This is the soooper doooper awesome Vocal Instrument 101 Blog
You can teach your face off ... I can help.
on being a great voice teacher (daily blog – day 9)
Us voice teachers, we know IN OUR BRAINS that we are likely not the right voice teacher for every student out there. We know it in our brains. But when we have a paying singer in our studio - especially one who may or may not bring some extra visibility to the studio...
pizza vs champagne mindset (daily blog – day 8)
It's possible for us to get along. All of us voice teachers in the world. AND EVEN IN OUR SMALL TOWNS. (This post was prompted, by the way, by the super-love one of my colleagues displayed at our local festival when several of us were in the room and she just brought...
negotiating (daily blog – day 7)
The Untouchable Every singer brings a little untouchable sumthin-sumthin with them to the studio; that *one thing* that is deeply precious and integral to their sense of self and that singing teachers learn to negotiate around in initial sessions ... In some singers,...
foundations and such (daily blog – day 6)
build that thing They're building in the field that's on the far side of the green space in the back of our house. They've been at it for the better part of three years. And so far? They've built a road and some sort of power generation station (or something. I...
hydration habit (daily blog – day 5)
If you want to instantly make a singer (or singing teacher) feel guilty, just ask them how much water they drink on the daily. We all know the health benefits of hydrating. We all know that our bodies require hydration in order to function well. We all know that the...
mantra for festival-attending voice teachers (daily blog – day 4)
repeat after me I am good at what I do. But what I do is NOT WHO I AM. I offer my students wonderful performance opportunities. And I help them prepare for those opportunities to the best of my ability. My students’ performances do not increase or decrease my value as...
what you hear is what you’ve learnt (Daily Blog – Day 3)
say what now? I just had a great talk with Dr. Dan, a contemporary voice specialist based in Australia, about how our training influences what we perceive. A singer who is classically-trained, for example, may perceive effort and strain (not to mention the possibility...
plant a carrot (Daily Blog – Day 2)
future singer thanks you Seth Godin says: Twelve years from now, your future self is going to thank you for something you did today, for an asset you began to build, a habit you formed, a seed you planted. Even if you’re not sure of where it will lead, today’s the day...
Daily Blog – Day 1
that's interesting So often, the folks I work with attach a value judgement to the sounds they produce: that wasn't good sound, that crack was so bad, I am singing badly ... But vocal sounds in the studio or the practice room don't have a value in that sense; they are...
friday fav five – 18|10|19
~ the once per month edition (aka: the disdainful black cat edition) ~ (Because: SCHOOL IS IN SESSION, Y'ALL. And I am WERKIN' it.) Soooo ... here are some #voiceped favs from the last MONTH. 1. favourite #wordtothewise FB Live: recording studio vs live stage &...
friday fav five – 18|09|16
the end-of-the-weekend edition Yeah yeah ... I haven't done a #frifavfive in, like, a month. I KNOW. And I feel terrible about that. Because: HOW YOU MUST BE SUFFERING RIGHT NOW. THE PAIN. THE ANGUISH. UN.I.MAG.IN.A.BLE.* Okay, then. Here we go: 1. favourite...
friday fav five – 18|08|17
ALLTHETOOLS edition 1. Favourite FB Live "Unboxing": Joslin Romphf Dennis Unpacks Her Rolling Studio and BLOWS MY MIND WITH HER SKILZ Seriously folks: even if you teach in a studio and have all of your teaching resources and tools available to you on the regular? YOU...
friday fav five – 18|08|10
the Saturday edition. because: vacation. Yeah. I've been on vacation and technically? I STILL AM. But you know what? There are SO MANY teach your face off things on The Internets right now (possibly because a lot of voice teachers aren't teaching as much as they...
friday fav five – 18|07|20
the "cats are jerks" edition 1. favourite new voiceped tool: 3D larynx from anitaprints Y'all: this is a THREE-DEE LARYNX. It is accurate. It is ADORABLE. And IT IS CHEAP. #buyallthethings 2. favourite blog post: Key Habits for Being More Productive by John Henny...
friday fav five – 18|07|13
The "Does Not Include a Podcast Episode Featuring Shannon Coates" Edition ... #yourewelcome 1. favourite (possibly unnecessarily) #voicenerdtastic warm ups primer: Dr. Titze's Favorite* Vocal Warm-ups as presented by Fort Worth ENT's a tempo Voice Center I first saw...
friday fav five – 18|07|06
The "My Kid and His Friends Are Playing D&D VERY LOUDLY at My Kitchen Table So Things Might Get a Little Weird" Edition* 1. favourite podcast episode: Vocal Exercise Masterclass (LIVE FROM VEGAS) with Shannon Coates (WHAT?!), Dana Lentini, and Brian D. Lee, with...
friday fav five – 18|06|29
~ Leaving Las Vegas Edition ~ I had SO. MUCH. FUN. hanging with voice teachery peeps at the NATS National Conference in Las Vegas last weekend (at which I may or may not have lead the singing of the Canadian National Anthem at the opening ceremonies. while conducting...
friday fav five – 18|06|08
Sooo ... I'm not fully rocking the non-fri-fav-five blogs. Because? THE VOCAL INSTRUMENT 101 IS COMING SOON ... SO SO SOON. And it is taking all of my time. And so much of my sleep. Soooo ... muuuuch ... of myyyy ... sleeeeep.* But not SO much of my sleep that I...