Building Your Cocoon

The wings of the butterfly are already held inside the caterpillar, and as it breaks down its old self into goo the wings emerge ready to go. That process is amazing and teaches me that as we change and transform, we also have everything we need already right inside of us. So my organizing and healing work becomes about building the cocoon that can hold the goo so that wings can emerge.

• Micah Hobbes Franzier, from Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown

It seems kind of strange to talk about slowing down when the natural world is currently starting to speed up. Birds singing, leaves greening, sunlight brightening. But I believe and have witnessed how slowing down can actually enhance our growth. Whether you are a performing artist, music/art lover or lifelong learner, when you slow down you can discover parts of your body, breath, voice and thoughts that are really running “the show”. Whether that show is playing an instrument, dancing, acting, sitting on countless Zoom meetings, caring for your family or otherwise, there is a lot to be gained from Mindful Movement.

For example when I slow down and understand where I am gripping or tightening in my body, I start to build new relationships with myself, my movement, my activities and even my beliefs. As I ease the tension in my arms, my arms start to take on a new identity to me. When I let go in my hips, my legs become something new, lighter and more connected. As I let go of my tongue, my breath becomes fuller and more calming to my nervous system. In essence when we slow down, we have the opportunity to transform, to build our own cocoon. We also have the opportunity to develop a stronger connection to ourselves for all the moments when we are taking flight singing, playing and moving at high speed. 

As creative people there are always times when we will be gathering momentum, coasting from that momentum and slowing down. Right now in the northeast we are entering spring and tomorrow is the spring equinox, a time of birth, blossoming and fire. This month why not recommit to your artistic process so that you might yield a fruitful creative harvest? What are doing to nurture a cocoon for your art/practice? If you are looking for support for your creative life and body, reach out to learn more about my Tuning In series here today.

Why Is It So Scary To Be Seen And Heard?

Have you ever noticed yourself holding back from being seen and heard? You don’t have to be a performing artist to feel the fear that can come up around being exposed. Oftentimes being seen and heard requires a huge level of visibility and therefore vulnerability. And within that vulnerability there can be shaky questions that come up. Will you be attacked for being too much? Rejected and or shamed? Will you lose someone’s love? Will you ever be enough? Are you are fully loveable?

So imagine the perfect opportunity presented itself to you. The best venue for your work, the best audience, even the best team. Would you be ready and willing to fully receive it? In this moment would you allow yourself to shine...or would you find a way to unravel and undermine it in some way? Sometimes I feel like this is the real, core work of learning about the voice and or how to sing. Understanding the ways in which we all hold ourselves back and the ways in which we allow ourselves to flow with the tide. 

Whether you consider yourself a singer or not, your level of comfort or discomfort with your voice can show up in a multitude of ways. If you really want to sing and really want to make an impact with your voice and your art, there still may be an ingrained habit of dimming your own light. You may shy away from sharing your accomplishments, procrastinate when opportunities present themselves to reveal new work, find ways to get out of meeting people or potential collaborators, compare yourself or compete with others when you might have to show up as your authentic self.

Your voice shows up in your personal and work relationships. In your fears of expressing your honest opinions. It can show up in your art and how you negotiate or make decisions or collaborate. It can show up in how or whether you nurture yourself as an artist. Do you delay to register for lessons or classes that you know will help you? Do you postpone rehearsals, not texting or emailing people back? Your level of comfort with yourself can show up as overwhelm and scattered thoughts when you decide you want to step up and be more seen. It can show up as overworking yourself day and night so that you go from working non-stop to burning out and then being forced to stop. Trust me, I know from personal experience.

And the thing is you’e not alone. You are not wrong for being scared to be seen. It’s human. The impact your voice makes not only in the world but also your life is quite great. That’s why it’s so valuable to take a hold of support and connect to your voice in a holistic, whole body way. There are a lot of external and internal forces at work trying to disrupt your voice from being fully heard. And I want to support you to ensure that it does get heard and that it feels good in the process. So tell me (because I would love to hear from you)….really, please write me back:). Let me know do you have a fear of being seen or heard and what would make you feel safe dipping your toes in the water?

How Art Making Can Make You More Whole

If you are a professional artist or aspiring artist, you probably care pretty deeply about making artwork that impacts others or helps to create positive change. As a result it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking from the center of your art outwards. To think that your book, your composition, play or painting is the thing instead of remembering that you are the thing. You have to practice, shape, research, write, project and tell the story. You have to figure out where this artistic entity begins and ends. However, a lot of times in art we tend to focus on our goal, or project, without assessing our current state. 

But here’s the thing. I imagine many of you reading this have had the experience where a song or poem just writes itself. Where one day you sit down or saddle up to create and the piece just flows seamlessly out of you. So why is it that we forget our part in the process? Perhaps in those moments it does feel as if we really aren’t the creators but more the conduits for art. Yet even if that is the case, which I do believe, don’t you want to be the best conduit for your art possible? And by best I mean well cared for. 

The way that art has been taught in the past often focuses on getting the job done by any means necessary. But that approach can leave people ripe with physical injuries, mental stress, anxiety, or even worse, dependencies on outside substances such as drugs or alcohol or looking to other people for love and approval. 

So how do you want to make art this year? Do you want to create a well loved, well tended home for your art to spring from? Do you want to create art that touches others and maybe even leaves you the better after it’s completion? Remember YOU are the instrument. You are not a bystander. 

To gain more support for your artistic process, join Tuning In, The Embodied Artist Practice Space. Imagine a virtual artistic “We Work” space for like minded women/non binary folks of color in the arts. Email here to find out more.

Why Finding Your Voice Matters

What makes finding your voice so important...and who said it was lost anyway? Since you have been speaking and maybe singing for many years now, you probably feel that you already know your voice and any unknown parts must not be that important. But for a moment let’s just examine all the ways that you use your voice. At work, on the phone, socializing, placing orders, giving instructions, comforting, explaining, convincing, teaching, connecting and more. You have most likely spent two or more decades already using your voice. And within that time I am sure you have had to tend to your physical health at various points, so why not tend to your vocal health and happiness as well? 

Most people believe that their voices are fixed or immovable “objects” like the foundation of a house. But your voice is in fact malleable. So much more than you give it credit for. Studying the voice and refining it is like tending to a deep part of yourself in winter so that you can bloom with all the lacy petals of spring. When you start to pay attention to the quality of your voice, you start to access your personal power in a new way. The way your voice makes an entrance, the way your voice calls peoples attention to you, your ideas, values, purpose and or calling. Finding your voice is important because your voice is an essential part of you but one that you frequently overlook or take for granted. 

This year we have witnessed, in greater detail, how disastrous things become when we take basic rights and spaces for granted. The rights of BIPOC people, LGBTQIA people, the health of the planet, just to name a few.The more you strengthen your individual voice, the more you strengthen the voice and needs of your community. And the beauty of art is that you can do this through your art. That’s why finding your voice can lead to a wellspring of transformation for you and those around you. 

Next month I will be guest teaching a “Find Your Voice” series through the RISE Collective. To find out more, write here.

PERMISSION TO BE MESSY

As some of my friends and students may now know we recently adopted a puppy. Yes, like many other people during this pandemic we too have a quarantine dog. And although she is not the equivalent of a human child there are a good deal of similarities. As anyone who has had child can attest to you have no idea the amount of things you will lose control over once you have a child...or a dog. And your body is the least of them! There is your schedule, the constant rearranging of your priorities, time for your relationships, dressing and showering! not to mention the mess. Even the tidiest of tidy have to lower their standards. And now that I have a dog I am back in the mess of having a small child, a furry one, but a child nonetheless.

Our pup smells, rolls in the mud, chews corners of things when I'm not looking and eats things that should not be swallowed. She does all of this with the greatest of pleasure and no self judgment or self awareness. And we are hanging on for the ride.

Here’s the rub tho’ I don’t like messy. I don’t mind if other people are messy but at home I want to be able to be able to maintain some semblance of order and beauty. But this pup, she keeps throwing me curve balls. And I couldn’t help thinking how similar her crazy is to the crazy of studying the voice.

We all want our voices to be “tidy” in a manner of speaking. Some version of presentable and or beautiful and lacking mess (unless we were intending it). We want high notes that ring and low notes that envelop the listener. We want to impress others as well as ourselves. But voices and songs don’t just magically behave the way we want them to (nor do puppies I am learning). Even for those voices that we admire like Aretha Franklin or Oum Kalsoum or Nancy Wilson or countless others, they practiced tirelessly. And the challenging part of that practice is being able to sit and listen to yourself making “a mess”. That is the reason that having a voice mentor or voice teacher is so valuable. Part of what will help you know if they are the right teacher for you is whether they can really push you musically and technically while simultaneously not judging “your mess”.

If you want to get more from your voice without judgement, then I suggest you try next month’s Community Vocal Gym to make some vocal mud pies together.
To find out more about this voice experience email now.

HOW TO FACE YOUR VOICE

Okay you’ve decided to take voice lessons or a voice class, maybe a special, voice workshop. You’ve signed up, thought about it, journaled about it, procrastinated about it and now you are finally committing. You know you need this for your vocal health, for your greater confidence, for your creative endeavors...even for your day job! But it’s still kind of terrifying! This voice thing is big! 

It’s scary, this part of your body that comes with so many surprises. So many possibilities. It would be easier if you knew what to expect. If you always knew you could take a breath, sing and that the sound would be exactly what you want it to be...loud, strong, sustained, on pitch, beautiful, inspiring, that everyone would love it. It would be much easier to jump in. But it’s the fear of the unknown that gets you. The fact that you don’t always know what you are going to get from yourself. The fear of what others may think of you. The fear of stepping outside a boundary that you or someone else has laid for you and your life. 

But maybe that’s just why you are wanting it because you are ready to break out! Why you find it calling to you. Taking that voice lesson, class, workshop is another piece of the puzzle. A way to help you find out something new about yourself. To allow you to be more of you that you have been struggling to be and fully accept. 

And since going in alone can be intimidating and difficult to maintain, it is smoother to find a mentor or guide. Someone to allow you to face your voice with support and encouragement. Someone to let you know that you are walking in the right direction. That there is light at the end of the tunnel. Someone to reassure you so that you can relax and sing powerfully yet with ease. 

If you are looking for a way to open your voice, to trust your voice and do it with equal doses of ease and  confidence, I want you to know I am here and this is my jam! To find out more about the voice experience that is right for you, email now.

HOW TO RAISE YOUR VOICE

Did anyone ever tell you to be quiet growing up? Not just in that normal ”Kids quiet down!” way or “Shhh, this is a library” but more in that “you” specifically “need to turn down!”. Like your voice was too loud or off key or ugly or just not good enough. Maybe you’ve made yourself into a person of few words who only uses them when they are “perfectly”  strung together. Who or what circumstance told you to be quiet? 

Whether you are a beginner or advanced voice explorer/singer, you still might have fears about raising your voice and being heard. Perhaps raising your voice makes you feel naked in front of others or fearful of making a mistake. Sometimes letting yourself be heard can mean risking that your voice will not give you what you want or that you might sound strange and therefore not fit in. 

In other ways you might feel confident in the power of your voice and opinions but the thought of singing makes you scared that your voice will be quiet, frail or weak. That your voice will squeak and shake. Or maybe you know you can make the sounds you want when you are alone in the shower but when other people turn up, even one person, you choke. 

To sing is to be vulnerable. To sing is also to invite the unexpected and the unexpected is scary...even if it’s good! (We often forget that good things come from the unexpected too:). Even if you have been singing all your life, even if you are an extrovert, it’s still intimidating to many people to let their voices fully shine. The thing many people forget is that singing is also a gift. Not just for you but for others as well. Your imperfection is a much of a gift as your perfection. And you taking the time to strengthen and refine your voice is greatly needed and frankly, invaluable right now! 

Your mind may try to distract you with “What if my shine isn’t like her shine or his shine?” But we need the multitude of our voices. We need them to be clear, strong and thoughtful. We need them to create the change our world so desperately needs. So what is the next step for you to raise your voice? Email here for some suggestions .

THE POWER OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS

How is your art serving your heart? How does it serve your community, your values? And does your practice of it (literally when and how you show up) express your values and the world you want to live in? Sometimes we forget how powerful the creative process is. We see beautiful finished products and forget all the trial and error it took to get there. All the areas of life that are being responded to and redefined. It’s much easier to appreciate the connection between art and life when looking back at history, yet so much more challenging to see in real time. 

Part of the reason I believe more people ought to learn how to sing or pick up an instrument, take a dance class or a drawing class is as much for the art that gets created as for what we learn about ourselves. The mental unwinding, the inner and outer conflicts revealed which can be hugely liberating. Depending on your awareness you can see the artistic process as a way to get out of your own way. 

And right now it feels like we truly need to get out of our own way, our old habits. On the anniversary of September 11th, with wild fires burning out west, a presidential election approaching and the President’s attempts to defund the post office instead of the police, with the pandemic continuing and not much end in sight, it feels as if we are constantly in the midst of deep reflection and urgency. So is there a way art can serve you in this time? To reflect in the way you need, to mourn, to celebrate and help transform the world.

HOW YOUR VOICE TRANSFORMS THE WORLD

You want to create art that changes the world for the better and even heals you in the process. You want to make art that lifts people up, that causes them to think differently, to recognize their privilege, to remember their power and that gives them the courage to be vulnerable. You want your art to create conversation and make space for contemplation as well as connection. And in order to achieve a holistic outcome, you need a holistic process.

Over my years of teaching singing and movement I have gone from a more traditional model of teaching to an integrative approach. While the methods that I teach are in and of themselves holistic, meaning that they will help you with “the thing” (whatever the thing is) be it recording your first album, healing a vocal injury or getting over say tendonitis so you can play your instrument pain-free, you will also gain a new perspective on life and how you want to live it. Assuming that you are open to change, practice and take responsibility for your learning, the modalities that I teach will help you meet your goal and can also improve your life overall. 

I chose to change my offerings in response to all the self-discovery that occurred during voice and Alexander Technique lessons. Students would arrive with emotional reflection,  life changes, new desires to be seen and heard and these seemed to be calling for a more integrative approach. As it turned out the integrative approach was right in my wheel house. It felt easy, natural and intuitive. 

Once I decided to officially offer combined voice and movement programs I started hearing even more from people that it was indeed what they were looking for. Whether advanced or beginner, hobby singer or professional, students wanted to transform along with their voices, as a result of their voices and they wanted their music, art and lives to be able to handle the bigger selves they were creating. 

There is a lot of deep work to do right now. And art has always been in close connection with powerful world changes. If you want to make a better world, a healthier community, a happier home, then why not start with you, your voice and your body. The world will thank you. 

To learn more about my Embodied Artist Program and the You Are The Instrument Program, write here.

SHAPESHIFTING & SHEDDING SKIN

When the title for this blog came to me I wrote it down immediately. There were a number of synchronous conversations and personal events that made it feel utterly palpable. However, as I have been writing this over the last few weeks, the writing itself has continued to change shape. 

When I began my thoughts centered around the personal churning of citywide cocoons brought on by  covid but then with the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and countless others my heart shifted to address a much deeper pandemic. This blog has literally shed skin many times over. Beware what you name a thing:)

I been shapeshifting

I been

I been shapeshifting

I been 

I been shapeshifting

Since the very very beginning

-Shapeshifting, Pyeng Threadgill, May 22, 2020

There is a song currently being sung. This song is abrupt, unsettling, imploding, exploding, no bottom. The sounds are:

yells and hollars, 

cries and screams, 

repeat 

repeat 

repeat 

louder and louder 

exhaustion 

fatigue 

numbness 

delirium 

everyone-playing-at-once 

because this song is in-your-face bleeding truth. 

Hope and anger. 

Open your eyes “we’ve been telling you but you wouldn’t listen” lyrics.

I thought I knew about shapeshifting. About phoenixes, Anansi and Brer Rabbit, about being here and there and “here before” at the same time. But these days, these last few weeks?... I think everyone is learning a new definition of what it means to transform. 

Being Black in America, growing up in predominantly white institutions and many white social settings I learned to change shape, if you will. Being a Black woman ….I have learned to flip my cover, adjust my size, move in, move out like camouflage and still make magic. We all do. 

The people in the communities I was raised in, my aunts and uncles, my parents and their friends were adept shapeshifters as well. And they learned to play the shift as they lived it. My passion for teaching singing and movement comes from them as well as my desire to live and aid others in this honest expression and transformation. 

The Black Lives Matter movement could be thought of as an enormous group song too where we each play our own solo simultaneously. Where we are hearing the individual and collective voice at the same time. Hopefully, now we will remember the wisdom of music in order to become a new version of ourselves and the world that we truly want to live in.

SING YOUR WAY TO BETTER BREATH SUPPORT

Learn how to exhale, the inhale will take care of itself. 

– Carla Melucci Ardito

Nowadays as we climb, crawl, stumble and even finesse our days living during quarantine there are more and more events to shock/startle you and potentially disrupt your breathing. Some news feed, the mail, a conversation at work or with family and what has happened to your breathing? 

Every Thursday at 11am I gather and guide an intimate group of performers through a series of movement and breath awareness explorations as well as writing prompts in a workshop called “Tuning In”. Throughout the weeks I have been steadily guiding this group to sing/play with more of their heart but also with the best use of their instruments...themselves! 

It’s easy to forget, whether you are a performer or not, that each and every one of us is constantly training our bodies and minds for better or…(I don’t want to say “for worse” but you get the point). One area I see many students needing more support with lately is their breathing.

Over the weeks I can literally hear the sitting in students’ voices!! I know it sounds strange but it’s as if I can hear a damper or lingering grogginess that says students just aren’t getting the same amount of movement they normally would.

And while this is what we need in order to take care of ourselves and our communities, there are things you can do to continue conditioning and enlivening your respiratory system in a fun and stimulating way. Yes, you can sing!

When you are learning to sing one of the things that quickly becomes apparent is that you MUST breathe! Before each vocal exercise, before each musical phrase, whether the singing is soft and sultry or loud and in your face, you need to breathe with intention. Not only that but if you are singing with a holistic approach you can actually remind your body that singing is a physical activity and MOVE too!

So right now lean into the fact that YOU are the instrument and worth investing in. Boost your system, center your mind...and sing. Your work, relationships, body and mind will all thank you for it.

To schedule a free consultation call to learn more about supporting your breath, write here.

DANCING WITH YOUR DEMONS

“Anyone else feeling hella lethargic but then creative and spiritual,
cranky then peaceful?…” -
- Kassa Overall 

I just saw this post on social media from drummer Kassa Overall the other day and I had to laugh out loud. If you know Kassa, then you can probably also hear his voice asking this but in addition I FELT this. So I had one of those full hearted “Yes! Right there with you” knee-slap laughs.

I have been hearing from lots of students and friends lately saying that they are feeling numb, anxious, tense, tired, relaxed….A close friend of mine recently said to me that they felt as if they were “unraveling...in a good way”.

In a lot of ways covid19/quarantining feels like some version of ourselves/our demons have been let out without our permission. Like someone left the tap running or forgot to close the back door and now we find ourselves with more mental and or emotional overwhelm and less options to release the noise if we are not conscious. 

In times like these I am so grateful that I have been building and refining an Embodied Artist practice for the last 15 plus years. While my voice and movement training help my voice to sound clear, loud, strong, steady, on pitch... it’s also actually what I use to balance and regulate my thoughts, my mood, my fears and my excitement.

Another way of saying this is WHAT THE SONG NEEDS YOU ACTUALLY NEED AS WELL...if that makes sense. The song, whether original or a cover, needs your voice to be healthy, your throat to be open, your breath to be free yet supported, your mind to be present, your heart open and your body strong yet flexible.  

This is what makes an Embodied practice SO valuable and it's what allows my students to dance with their own demons when they show up. 

 Want to learn more about how to dance (or sing:) with your demons?

Email here to find about my group and private offerings 

WHY YOU WANT TO GROW AN EMBODIED VOICE & MOVEMENT PRACTICE?

It might seem obvious or maybe you have no clue at all why nurturing a daily embodied practice is crucial to your success as a person and as an artist. (Hint: Things which nurture you as a person, nurture you to also be an empowered artist:). If you don’t already have a daily practice with your voice, here are some reasons why it is SO valuable!

1. Consistent practices are calming for the nervous system. Just like children we all crave some thing we can depend on. Committing to building or continuing to show up for your music practice on a regular basis is a REAL way to take the edge off and build some feel good endorphins nowadays. 

2. Warming up your voice and body regularly will improve your pitch so that you can focus on other things like styling and interpretation while singing/performing. 

3. In order to hit those high notes without straining you need regular warm-ups to help you get there with ease. Ideally these warm-ups will be specifically catered to your vocal needs.

4. Consistency will help improve your vocal tone and the clarity of you vowels which will in turn help  your pitch when you are in the midst of recording, performing or auditioning.

5. Daily practices bring insight that you can’t get in a one shot practice session. It’s the regular return to a movement/vocalization that deepens self awareness and allows you to  better understand your voice, your VOCAL HEALTH and your artistic impulses so that you can own your voice.

Want more tips and tools join my Embodied Artist Facebook group?

STAYING TUNED & TUNING IN: TOOLS FOR EMBODIED ARTISTS

While everyone is checking their phones, the news, the radio and twitter:) for updates...it is equally important to remember to CHECK IN WITH YOURSELF. It is one of the reasons I am making a point to be a voice for self "tune-ins" these coming weeks. Another way to phrase this would be for you to take stock of what you are needing mentally, physically and emotionally to help you feel best in this moment, day or week.

So HOW DO YOU STAY TUNED TO YOURSELF and the world around you in order to be a more EMPOWERED artist? It seems everyone I know is feeling just slightly or even extremely agitated by the coronavirus and all of the unknown changes being thrown our way.

But I want to remind you EMBODIED PERFORMANCE PRACTICES ARE THE WAY OF THE FUTURE. Actually they are the way RIGHT NOW for performers who want to live sustainable lives earning what you desire, having time to create your original art, eat well, have nourishing relationships, tend to the needs of your voice, body and mind and more. Growing up in a community of artists my entire life this is what I have observed to be the REAL DEFINITION OF SUCCESS.

So this week I am offering short, daily practices that you can weave into your regular or growing toolkit. Want more tools for your embodied practice?

Ask to join my Empowered Artist Facebook group.

MAKE SELF-DOUBT YOUR ALLY...BUT HOW???

You can do nothing
or you can do something
If you do something, you will be told you are doing it imperfectly...
The only alternative is to do nothing, and nowadays that's exactly what nobody needs...
-Amanda Palmer

Okay you all, so here it is...the truth. These past several months I have been having an aching time, a freakin, annoying inner and outer battle with getting my solo performances up and running again. It feels like a long shot ‘tho I know I have done this before and will do it many more times. 

The fact of the matter is, I, like many of you, doubt myself quite often. Fortunately, the creative spirit, or universe juice (as Kung-fu Panda would say:), has a hold on me and I on it..because I LOVE making music. I love MUSIC! I love SINGING and I LOVE singing MY OWN ORIGINAL MUSIC!

I love the FEELING of sound in my throat, in my body. It feels like breathing. It feels like air. (I guess my mom was right to make the meaning of my name "of the air":). 

But what to do with the doubt? Why does that good feeling have to be interrupted by a crappy reality? It’s like waking from a good dream or vacation ending too soon. All I know is performance is not final. It IS just another practice. And there are TOOLS (hint hint) or practices one can collect to serve your inner demons when they start gnawing at your insides.

Over the next few months I will be offering a delicious buffet for your inner demons and all of you art lovers alike. I hope to see you somewhere online or in person soon:).

*To find out about Pyeng's online workshop series "Own Your Voice, Own The Stage" EMAIL HERE

STORING AWAY FOR A HARDER DAY & OTHER THINGS PERFORMERS OUGHT TO LEARN FROM SQUIRRELS

It can be hard to sort out which battle to choose  as a performer/artist. Do you remember the squirrel from the animation trilogy Ice Age? Oftentimes being an artist can feel a lot like an endless journey that is constantly slipping through your hands...or paws:) 

Should you be making connections within the industry, training your voice, producing more material, getting out and performing, working on your brand...Ugh! The list just goes on and on! Just like that acorn in Ice Age. art is constantly calling you. Yet if you are a creative type, it’s probably VERY easy for you to get pulled in a variety of directions because your mind is always generating new, creative ideas...  

But let’s assume that you have been starting to get out and share your art in a way that feels good to you. Be it with close friends in your home, at open mics, perhaps writing with a friend/collaborator, but you still have this very important thing to keep up with. Your instrument!

Your voice still isn’t where you want it to be. You are having trouble with high notes as well as your breath control not to mention that anxiety that keeps coming up when you decide to sing in front of other people! When you are at home singing alone, you sound fine...even amazing at times but in front of other people, your voice quivers and shakes. Well, no matter what you are working on you want to be regularly tending to and nurturing your instrument. It is the core of everything you are developing as an artist. If you are an aspiring or professional singer, rapper, spoken word artist or actor, your instrument is YOU!:)

TENDING TO YOUR INSTRUMENT 

You want to be tending to your vocal practice on a consistent basis. I like to think of this in the same way that squirrels and other animals pack away their hearty food of sustenance for the winter. In this example the winter is your performance and the nuts are your singing tools and technique. Winter may not come everyday...but as a performer...it is coming. So you want to be prepared to perform at your best.

HOW TO LOVE YOUR INSTRUMENT

If you are the instrument, that means you want to start identifying the things that help you to feel better, inspired and energized verses the things that make you feel depleted. This is why it is so vital to have a voice teacher and team. As a voice and movement teacher/mentor part of what I help students sort out is not only their vision but how to build a sturdy foundation for your artistic vision.

So this holiday season what steps can you take to store away for another day?

HOLISTIC VOICE TRAINING IS THE WAY OF THE FUTURE!

How do you TRULY combine your desire to sing with actually getting onstage and doing it? I know for most people this desire, while super exciting and titillating, can also bring up a lot of fear, anxiety or even nausea. So let’s just think about it (while stakes are low:)…Where do fears live? Fear often lives in your body and your mind. That mixture of “butterflies” of excitement, stomach cramps of uncertainty and thoughts of “I suck!”/”I can’t do this!” are just a few examples of fear showing up in your body and mind. 

So maybe you notice these physical/mental signs but you really don’t know what to do with them. It’s like your body has a mind of it’s own. No pun intended. So what’s a good way to say access your body and interrupt this steady stream of butterflies? Research has shown that one of the most efficient and effective ways to ”train” your  mind is by connecting to your breath and body. 

But we’re talking about singing right? The thing is your voice is also inside your body. So even your voice requires your conscious thought. Practicing vocal warm ups to work on pitch, improve tone quality and clear vowel sounds as well as emotional intention and confidence in a song. These are all things that require thought. 

In order to make an impact on your singing, your singing dreams and even your singing fears, you need to acknowledge the fact that your voice is an integral part of your body. Therefore in order to truly address the full spectrum of who you are (or want to be) as a performer, you will benefit most from an integrated approach to training your voice. Holistic voice training aims to address the various aspects of your vocal freedom, singing desires and unconscious/conscious fears. There are multiple ways to get there but almost all include the breath, movement and self-awareness.

I don’t know if this is exactly you. But very often when I talk to prospective students and ask them what it is they are attracted to about singing they often say things like they have always loved to sing, always wanted to learn more about their voice or wondered what kind of vocal potential they have. 

Then when I ask what else they are interested in working on, they often list a bunch of things related to their singing fears such as:

-feeling insecure/terrified to sing in front of others
-feeling worried about singing on pitch
-clueless as to how to make a song their own
-being told their voice/presence was too much/too big
-being told by a teacher or person that they couldn’t sing

So when a new student shows up, they arrive with both the desire and self-doubt and part of my job is to help guide them to work through both. The holistic voice programs I offer work one on one teaching beginners to professionals healthy vocal technique for all styles of music/experimentation while also staying true to the person’s emotions. We do this by taking time to learn how to free the body and breath for more confident singing and stage presence.

Because I feel SO passionate about wanting to offer people more tools to interrupt their singing/fears next year I am going to be offering a NEW component in breath and body awareness. This will be a group experience to help students in my programs as well as the general public learn how to access more grace and grounding. To find out more, email here and let me know if this article resonated with you in any way.

WHAT DO YOU REALLY NEED TO FEEL YOUR BEST?

This week I have been talking a lot in my classes and workshops about what it means to know what you need to feel your best. When your head or back hurts or you always wind up sick before an important performance, could there be a useful message your body is sending you?

Studying voice training with a holistic approach doesn’t just mean learning vocal exercises and physical stretches. In order to truly accomplish your goals you need a free voice, to feel good about it and to become a student of your own body and it’s messages.

So often as performing artists we push down the signs from our body that may actually be pointing us in the best direction for our whole health and happiness. For example performance jitters are totally normal but are you glossing over symptoms that are telling you that you are  taking on too many gigs, needing to change your eating, get a good night’s sleep or that you actually don’t want to do this project because it’s not a match for what you believe in?

When singing lessons and performance coaching only focus on vocal technique, sometimes we override the personal and forget to live from an empowered place. Plus if you are anything like me you probably have a wish list of 5- 10-20 things that you want to accomplish at any given time. So you NEED a process for slowing down and checking in that is literally woven into the fabric of your voice training.

One of my specialities is helping people to create a daily practice (or at least a consistent practice) that is truly tailored to them and their needs both as a singer and as a person so that your artistry has real longevity. This means learning vocal exercises to help your voice grow stronger while also staying flexible and free, finding music that moves you and is at your level. It also means tuning into what you need to calm your nervous system and what you need to find your best alignment so that you aren’t compromising your breath/body and thereby sabotaging your own performance abilities.

If you are looking for longevity and versatility as a performer or if you are looking to just feel confident expressing yourself in the world, then just try this simple exploration. Take a few moments each day to listen to what you need to feel at your best...or even better schedule a call to find out more about my voice and movement programs. I promise you won’t regret it:).

SOUL CARE VS. SELF-CARE

Some days I wonder what the idea of self-care would have meant to my great great grandmothers. What it would have meant for Black women living in an openly racist and sexist society in the 1850’s and 1860’s in Texas or Mississippi  to take time to rest and restore?. Where did they carve out space for softness, ease and flow as well as anger and grief?…Surely, it would have required ingenuity and confidence to assert oneself in a culture that said (and often still says) being Black and woman was less than human. It would have required spirit and creativity. 

Nowadays in our Western culture we have grown accustomed to the term “self-care”. There is a fairly common list that one thinks of when hearing this hyphenated phrase. A string of recommendations from magazines to self-help books suggesting meditation, walks in the park, a getaway with close friends, a nourishing meal, journaling and of course physical exercise. But there was no list like this (that I know of) for our ancestors. Yet, there was one thing that most people had and still have access to anywhere in the world, something which human beings have used for centuries: singing. 

One of the things that I have been most interested in as a voice and movement teacher is the idea of singing for self-care…singing for the Soul. Of course there are a myriad of practical reasons to study with a voice teacher. Studying voice with a teacher on a consistent basis will help you to learn how to sing without straining, to sing without big breaks in your range, to improve your pitch, to get an accurate understanding of voice anatomy (for example you can’t literally sing from your diaphragm, you breathe from your lungs, the diaphragm is an involuntary muscle), to build a basis of healthy vocal technique in order to learn new repertoire from, to improve older repertoire, to improve your performing, to improve your own interpretation and original expression. These alone are some pretty damn good reasons to study singing !...plus... it’s FUN!

But while all of this is happening there is a simultaneous and equally, if not, arguably greater result that begins to occur. One of the seemingly miraculous benefits of singing (although it’s not miraculous because you are putting in  the time, attention and effort) is the part where you start to experience YOU, your soul singing. (This is also one of the JOYS of TEACHING singing!) This is where you start to hear your voice louder, fuller, higher, lower than you have heard it before. As the student you don’t fully recognize it because it is MORE than you imagined, and it is also easier than you believed singing to be. And as a result you start to feel the power of your voice as tension unravels. It is poetic, sometimes emotional, playful and just like life, ordinary. But that power, that new you, is as addictive as it is soothing. Sticking with the process and even warm ups start to become a way to release stress, increase of oxytocin (those “feel good” hormones) rest and restore. 

So learning how to sing can help you prepare a solid foundation for that upcoming tour, recording session or performance. You can also sing to strengthen your voice for the innumerable peoples and places where you will need to speak up and sing out. You can even use singing to connect and communicate with other vocalists and musicians without words. But moreover you can sing for your health, for your spirit, for peace of mind, for Soul-care.

CAN'T STAND THE SOUND OF YOUR OWN VOICE?

Do you ever get turned off, feel defeated or just cringe from the sound of your own voice? It’s hard to motivate to sing, practice or show up for lessons, let alone perform when your voice doesn’t match your expectations. You don’t know why or when your voice may sound breathy, hoarse or as squeaky as it does. It’s literally like someone else is controlling your voice, even tho you are doing your best to steer!

Well, if it’s any consolation, you are not alone. Most people don’t know how to predict what their voice is going to do, nor do they understand what is happening (technically speaking). And as a result of not knowing what is going to come out of one's mouth, people tend to focus solely on how their voice sounds (i.e.. good or bad) or what they are able to do (Can you sing this riff? Can you belt like so and so?) Instead of how singing feels and what your body/connection feels like while singing. 

For example do you practice difficult sections of a song over and over pushing to try to “hit the notes” ? or Do you squeeze your throat as you approach each note you are unsure of? 

Teaching Somatic Voicework, the LoVetri Method, and the Alexander Technique has made me an avid lover of vocal technique and holistic voice training. Part of the reason I love training in a holistic way is that as singers and singers in training you need to become aware of the whole with a good dose of vocal function…and fun! Singing is not just the sound of your voice but also the way you are standing, the way you take an inhale to prepare to sing, the feeling of your throat while vocalizing, the sound in your head and body. It’s important to know what is normal and healthy so you can begin to understand your natural voice with the least amount of interference, or tension.

Having a good grasp of healthy vocal technique and vocal function is amazingly liberating not only vocally but mentally! It frees you from obsessing and guessing and instead you can learn how the voice works. You don’t have to focus on the sound NOT being what you want and instead you can allow yourself to experience the ease in your voice you’ve been looking for. But for most people this is easier said than done…. 

It helps to have a trained professional there to witness and guide you, especially for when you hit those road blocks and frustration that could take you off your vocal journey. As a result of working with an experienced voice and movement teacher and keeping a home practice, your voice will work wonders for you. 

So yes, even YOU can go from cringing at that one part of your range to savoring it and honoring your love of music and singing. Sign up for your next set of lessons today so your singing can become healthy and enjoyable and you can finally sing the songs that your Soul has been yearning for.