A message from Nikita Labdon

“Hi! I am the owner of Labdon Studios. I have been teaching private music lessons for over 10 years and have my Bachelor of Music Vocal Performance degree from the University of Manitoba. Music has always been a big part of my life. As a child, I was involved in piano and voice lessons, band, choir and Musical Theatre productions. I am currently an active member of our performing arts community and have had the pleasure of performing Opera, Jazz and Musical Theatre in Winnipeg and abroad. Being able to have music as a part of my life from such a young age allowed me to not only develop my passion for performing, but helped me discover my love for teaching and fostering a love for music in others.”

 

Lesson Options

Currently our studio offers private Voice, Piano, Guitar, Ukulele, Sax, Clarinet, Bass, Drums and Theory lessons either in Studio, Online, In your home, or at school. We are available to teach during the day (perfect for those who homeschool), evenings and weekends.

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Studio Lessons

Our main Studio locations are: 590 University Crescent and 150 Bayridge ave. At these locations we offer all the instruments and can run lessons simultaneously, perfect for a busy family schedule.

We also offer lessons out of our teacher’s homes at various locations around Winnipeg. Currently we have teachers in the South and West End of the city. We should note, all of our teachers have had criminal record and child abuse registry checks done.

Online

Online lessons were originally put into action when COVID19 prohibited us from doing in person lessons. Through these online lessons we have been able to reach students who are not located in Winnipeg. We now have students in Toronto, Thompson, Manitoba and New York!

We use Skype, FaceTime, Facebook Messenger, and Zoom to connect for our lessons.

In Your Home

We can come to you! If you live in Winnipeg we offer lessons in your home where one of our teachers can come to your house and teach. These lessons are perfect for those of you with busy schedules who need to fit in music lessons while trying to get dinner on the table before hockey practice!

We charge an $8 travel fee per week for those living in Winnipeg, and if you live outside of Winnipeg we charge $1/km outside of city limits. Note: A 15 minute lesson is not eligible for an in home lesson unless other lessons are being conducted at the same visit.

At School Lesson

We are currently running voice lessons out of Winnipeg Mennonite Elementary at the Bedson Campus, so if your child attends WMES and would like voice or piano lessons during the day, please consider sending us an email.

Voice Lessons

We teach a wide variety of ages from 5 years old to 65 years old and cater our voice lessons to your ability and goals! We can teach you how to sing opera, pop, jazz, musical theatre and everything in between.

Beginner Voice Lessons (5-12): For ages 5-7 we start with nursery rhythms and teach the students how to pitch match and echo rhythms back. After advancing through the elementary level, we work through Conservatory Canada’s Contemporary Idiom levels along with “The Full Voice Workbook Series”. Using a series allows use to have structure in our lessons and teaches our students to create goals and develop practice habits that help them meet those goals. We teach beginners the basics of singing such as solfege, proper breathing techniques, how to warm up the voice and so much more. Depending on the age of the student we use a combination of silly songs, games and dances to teach.

Intermediate Voice Lessons (ages 12-17): For this age group we continue with the Contemporary Idiom, but also begin to teach classical voice repertoire and begin singing in different languages. We dive in deeper to breathing techniques, phrasing, interpretation and vocal health. Singing a wide variety of genres keeps students interested and motivated. We can help students prepare for music festival, auditions, or conservatory exams that can be used as high school credit.

Adult: We cater to your goals and your level! No matter where you’re at in your singing journey we can help you get to where you want to be. Just let us know what genres of music you’re interested and we’ll start from there. We teach you breath control, vocal warm ups, vocal health, resonance and more.

Piano Lessons

We teach a multitude of levels and work with any type of book. We generally use Alfred levels to start our beginner piano students. For all of our lessons we assign weekly songs to practice and teach our students scales and music theory in our lessons.

Beginner Children’s Piano Lesson: We keep these lessons high energy and engaging. We split our time learning songs, playing rhythm games, doing ear training and learning theory. Part of learning an instrument is learning good practice habits, we keep practicing fun by using goal charts to help motivate good practice habits!

Intermediate Piano: Did you know that piano exams and theory exams can be used for high school credits? We can help your teen get prepared for the conservatory exams. But it’s not all work - we aim to keep learning music fun and interesting by exploring different genres of music and setting achievable goals.

Adult lesson: If you’ve always dreamed of learning piano, or took lessons as a child and want to restart - we can help! We are able to teach a variety of levels and can work on whatever repertoire you’re interested in!

Guitar/Ukulele Lessons

 We teach various levels and ages of guitar and ukulele. All lessons cater to individual interests/skills/needs with a central focus on making music enjoyable to practice. A variety of books can be used depending on interests, but we can also come up with individualized lesson plans and materials if preferred. 

Beginner lessons: Building a strong base of theory, fret board knowledge, study habits, and rhythmic skill is key to a strong guitar player. All can be done while learning full songs to hear the progress made.

Intermediate: Have a specific genre you want to go after? Or want to go more in depth on finger picking techniques and strumming patterns? Intermediate lessons are based off of individual goals and interests and expand beyond simple strumming and picking melodies.

Clarinet/ Saxophone Lessons:

Struggling to keep up in band class at school? Ever wanted to try a new instrument? Our clarinet or Saxophone lessons are perfect for students looking to get ahead or keep up in band class at school. We also had adult students wanting to try something new.

Beginner lessons: Building a strong base of theory, fingering, embouchure , study habits, and rhythmic skills. All can be done while learning songs of your choice or through one of out curriculums.

Intermediate: Have a specific goals? Auditioning for youth orchestral or university? Intermediate lessons are based off of individual goals and interests and expand beyond simple melodies.

Theory Lessons:

We teach various levels and ages of theory. From beginner, learning how to read notes to advance studying for ARCT exams. All lessons cater to individual interests/skills/needs.

Beginner lessons: Perfect for students just beginning their musical journey or students struggling to keep up in band or choir at school.

Intermediate: This is great for our students looking to take RCM Theory exams, or are trying to get into University music program.

Violin Lessons:

Beginner lessons: Building a strong base of theory, fret knowledge, study habits, and rhythmic skill, finger placement and bowing. All can be done while learning songs from our suggested curriculum or a curriculum of your choosing. .

Intermediate/Advanced: If you are looking to play for fun at a high level, audition for youth orchestral, do exams, or audition for university this is the right choice for you. We cater to your needs and goals!

Drum Lessons:

We are currently offering Drum lessons in home or at our south pointe location only right now. We can teach all levels, beginner- advanced in all different styles. Jazz, Rock, Worship, Pop! The list goes on!