needs. I have been working with her for about 7 months. In that time, she has helped me open up my range, smooth out my transitions between head voice, mix voice and chest voice, taught me how to use my whole body to support my voice as well as how to protect my voice in daily life. And her lessons stick in my head so that I can always remember how to use them and do them. Even after 2 weeks of sickness, I was able to use all the techniques she gave me and still sound great! She also speaks Korean and has helped me practice K-POP songs! In addition to singing, Karen has helped me with writing multiple songs, given me tools to find inspiration and how to put together songs based on my ideas. On top of all of this, she has also worked with me on unlocking and perfecting character voices for animated characters as well as DND original characters, audiobook recording, and advertisement copy reading. She’s so supportive of all of my goals and works with me to achieve anything I want to. And she’s real about where and when I need work. I’ve thought about quitting for financial reasons, but I just couldn’t give up working with Karen! She’s well worth the time you get to spend with her.”

Veronyka Martinez Seoul South Korea English Teacher Aspiring SingerSongwriterActor
Verified
September 15, 2022

“Karen Lyu is one of the finest jazz musicians, songwriters, and performers that I’ve known for several years who helped me and many others. She did this by teaching me how to be effective in the recording studio. She taught me how to stan, sing, an o a better job of recording vocals for my producers at Universal Sound Records. Her tips helped me get 5 single hits on UK, Europe, an other countries’ indie charts.There’s no better vocal coach that I know of!”

Roy August Nashville TN PLATINUM Singer-Songwriter
Verified
September 15, 2022

“It was an absolute joy to work with Karen, her detailed teaching style and apparent years of experience truly helped me truly engage my true vocal skills and allowed me to take care of my voice in a much more healthy way. My Reason for searching her out was for my first major musical theatre production that I was auditioning for. I truly believed that if I hadn’t gotten into contact with Karen I wouldn’t have gotten into the production let alone the part that I got.”

Sebastian Malkavage Fairbault MN High School StudentActor
Verified
September 15, 2022

“I’ve gotten to know Karen as a very passionate and professional educator. It’s inspiring to learn from someone with the amount of experience that she has, and I recommend her classes wholeheartedly!”

Ellie Fatou Den Haag Netherlands SingerSongwriterProducer
Verified
September 15, 2022

“Voice lessons with Karen Lyu are totally transformative! I have referred many acquaintances and dear friends to her, and In my experience, she consistently connects people with their powerful and authentic voice, and everyone’s expectations for the work are exceeded.”

Lee Truer Minneapolis MN CounselorArtistArt Professor
Verified

Leave a Review

Supported Access Requirements

I support students with these SEN / Additional Access Requirements:

Blind or Partially Sighted, Deaf or Hard of Hearing, Multi-Sensory Needs, Wheelchair Access Requirements, Limb Loss / Difference Related Access Requirements, Autistic Spectrum / Neurodiverse, Speech, Language or Communication Needs, Moderate Learning Needs, Profound & Multiple Learning Needs, Social, Emotional or Mental Health Related Requirements

Languages

Language(s) Spoken

English

Professionalism

Safeguarding Certificate

FBI Criminal Background Check – United States

Date of Safeguarding Certificate

July 17, 2023

Liability Insurance

No, I do not have public / general liability insurance

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Media

Video & Music

YouTube video

Video & Music
Video & Music
Video & Music

YouTube video

Socials

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/karenlyu

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/karenlyu

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenlyu

Bandcamp

https://karenlyu.bandcamp.com/

Profile Details

First Name

Karen

Last Name

Lyu

Username

karen-lyu

GUID

8e028c56-75e0-4f22-b10a-db94da821d9f

User nicename

karen-lyu