by Shannon Coates | Aug 17, 2018 | Choosing Repertoire 101, FBLive, Fri Fav Five, Singing 101, The Vocal Instrument 101, Vocal Health & Hygiene 101, Voice Pedagogy 101, Young Voice 101
ALLTHETOOLS edition
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 WILL LEARN SOMETHING FROM THIS UNBOXING. #pinkyswear (Also: if you think you’re an organizational genius right now? YOU’RE GOING TO NEED TO RETHINK THAT. #justsayin)
my brain. it just exploded. with sheer awesomeness.
What is this? OH JUST A SUPER CHILL READINESS ROUTINE USING EFT TAPPING AND ENERGY DIRECTION TO GET YOU READY TO DO YOUR THANG. #YOUREWELCOME.
and now i am focused and ready to roll. or, you know, do the cat things i need to do.
Is one of your singers giving you the business because they were sick so THEY COULDN’T PRACTICE THIS WEEK?! Yeah well, send them this and tell them to stop their whining already. #noexcuses (Also? If that singer comes to their lesson and they can’t make a sound? Nikki Loney over at The Full Voice HAS YOU COVERED.)
you are the boss and you can shut that business down and now you have the tools.
With topics like “Tremors and Quakes: Involuntary Movement Disorders of the Larynx” and “Practical Pharyngeal and Esophageal High Resolution Manometry” this webinar series appeals to the HIGHEST LEVEL OF GEEKERY POSSIBLE. #thatscool
that is a lot of voice geekery right there. and it is making me tired.
I love Brian’s thought-FULL words. If you have a beverage that’s waiting to be consumed and a few minutes for reflection, WHY NOT DO THAT THING WITH BRIAN?!
this beverage is my favourite thing. i do not want to share it with brian.
And as always … go on and teach your face off.
Go on and find #voicepedme on all the things:
by Shannon Coates | Jul 20, 2018 | Fri Fav Five, Productivity 101, Singing 101, The Vocal Instrument 101, Vocal Health & Hygiene 101, Voice Pedagogy 101, Young Voice 101
the “cats are jerks” edition
Y’all: this is a THREE-DEE LARYNX. It is accurate. It is ADORABLE. And IT IS CHEAP. #buyallthethings
i mean, cheap larynx: borrring. you know what’s interesting? watching humans trying to figure out how to say the plural of larynx. #goodluckwiththat
Look. There are about a million and one HOW TO BE PRODUCTIVE tools and tricks out there. But you know what? I like hearing about those tools and tricks from someone who I know is slugging through a lot of the same stuff I am. Someone who does what I do. Who, you know. GETS MY LIFE. (Also? #Protip: there’s NO FANCY TOOL OR TRICK AND ANYONE WHO TELLS YOU THAT THERE IS? Is working with alternative facts. Ahem.)
productivity? boorrrrriiing. honestly, human. it’s like you WANT people to swipe right.
3. favourite promise of a better life app: waterlogged
I know. I KNOW. THE APPS ALWAYS PROMISE MORE THAN THEY DELIVER (well, except for that ChatBooks App. HAVE YOU TRIED THAT THING? #ItsMyFav #MyGrandmotherThinksIMakePhotoBooksForHerWithMyOwnTwoHandsByPrintingPicturesANDBINDINGTHEMAndThenISendThemToHerEveryMonth #WINNINGATGRANDCHILDING). And the best advice I’ve ever heard about staying hydrated comes from some of the learned laryngologists in my life: sing wet, pee pale. (Which, let’s admit: would make a hilarious tattoo. #justsayin) BUT, if you’re one of those folks who does really well when you’re checking in with an app AND you want to up your hydration game? THIS COULD BE YOUR NEW FAVOURITE APP! #yourewelcome (#shoutout to Emily for the reco)
i literally cannot with how boring you are today, human.
This is a quick (and not so dirty) break-down of Carol Dweck’s research into growth vs fixed mindset that, if you haven’t come across it before, may help you to understand why I made a conscious effort to change my language choices in the studio (and when interacting with my own children) from anything that resembles “you’re so talented” / “you’re such a good singer” TO “you’ve worked so hard to achieve this” / “I can see how far you’ve already come”. (#shoutout to Stephanie for the reco!)
less boring. but only marginally so.
Yeah. I’m not a huge fan of shows in which all of the singers are virtually indistinguishable from each other (because: BORING FOR REALS and also: VOICES SHOULD SAY SOMETHING OTHER THAN “THIS WAS PRODUCED TO WITHIN AN INCH OF ITS LIFE SO THAT WE COULD ALL SOUND EXACTLY THE SAME BUT DON’T YOU THINK WE LOOK GOOD?”)* and in which “opera singers” are portrayed as, well, INCREDIBLY BORING SINGERS WHO CANNOT MOVE ON STAGE EXCEPT TO RAISE THEIR ARMS BUT WHO ARE PRETTY TO LOOK AT**, but … this video? THIS VIDEO shows the POWER of music. And, even more importantly, the POWER of raising our voices together. #takemetochurchindeed
you have my attention. or at least as much of it as i am willing to give you.
I have a feeling I’m going to need to end this here … while my all caps button is still functioning.
Go on and teach your face off …
*Clearly, I HAVE FEELINGS about this movie. And about this kind of singing. And about the kind of production that values EVERYONE SOUNDING LIKE PREPUBESCENT CHILDREN. But I will not bore you with them right now. Maybe I’ll do a FB Live or something … although I’m not sure The Internets is ready for the LEVEL OF RAGE I feel when PEOPLE’S ACTUAL VOICES ALL SOUND THE SAME. THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH ALLCAPS IN THE WORLD is all I’m saying.
** SO MANY FEELINGS. I THINK MY ALL CAPS BUTTON IS STARTING TO SMOKE.
by Shannon Coates | Apr 13, 2018 | Fri Fav Five, Voice Pedagogy 101, Young Voice 101
friday the 13 edition …
WILL THIS BE SPOOKY?! PLEASE TELL ME IT WILL BE SPOOKY.
You know what’s spooky? How clear John Henny’s breakdown of the concept of power (and resonance) in the singing voice is.* SO SPOOKY.
your definition of spooky is pretty different from mine, human.
Yes. I am aware that this sucker is from last month. It says it RIGHT IN THE TITLE. But my March was a little hectic and I’m JUST NOW getting around to listening to the podcast about Movement in the Voice Lesson (free thing the first), reading the blog post by Christin Coffee Rondeau (free thing the second), and cutting out those CUTE LITTLE MOVEMENT AND RHYTHM GAME THINGGIES to add to my Songbird Warm Up Jar (free thing the third). SO SUE ME.
not even close to spooky. also: i am extremely handsome.
This is a handy dandy list of 100 adjectives you can use in your performance classes (or, you know, when you are helping students prepare for performances however you do it. Because, as we’ve covered previously dear voice teacher? YOU DO YOU.). Just print out a few of these handy dandy sheets for the performance class attendees and invite them to use it as a prompt to write down every adjective that seems relevant to each performance they see. Then discuss. (GENIUS, RIGHT? Well, it wasn’t my idea; it was my mentor, Lorna MacDonald’s idea. AND I STOLE IT FROM HER. BECAUSE I KNOW A GOOD IDEA WHEN I SEE IT, FOLKS.)
#Protip: this tool can be particularly useful in performance classes with singers who are singing in languages that the performance class attendees (or, you know, the singers themselves. ahem) do not understand.
OH! And here’s a simplified version you can use with littles from Sunflower Storytime. #yourewelcome
you. are. bad. at. spooky.
Pretty much every singer in my studio who is over the age of sixteen has seen this video. Because: LOOK AT THE TONGUE & PHARYNX INTERACTION. #mindblown
SPOOKY. GIVE ME SPOOOOOKY.
i hate you so much right now.
Happy Friday the 13th everyone!
You can teach your face off … I can help.
*Yes. I know this is a pretty simplified version of how all the things work when we produce sound. And John is aware of it too. Tell you what: YOU GO ON AND EXPLAIN THE ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF VOCAL POWER IN A WAY THAT EVEN PEOPLE WHO WOULDN’T KNOW THEIR THYROARYTENOIDS FROM THEIR CRICOTHYROIDS CAN GRASP … AND YOU DO IT IN LESS THAN SEVENTEEN MINUTES, INCLUDING EXERCISES. AND IF YOU DO THIS THING? *THEN* YOU CAN BE PISSY ABOUT HOW SIMPLIFIED JOHN’S EXPLANATION IS. #ItWasNiceToMeetYouNowGoAway
Recent Comments