I started taking lessons with Elaine in 2019. I was at a point in my singing where I felt I needed to know some theory. She was able to incorporate it into my vocal lessons in a way that made my lessons more exciting and meaningful. She is an excellent teacher and Id highly recommend her.

Elaine is a GEM of a human. She takes time to get to know the needs of all of her students and tailors a plan just for them. We worked together to create a goal list and followed up every month or so to make sure we were on the right track with what I wanted to accomplish. She also helped me find where to go see other Jazz singers and even places to practice singing in public myself. This really helped me see and apply the things we are learning in our lessons which has taken my performance ability to the next level. She is so eager to help and teach that make lessons so much fun. So if you are looking to be a professional singer or just want a fun outlet for your creative side, you are in good hand with Elaine, she can do it all.

When deciding to flow with my life swerve to pursue becoming a jazz singer I searched through several instructors before finding Elaines website. After watching her seemingly effortless delivery and confident style on one of the website videos I knew immediately that I wanted to work her. I reached out and much to my joy she responded in just a day. She made me feel comfortable and excited about my journey.During our first session I was terrible! But Elaine was super. She spoke to me not just as a passing student, but as a woman with specific spiritual and human needs. She is not just teaching me to sing technically, but to unblock my inner artist. Her guidance and suggestions have contributed to one of my sisters remarking that I am blossoming!Ive been navigating my swerve for about 3 months now and cannot imagine taking this journey without Elaine. She is an excellent teacher, has a vast knowledge of Jazz and vocal techniques, and truly cares about and encourages her students. After only 3 months I have found the confidence to go solo at local jazz jam sessions and am doing well. I am excited for each of our lessons and I highly recommend Elaine Dame.

Elaine is such a gift to jazz. Shes an incredibly gifted and engaging singer with the warmest spirit and intuitive approach to teaching! Shes a pleasure to learn from and really takes a true genuine interests in her students. She keeps in touch and invites everyone out to see concerts and to connect with one another! And I cant thank Elaine enough for hosting her Vocal Jazz Jam/Open Mic once a month. Each time, she features a special guest (and theyre always great!) musician on the accompaniment, She provides feedback that is invaluable. It has been a great way to get practical experience in a low pressure setting and connect with other music lovers. Elaine performs too! I cant recommend her enough as a teacher and to see her sing live because her voice is incredible and shes funny. What a gem!

Elaine Dame is an excellent vocal jazz teacher. She has a huge amount of knowledge and is patient and relaxed when teaching. Providing opportunities for her students is really important to her, and she makes sure that we have regular outings to increase our experience with performing. I would highly recommend Elaine to anyone who is wanting to learn about jazz.

Elaine is truly an exceptional performer, educator, and person.As a teacher, she goes above and beyond to encourage and relate to students. She has an extensive knowledge of the voice as an instrument and vast musical vocabulary. She is extremely genuine and her down-to-earth attitude makes it easy to let down any walls and focus on technique, expression, and emotional intent while performing. She is also extremely enthusiastic and her strong positive energy a reminds me to believe in myself and trust that, Ive got it.As a person, Elaine is extremely encouraging and inclusive. She is generous with advice and guidance about navigating the business and extending invitations to attend events she is involved in.Seeing her perform is an absolute joy and is sure to inspire any audience. Her extensive range of emotion and versatility as a vocalist and storyteller take you along on a heartfelt journey through the stories she tells with each song and you cant help but be engaged and immersed in every note she sings.Anyone looking to dive into the world of music, and specifically jazz, should absolutely study with Elaine. It will be the best decision youve ever made for your spirit and creative passions. I have studied voice and jazz for many years and Elaine stands out as an educator. She continues to remind me that I am capable of achieving my dreams. I am extremely grateful to know her.

Brian Kahle, Marketing Director, The Harbour – Fall Fundraiser“On Saturday, September 29, 2018, The Elaine Dame Trio performed for our 2018 Speakeasy fundraiser. The Elaine Dame Trio had come highly recommended to me after having performed at a friends wedding. Elaine did not disappoint. Her talent, style and selection of music greatly added to our evening and made for a wonderful, successful event. If you are looking for a great talent that will enhance your event I would highly recommend Elaine Dame… She’s FANTASTIC!

Elaine Dame is a caring, intuitive and incredibly effective vocal coach. I learned so much from working with her! She has helped me learn to sing with more ease and grace, get more in tune with my own singing style, and get the most out of my voice. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Elaine whether you are beginner wanting to learn how to sing, how to sing jazz, or even if you are pro looking to up your game. She is fantastic! And a great gal to boot!

Love love love Elaine! Beyond having a beautiful voice, she has an amazing personality and takes a real interest in developing you and your vocal pursuits.Her sessions are fun, informative and she makes sure you not only get to learning the fundamentals of music theory but get practicing your breathing, and proper tonal/pitch control. Shes a beautiful jazz singer and would recommend getting lessons from her to anyone.

The Elaine Dame Jazz Quartet has played countless events for my organization. The group shows up early to confirm the set-up and Elaine has even attended pre-event meetings to confirm every detail. The performance is always excellent - and they can even weave in songs appropriate to the season. I highly recommend the Elaine Dame Quartet - you wont be disappointed!

Elaine is a superb song stylist and wonderful teacher. She is patient, encouraging and works with you to tackle your individual challenges. I had been taking lessons with someone else but when that instructor heard me perform after lessons with Elaine, she said my improvement was dramatic. I highly recommend Elaine!

I was very fortunate to participate in a workshop that Elaine held last November. I was impressed by how she immediately put the room at ease. Her teaching style is a rare combination of total command over music theory, expertise in jazz and classical music, an amazing jazz voice, humor, demonstration, spontaneity, confidence, humbleness, creativity, positivity, encouragement, caring and kindness.She paced the workshop perfectly. Our workshop was sold out, but it never felt rushed. She spoke very candidly about her early jazz experiences and how she learned through doing. She encouraged us to ask questions along the way, and many of us did. Her responses were very thoughtful, detailed and relatable.She was exceptionally encouraging to each singer in her feedback to our individual songs. Her comments and suggestions were totally on point and helpful. The way she conveys her feedback makes jazz singing feel like a great adventure of possibilities, rather than a critique of something you ‘did wrong’. I left the workshop feeling inspired.If you get the chance to work with her, either through private lessons or a workshop, absolutely do it! It will be an extremely worthwhile experience!

Elaine is a great teacher. Supportive and eager to work with me. She helped mold my voice into a jazz style and I look forward to going out and using the skills she taught me to further my singing. I highly recommend her if you want to pursue jazz singing.

Elaine is wonderful teacher. She has been both flexible and challenging, catering each lesson to my needs as a student. She is also just delightful! I highly recommend her as a vocal teacher. I have definitely felt improvement in my performances since seeing her.

Elaine is an absolutely fantastic voice teacher! She provides completely tangible ways to become a better jazz singer. On a weekly basis, Elaine provided specific jazz theory exercises, suggested songs that target particular skills , and encouraged her students to learn scats and listen to lots and lots of instrumental and vocal jazz tunes. She also provides a few opportunities to practice skills in the real world by inviting her students to different open mic nights to play with a live jazz band, and inviting students to sit in on some of her jazz gigs.On top of all of that, Elaine is an incredibly positive, warm, and encouraging educator. She creates a completely judgment-free environment, and meets her students where theyre at based on their specific goals and skills. I definitely recommend taking voice lessons with Elaine!

Elaine is everything you could ask for in an excellent private teacher. She has ample experience, is an incredible musician, caters to each students individualized needs, is a holistically balanced and positive person, is an excellent communicator, and is very organized and professional.Ive had a very positive experience learning from Elaine. She picked songs with specific goals in mind, and was able to challenge me to find different ways to interpret meanings I wouldnt have thought of otherwise. She really knows her stuff, and presents it in a great way. I would recommend her to anyone!

I took a workshop with Elaine recently when she was here in Seattle. Elaine is a gifted and knowledgeable singer but best of all, as a teacher, she is able to come along side her students to provide positive critiques and doable solutions all with warmth, humor and honesty. It was a great experience!!

Elaine is not only an excellent jazz vocalist and teacher, she’s an incredibly inspiring and caring person. Elaine helped me to improve my vocal techniques, as well as my confidence levels in performing. She made me believe in myself both musically and holistically. I came to her with an unruly vibrato and fear of performing and she helped me tame and conquer both. She helped me develop greater vocal control in relation to pitch, projection, breathing, and scatting. She helped me to listen more keenly and sharply to myself, as well as to new jazz artists and styles I hadn’t previously known until she exposed me to them. We worked on theory and song structure, and we talked about the poetry of lyrics.On top of all this, she provided tangible real-world advice on how to work with other musicians. When I started taking lessons with Elaine, I quickly learned that I wasn’t just taking lessons, but I was entering into a community of jazz fellowship. Elaine offers workshops with other students and world-class guitarists, invites you to jam sessions to cut your teeth performing, and even hosts yearly fundraisers with other jazz musicians in support of local women’s groups. There are many things to love about Elaine, and one of them is her dedication to supporting women. Elaine is a gem. I’d encourage anyone to embark on a learning journey with her.

I have been taking voice lessons from Elaine Dame for the past three years. What makes Elaine a phenomenal teacher, is that she truly wants the student to get better. What I mean is, she teaches good vocal technique so that your sound is the very best that it can be. She teaches theory so that the vocalist knows what they are doing...key signatures,time, feel, structure of a tune, so that the singer knows how to speak to the musicians that they are working with. Elaine has a very relaxed style, and is very generous in sharing her knowledge of the music business. Elaine is very busy in the local jazz community and can be heard at a variety of clubs in Chicago. I would recommend her to any person looking to improve their singing ability whether it be for personal or professional endeavors.

Elaine COMPLETELY changed the way I approach Jazz singing. Her knowledge and experience is unmatched. The best part however, is that she does not give the same cookie-cutter lesson to everyone. Each student gets a tailor-made lesson plan, specific to their goals. She really helped me not only understand jazz singing, but helped with performance techniques, booking gigs, etc.

Elaine is absolutely incredible. She is not only an amazing performer (if you havent heard her, youre missing out), but she is an incredible teacher. I have been taking lessons with Elaine for 2 years and I am amazed with my growth as an amateur singer. She helped me develop my sound, educated me on music theory, and guided me to work with a band professionally. I cant say enough good things about this amazing woman!!

Leaning from Elaine is a breeze - everything from vocal technique and production, to song selection, to jazz culture and etiquette will be presented to you. It is also an enjoyable and fun experience for Elaines great personality and true dedication to a student. As an Elaines student myself, I can highly recommend her as the best!

Elaine Dame teaches like she sings, without affect or ego;yet with great care, skill and possitivity.Heres the greatest praise I can bestow upon a teacher:she makes you feel good about yourself.

Elaine Dame recently visited Seattle and I was one of the lucky few who managed to be part of a workshop she was holding, and what a wonderful experience that was. Not only is she a well known and accomplished singer in her own right but she has he ability to impart her knowledge in very unassuming way, putting you completely at ease.She made us feel special and encouraged us to pursue our dreams acknowledging how daunting that experience can be.Following on from the lesson she sent us information on examples of jazz grooves and tempos, jazz terms a definitions and a list of resources to turn to. She impressed on us all no matter how long we had been singing to make sure you have the fundamentals under your belt.....and that was very important advice.Its a shame she lives so far away from Seattle, but guess what, she does Skype lessons and I, for one am going to take her up on them. Elaine Dame is da bomb!!!

Elaine Dame is one of those very rare combinations of traits: not only is she a stunning performer, but she is also an amazing teacher. She is painstaking in terms of tailoring her lessons to suit the particular needs of her individual students and she manages to convey the fine points of singing in ways that are clear and memorable. Ive studied with Elaine for several years, and in this time Ive grown in ways I could never have imagined. I think Elaine is a wonderful teacher because she knows her stuff and she really loves to help her students become the best they can be. Go hear her sing!! :)

I had a few voice lessons with Elaine a few years ago to prepare for my solo accompaniment with my high schools jazz band, and in that short period of time she helped me improve my vocal technique tremendously! I was really surprised at how much I could accomplish afterward! She is a creative teacher, very personable and enjoyable to work with, and helped me so much. I highly recommend her.

Elaine Dame is incredible. After 3 years of privates I was more than prepared and prepped to begin my professional career as a jazz vocalist. Whether you are seeking jazz vocal lessons as a hobby or to enter the world as a working jazz vocalist, no one will prepare you more than Ms. Dame. Her incredible patience, passion and knowledge for this beautiful vocal art is beyond inspiring....not to mention her jaw dropping voice. You will fall in love with jazz, if you werent already, AND the lovely Elaine. Choosing to be educated by Elaine was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I could never have dreamed to be the vocalist I am today if it were not for her. Go ahead, make a great choice and contact Elaine. You will NOT be disappointed.

Working with Elaine Dame is not just a lesson with a great singer, Its a business classroom. You learn everything from booking shows to reading a bass clef! She is the sweetest person in the world and she cares about her students! I would recommend her to anyone, Beginning or Vets!

Very responsible, caring, prompt, and supportive. Really enjoyed her teaching!