Welcome To My Teaching Space
I have been teaching and facilitating the exploration of music through singing, songwriting, and instrumental lessons, for over a decade. Sharing my passion for music and helping others reach their full potential fills me with joy.
I am on multiple faculties as adjunct professor in songwriting and voice, and I also run an early childhood music company called Little Whale Music, specialising in ages 0-5. I have a private teaching studio young and not-so-young adults for voice, songwriting and instrumental lessons.
You can read my full resume here.
Please contact me directly if you have any questions about starting lessons. Private lessons begin at $80* for an hour. Group lessons for children start at $30 per child**. Thanks so much and I can't wait to work with you.
* price increases if I travel to student's location
** based on a minimum of 5 children per group
"Joanna is an excellent instructor; she makes music absolutely fascinating for our kids"
- Cytaly
Creator of Little Whale Music, Joanna has specialized in early childhood music education since 2011. She began this journey in New York City with Grammy Nominated musician and educator Oran Etkin, and also at Jazz at Lincoln Centre for their jazz-for-young-people program, ‘Webop’.
Joanna approaches music education as a way of life; teaching musical skills, while simultaneously achieving non-musical goals, including: developing strong social-emotional understanding; honing community skills such as sharing, listening, empathy and collaboration; better visualization of abstract concepts and complex cognitive questions; developing physical coordination, balance and control; and so much more.
Joanna is also a professional songwriter, vocalist and performer, and pours her passion for music into her teaching, instilling that same joy in her students. She sees music as not just a skill to hone, but as a language for understanding life’s big emotions, practical conundrums, and day-to-day existence.
Joanna has taught for a number of outreach programs, including travelling to Mumbai, India, in 2016, to volunteer as a choir director and music teacher for UK Charity “Songbound”. This was a life-changing experience for Joanna, and she has since sought out ways to bring music to people in both educative and therapeutic forms.
Since moving to Los Angeles in 2017, Joanna co-founded an early childhood music program called “Family Sing”, with non-profit Urban Voices Project: bringing music education and music-therapy to children and adults living with homelessness in the Skid Row Community. She also teaches through to university level, and is on the Songwriting Faculty at Los Angeles College of Music, LA City College, and California School of the Arts, and is CTE CERTIFIED.
Why Choose
Little Whale Music
Little Whale Music is a unique music education program that harnesses every child’s individual musical, educational and developmental needs. Founded by critically acclaimed jazz musician, vocalist and songwriter Joanna Wallfisch, your child will receive a world class music education from as early as infancy.
Little Whale Music combines original songs written by teacher Joanna, combined with jazz standards, world, classical and traditional music, so you and your child can learn amazing repertoire to use in daily life.
Little Whale Music focuses not only on achieving amazing musical skills and understanding, but also developing non-musical skills such as critical thinking, creativity, curiosity, collaboration, coordination, social-emotional understanding, and more. Joanna’s teaching style is joyful, patient, empathetic and imbued with improvisation and playfulness.
Oh, and why is it called Little Whale Music? Because Joanna’s last name, Wallfisch, means Whale in German. Not only that, but whales are the most musical creatures of the ocean!
