Voice · Piano · Songwriting
Madeline Rahn
Singer, songwriter + music teacher
Madeline is a jazz-trained vocalist and songwriter who helps students connect the voice, the piano, and the music they actually want to make. Her lessons are ear-first, expressive, and grounded in real musicianship.
About Madeline
Hear it. Understand it. Make it your own.
Madeline approaches music as something connected: the ear, the voice, the keyboard, harmony, and the song itself all inform one another.
She earned her undergraduate degree in jazz voice at UCLA, where her performance work included UCLA’s Global Jazz Studies program and the Charles Mingus Ensemble.
After UCLA, Madeline taught private music lessons before moving to New York for graduate study in songwriting at NYU.
That combination makes her especially good with students whose musical interests do not fit neatly into one box: singers who want to understand the piano, pianists who want to write, young musicians who love songs, and students who learn best when the pieces connect.
The lesson
Technique is there to help you say something.
That idea stood out immediately when we first talked with Madeline. She takes technique and fundamentals seriously, but she never treats them as the destination.
The point is to help a student hear more clearly, understand what is happening in the music, and gain the tools to express something with confidence.
How Madeline teaches
One musician, not separate subjects.
A lesson might move from singing to the keyboard to a song on the student’s mind without ever losing the thread.
Madeline can teach voice, beginning piano, and songwriting as distinct subjects, but one of her strengths is helping students see how they relate to each other.
Young singers
More than forty-five minutes of just singing.
Especially with younger students, Madeline can build the lesson around the whole musician. A student might warm up, sing a favorite song, find part of the melody on the keyboard, clap a rhythm, hear how a chord changes underneath them, or start writing something of their own.
The goal is not to push a young voice too hard. It is to build good habits, a strong ear, and enough musical independence that singing keeps getting more interesting as the student grows.
Good to know: a student does not need to decide forever whether they are taking “voice” or “piano.” For the right student, those can live naturally in the same musical world.
Background
Jazz singer, songwriter, teacher.
Madeline came to WillYouLearn through New York’s music-school community, the same network that has introduced WYL to many of its longest-running teachers.
Her jazz training gives her a strong ear and a natural grasp of harmony, improvisation, and song form. Her songwriting work adds another layer: helping students understand how music is built and how to make choices of their own.
In-home lessons
Madeline teaches in Manhattan.
WillYouLearn builds teacher schedules by neighborhood so weekly lessons fit into real New York afternoons. Madeline’s route is growing now, with a focus on Lower Manhattan and nearby neighborhoods.
Tell us where you are, what the student wants to work on, and what your schedule looks like. We’ll confirm whether Madeline is the right fit and whether her current route can reach you.
Learn with Madeline
Find the teacher who fits the student.
Tell us their age, musical interests, neighborhood, and schedule. Will reviews every inquiry and will let you know whether Madeline looks like the right match.