Robert Hunt Robinson Studio

Robert teaches students from a variety of backgrounds — I can speak from the perspective of a professional adult who is very passionate about music. I’ve played guitar for 10+ years and wanted to get back into music in a serious way that was still feasible with a busy work schedule. Robert is a dream come true for this. He is incredibly technical and precise, and it’s awesome to get access to someone so experienced on a regular basis. He is also flexible and uses modern tech — he records every session, is experienced with music tech, and is very responsive on email.

I have been working with Rachel Austin (Robert’s associate) for a year now, and let’s be honest, it has taken me months to figure out what to write here. I am lost for the words that would accurately describe the transcendence that Rachel has proved to be.
I had to go through a couple of teachers in order to find her. I needed someone to help me grow rather than pet my ego. «Yeah, yeah. I know I’ve got pipes.» My singing training was beyond «Beginner: 101» when Rachel and I met. Not a problem; breezy even. She immediately gave me warm ups (err. workouts is more like it) that really whipped me into shape.
A year later, and I am STILL learning. We have broken down barriers vocally as well as in performance/​emotion/​confidence. She creates the most comfortable learning environment that I have ever experienced.
Rachel changed my life. I write this with all my honesty and not just as an emotional howl at the full moon tonight. She has given me tools to be courageous enough to follow my dreams. It’s still terrifying to chase my childhood/​adult ambition but a weekly hour with Rachel takes the gut-​wrench out of it. Cheesy? Maybe. But when you find a mentor as bad ass as Lady Austin, the cheese is truth.
I couldn’t be more grateful to her.

We all screw up, right? I mean, doesn’t the saying go, «To err is human.»?
So yes, they screwed up. Was I pissed? You bet I was! Hence my original review.
Somehow they got my personal information (I’m guessing Unilocal!will give them info to try & resolve issues.)
I’d spoken to Robert, who was quite gracious & explained the situation. He’d offered an «olive branch», so to speak, & I took him up on it.
When I’d met Robert, he really wasn’t what I’d expected, & I’m not even sure myself what I’d expected, but he was very friendly, asked a lot of questions, and gave a lot of good advice. (plus, he lied & said I look 12 years my junior-​so that ALONE deserves 5 stars!)
There are 2 different options available. But unfortunately I am going thru situations (that I wasn’t when I’d originally called) that won’t allow me to join Robert on a journey to make Kristin Chenoweth cry. (the ugly cry, too!)
End story, cuz I could blather on forever; I believe RHR had good intentions & just f’d up. And they ended up going the extra mile to apologize. If I had the cash to join, Smash might still be on the air!
***Thanks Robert for making it right. I’m glad I didn’t end up canceling. It was a great experience & I truly do wish I had the funds to join!!!

TL;DR Rachel Austin is an incredibly talented teacher, and if you’re not her student already your life is incomplete.
I actually take lessons with Robert’s teaching associate, Rachel Austin. She is amazing. When I first came to her, I had a life-​long love of singing jazz but CRIPPLING stage fright. Like, in tears stage fright. I kid you not, my main goal at the time was to be able to sing with another person just in the room.
Through communication and her experience, she knew exactly how to navigate the sensitive situation without making me feel like a complete idiot. It helps that she’s easy going and ridiculously funny (but also straight forward). We started with doing warmups together with her facing away from me (I know, I know), moved to singing in front of (a few) people and am starting to look for opportunities to perform!
I was a beginner, but she’s definitely an all-​levels rockstar with a strong education background in music. Highly recommend.

Robert is awesome! His approach is very supportive and encouraging, and his technical knowledge of the voice and singing is astounding. I really enjoyed working with him, and look forward to expanding my vocal capabilities. I just did my first solo performance at Martunis last week, and had a blast. Thanks Robert!

I started taking lessons with Robert when I relocated from NYC to San Francisco almost 4 years ago. Robert is an energetic, passionate, and motivating teacher. I’ve taken private voice lessons for many years, and I knew as soon as I began studying with Robert that his fresh approach to teaching, combined with his expert knowledge of the Garcia-​Marchesi technique, would have an incredible impact on my singing.
And boy was I right — my voice has never sounded better!
Robert offers private lessons as well as a weekly group vocal workout. I find both to be extremely effective as it gives you a chance to work one-​on-​one as well as in a group setting with fellow students. I’ve met an incredible network of talented singers through this as a result.
I can’t recommend Robert enough!

My husband and I have been taking classes (both group and individual) with Robert for about a year. He is and incredible teacher who is pretty much everything one can look for in a vocal teacher. He makes his students work hard in a very engaging, effective yet fun way. He is energetic, creative and knowledgeable, also, just a fun person to be around.

I’ve been taking singing lessons for the past 6 weeks and Robert is great. I have never sang in my entire life (well not in anyway that i thought sounded like singing) — and he has been incredibly confident, kind, and unbelievably knowledgeable in helping me understand where my blocks are (self confidence, sigh) and teaching me that — actually– I CAN sing.
My singing lessons thus far have been 1 part knowledge about how the voice works, 1 part practicing technique (and we are starting at the step 1 that is for sure), and 1 part therapy. I am genuinely in awe watching and listening to him do his job. I feel very lucky that I found him as my voice teacher (incredibly enough he was the only voice teacher i found on Unilocal that actually called me back– it seems it was meant to be).
What is particularly cool is that he records all our sessions and then sends them that week for me to practice with over the following weeks and months. Also he makes pretty incredible (albeit interesting) suggestions on how to move through certain blocks (ie go to a shooting range to open my root chakra — which i am fully planning on doing — even as i HATE guns). he just has the knowledge and experience it takes to really make this possible for me– which is really exciting. i couldn’t recommend a voice teacher more.

Although I’ve been singing my entire life, I had never taken formal voice lessons. I found Robert online and his studio is in my neighborhood so I thought I’d give it a try. It has literally felt like coming home. I take weekly private lessons and as well as the group workout (which I love!). Robert is very gifted in the ability to identify your vocal strengths and weaknesses and will work with you individually to help you achieve your dreams. Important note here… not goals but dreams! He can help make them happen.
With his knowledge of music, and the encouragement he provides you to stay dedicated and committed to doing the Garcia-​Marchesi exercises, you will see dramatic improvement in weeks time. As a casual singer my entire life, I have found myself singing with a strength and ease that I have never felt or heard before. He has an easygoing personality and a wide range of music style knowledge.
The group classes are fun and the group ranges from novice to professionals. We laugh a lot and work hard and everyone is very welcoming, friendly, and supported. Whether you are looking to sing for fun or hoping to go professional, Robert can certainly help you make it happen.

I have been working w robert since nov 09, taking group vocal voice lessons and one on one.
Hes a great singer (Garcia Marchesi trained) fantastic teacher aswel as a producer not mention a great mentor.
hes detail orientated, patient and innovative with overcoming challenges.
Hes is very resourceful, direct, honest and holds u accountable to ur goals
If you wanna really learn how to sing and actually do something w it, hes the guy w wanna work with.
Dont waist his time, or yours, theres no sugar coated beat around the bush BS w him, hes a very busy guy, music is his passion and he does it well.

I witnessed by girlfriend, who was already a good jazz singer improve substantially after taking lessons with Robert. I started lessons myself and have been very impressed with Robert, both professionally and personally. He has a very structured teaching method which is demanding but produces results when followed. His classes are a real workout, yet blend exercises and singing songs well enough. Most notably he has an extremely positive and supportive approach, while not letting any sloppyness go unnoticed. He is very patient and will help a struggling beginner through the uncertainty with never a criticism or negative comment, just focusing and what specifically needs to happen to move on. Robert is generally bursting with energy, intelligent, well read, curious, and just plain fun to talk to. Lastly, I’ve found him to be very flexible with hours, and scheduling requests compared to other instructors. Overall, and fantastic teach and experience. Highly recommended!

I am a beginner singer and to be honest, started taking singing classes to improve my voice and communications skills. Robert is very good at diagnosing voice issues and coming up with exercises to help you work through it. I really enjoy the classes and the time just flies. After a few classes, my voice has definitely become stronger and clearer and I am starting to have larger aspirations… :). The group classes are different in dynamic — I can’t make most of them because of schedule, but when I go, I notice a core group of die-​hard committed people there which contributes to a feeling of community.

Had the privilege of being able to experience Robert’s unique and amazing talent for finding the hidden voice inside and letting it out. And it was most definitely and out-​of-​body experience. Can’t wait to do it again. Don’t miss Roberts fantastic instruction and guidance!

I do both private lessons and the group vocal workout. The workout is not only fun but also kicks your ass and develops strong core muscles and diaphragm breathing. Robert really tunes into individuals even in a group setting. He’s got a great knowledge of how the voice works and has really helped me get started with singing.

I just recently moved to San Francisco from Hawaii where I was working with a voice teacher who I absolutely loved. I was convinced I wasn’t going to find someone as much as I liked him, but I was wrong. Robert is an amazing teacher, and he makes voice lessons fun! He is very knowledgeable about the technique he teaches and explains the mechanics behind singing. There are also a lot of laughs during my lessons, and he is very supportive!

I recently moved from Australia and was looking for a new voice teacher. My lessons back home were frustrating me and I felt that I had made little progress so I was hopeful but my confidence was low.
Robert teaches the Garcia-​Marchesi method which was a first for me but I noticed immediate results. Doing the exercises and practices a few weeks on I started feeling like singing was much easier and more natural.
I found Robert through a recommendation and I can’t recommend him highly enough. Not only is he bounding with positive energy, but for the first time in years I left the first lesson with a sense of reward, purpose and confidence that my vocal aspirations weren’t just pipe dreams. In my opinion he exemplifies what a teacher should do — mentor by example and inspire his students to be the best.
I also attend the weekly group class which is a different dynamic to the one-​on-​one and I’d recommend if you’re serious about improving your technique to do both.
You really won’t regret it. I’ll buy you a beer and a get-​well hug if you do.

I have been studying with Robert for about a year and a half, and I must say, the technique he teaches works. I had been singing for years but always had issues with pitch… to the point that I figured that while I loved to sing, I couldn’t really do it.
How wrong I was.
I studied with a couple of other voice teachers before Robert, and what they taught me was very helpful. I realized that I can, in fact, sing, and I learned a lot. Working with Robert, however, has taken me to the next level.
Through Robert’s direction and the Garcia Marchesi technique, I have learned to better engage my breath and better control my tone. And lo and behold, my pitch has improved well above the progress I made with my other teachers. I’ve also been getting some out of control vibrato in hand. I still have a lot to learn, and by no means will I say that Robert is better than every other voice teacher out there, but if you do the work, what he teaches is very effective. Plus, he’s got a great sense of humor and makes the lessons entertaining… so you’ll find yourself laughing while you learn. At least I do.

Never taken voice lessons before, but this guy makes it easy to start. He’s very encouraging and supportive, which are good qualities for teaching something most people are so apprehensive about. Whatever your aspirations are, he can help you realize them.
The lessons really helped me to overcome this curse of introversion that had been dogging me for years. It’s amazing how your vocal ability/​perception affect your confidence.

I had never taken voice lessons but had always wanted to and so in October/​November 2009 I bit the bullet and joined the Vocal Workout class. These group lessons draw upon Yoga, other core strengthening exercises and the Garcia Marchesi technique to build up breath control and muscle memory. Who would have thought that singing would have required so much work? Anyway, the classes are a lot of fun and my fellow students ranging from the complete novice to experienced professionals are a talented and dedicated bunch!
In addition to the Vocal Workout classes I have been taking private lessons with Robert; these too are a lot of fun and we work on a range of music that pushes my abilities… I have this strange penchant of selecting
difficult songs.
As for Robert himself, he is very energetic and passionate about his craft. If you don’t like to be challenged, he isn’t the teacher for you; if however, you want to extend your boundaries and improve your technique then I can recommend nobody better!
As cheesy as it sounds, if I’m having a bad day my classes (both private and group) always cheer me up. Not sure if it’s all the breathing or the camaraderie but either way, I come away with my spirits lifted…

Robinson’s work is energetic, thorough, and scientific.
I’ve been a professional vocal instructor ever since my conservatory training over 25 years ago, and have a thriving singing career of my own.
This is where I work out.
This is where I get transformation.