Meet Skyler Reed: R&B Artist & Vocal Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Skyler Reed and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Skyler, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My thought process behind starting Skyler’s Music Studio, LLC was to spread music, because it was something I enjoyed. I wanted to simplify vocal coaching for the average singer, and even make piano technique more graspable. Music has always been a part of my life, and I knew I would have a studio. I didn’t realize it was achievable so early in my career. I was tired of working a job that I did not enjoy, and being stressed out every single day. I knew that teaching was something I was good at. I believed I had developed enough experience through teaching at other studios, elementary schools, and being an after school program coordinator.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m classically trained, but R&B/Soul was my first love. I use my training to help me deliver stronger vocals. I write and co-write all my songs. Lately, I’ve been adding a lot of jazz tones and melodies to my originals. I’m most proud of my artistic creativity lately with this current project I’ve been working on. I’ve had a hand in composing and arranging the musical components, in addition to using live instrumentation. It’s always been a dream of mine to do a project with live musicians, which I’m so excited about.

My writing partner for this current project, Jessica Lloyce, has been super awesome to work with. She went the Berklee College of Music, and is a beast on the keys. It’s been refreshing to work with someone who gets my ideas and can take them to the next level, in addition to offering creative ideas of her own to make the music the best it can be. I’m so eager to share my new music. I feel like I have finally solidified my sound!

To get to where I am today in my art, it took a lot of discipline and focus. I had to make sure I was putting the time in to develop my craft, and not get so caught up in running my studio. Nothing worth having is easy. I challenge myself every day to practice piano, work on my voice, write a song, or even compose.

Over the summer, I started taking voice lessons with Dionne Osborne, who is Drake’s vocal coach. I made it a point to invest in myself the best way I could. I want to be great. And lessons with her has definitely made me a better singer. I want the world to know that I make a choice everyday of positivity and optimism and purpose, and that they can too. I hope to inspire people to live out their own dreams, as I am living mine.

Any great local spots you’d like to shoutout?
I’m a fan of Little Five Points area, where they have Moods Music, Rag-O-Rama, and Arden Garden! It’s a pretty artsy area as well. when it comes to food, my go to is Rosie’s, which has really good chicken and waffles. I also enjoy the restaurants at Krog Street Market and Ponce City Market. Before the pandemic, I had a lot of fun at The Groove at the Masquerade. It’s a must do for R&B lovers!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to shout out So Soul Productions, who has produced many of my songs. I also want to shout out my newest songwriting partner Jessica Lloyce! We’re creating some dope new music for my next project.