VTS Coach Emily Helps Me Unlock My Mix Belt (Game-Changing Tips!)

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Whoa, whoa.
If you're trying to get up there,
a little slide is not necessarily
a bad thing,
but a slide with constriction
is where we're running into the
question mark.
What I just noticed you do and again
I quickly demonstrating
why just notice you were like whoa.
Rather than whoa like that.

(00:21):
Just having that
like dropping off of that
top note quicker
might help me
take the weight off a little.
So let me like, let me try that.
Just a different rhythm on it. Yeah.
Try to see if that helps okay.
Whoa, whoa.
That already helps.
That was in a totally different space.
Yeah.

(00:50):
Hey, Rockstar.
And welcome to from singer to artist.
I'm Lara
Chapman, award winning
singer and songwriter
turned viral vocal coach
and the host of this show at Vox Studios.
We help singers
from all over the world
level up their voices
by teaching them
the three fundamental skills
all singers need technique,
awareness, and artistry.
Whether you're looking to go pro

(01:11):
or just develop your voice for fun.
My team and I are here to help.
Check the link in the description
to book your first session, or grab
some of our other resources.
All righty. Are you ready?
Let's get started.
With me today, I have the amazing
Emily Tallman.
Welcome. Hello.
Thanks for being here today with us.
For having me.
Yes, you say so, Emily,

(01:33):
in case you don't know,
Emily is one of our wonderful coaches
at VoxTape Studios,
doing an incredible job
with our students.
Every time we have a check in session,
like when the students
are working with us for a little bit,
you know, they get a check in session
where, like, all right, how's it going?
What's happening?
And sing a little something.
When I hear that transformation,
every time we get to
that check in session, I'm like,
whoa, okay.

(01:54):
What happened?
You've only been here for
a couple months,
and now you're already, like,
such a huge shift, right?
Whether that's a mindset shift of like,
I'm feeling so much more confident,
or, you know,
I'm just I'm like, the way I sound now,
and I hated it before,
or it's more physical
or it's like I couldn't
match pitch it now.
It's like, wow,
okay,
we're actually singing songs

(02:14):
and it's perfect.
Like the notes are all there,
so you get some crazy transformations
for our students.
So first of all, thank you.
You know, like, this is amazing.
And I'm so glad to have you on the team
and be here with you today
in New York to have a little chat
about music stuff.
Yes, I love it.
Well, I like it. Just makes me happy.

(02:35):
Like when my teaching style aligns
with people's learning styles
and I feel like I
try to be as adaptable as I can,
and that I'm glad that that's coming up.
Well, you know,
you're working
with so many different kinds of people,
like when you're
when you're a voice teacher, right?
Like one on one lessons
that completely different
personalities, completely different
skill levels, completely different goals.

(02:55):
Yeah. As well.
So it's like, okay,
I have to adjust my teaching style.
And you know, what I do
with these students based on who they are
and their goals
and their needs and blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah. Yeah.
You haven't disappointed.
Yeah.
You know, it's a couple of years
and you haven't disappointed yet.
So we'll see.

(03:15):
You're waiting for the day.
No I'm really not.
No. Everybody's there.
Everybody's got something
to say about something of course.
But like guys.
But we run into some good people.
Yeah, absolutely.
We're lucky with our students.
We find good people. Absolutely.
Hey,
before we dig into some talking stuff,
like your story,
how you got into this,
your teaching style,

(03:36):
what's important to you,
and you're working with this dude
and things like that.
And I do a quick little warm up
I would love
because I would love
to do a little warm up. Yes.
Because I'm going to have to sing later.
Yeah. And Emily is going to coach me
and I want to make sure
I'm warm
so I don't sound like a crazy person.
So my,
So let's look like
a little common response.

(03:56):
Warm up. Cool. Yeah, let's do it.
All right,
I'm just going to clap on, snap, clap.
Whatever. On two and four.
But but
but way way way way way way way
way way way way way way way.
Who do you like?

(04:18):
Vocal flips?
Like, I am
medium at them.
That's good though, I,
I think I get a stronger
flip down because I am a head dominant,
like I'm not. Let me not say.
Let me not say that
I'm not an always head dominant singer,
but my defaults,

(04:39):
which I guess we'll get into eventually.
But my default is like Mixy
you're in mix land.
I'm in your natural mixer.
And then I think to put it in just voice,
I intentionally add an extra chest.
Lately that's been a little bit easier
ever since
I've like really been working on it.
But, yeah, the soprano stuff is,
oh, I guess let me get into my story.

(04:59):
What can I get there?
But, the soprano stuff is just like
where I kind of want to go.
Yeah, yeah, and to sing.
And the opposite way
I can deal all day long yesterday.
Yeah, I know your roots.
Yeah. They go, hey, hey.
You're late.
Yeah, that was good.
Yeah, but da da da da da da

(05:22):
da da z z
z z yes yes.
So on rhythms. Yeah.
This is insane.
Easy easy.
Yeah. There it is.
Just love love love love love okay.

(05:43):
See.
CC c c c
c c c c c c c c c c
c c c c c c c c c c
c c c c c c c c c
c c c c c c.

(06:06):
Yeah and I.
It was like the
the song that I'm going to be doing
is like all
and that C like powerful “breaky” part.
I'm like I got to like
do the exercise to help me get in that
and that range there.
But you know, this is
this is as good as it can get.
So hopefully hopefully we we got it.
Do this.
Yeah. Gotta rock what we got.

(06:26):
There you go.
So soprano
we're already getting into Hot take.
Hot take.
The urge to sing when he sings.
And then he goes like
oh my yeah.
Heartache.

(06:47):
Or question. Yes.
Controversial question.
Soprano alto baritone
voice types.
Vocal classifications.
What's you take.
I don't care today.
My take is that like here's the thing.
If you're in western classical land
it means something.

(07:08):
I'm not in Western classical land.
So if Western
my people are like what do you mean?
It means something that don't believe
me, ignore me.
Yeah, but like
putting it's
a way to put yourself in a box
if you're not singing in an ensemble,
if you're not singing
a vocal part on a piece of paper, like,
I think it is nice to be able to identify

(07:29):
where your sweet spot is.
Like, I know on my performance resume
I put Soprano Belter
because I need
I want people to know
that I'm a soprano belter
because those are
the things I'm going in for.
Yeah, it's
the range that I typically sing in.
Yeah. I'm also not gonna.
That doesn't mean
I can't be like, whoa, whoa, whoa,
but I'm not putting myself
in those spaces
because that's not where I'm like, what?
I'm drawn to.

(07:50):
But at the end of
the day,
I'm not going to say I'm a soprano,
and that means I can only sing
in my head voice,
or I'm a soprano belter,
and that means I'm
only singing the crazy high stuff.
I totally agree, like,
sometimes I feel like these
vocal classifications, voice types,
whatever you want to call it,
they can be helpful for certain people,
like if they know these voice types.

(08:13):
But I don't want
that to put you in a box. Yeah.
And then you're like,
and I'm sticking to this and
or make it use it as an excuse,
like, yeah, I'm a soprano.
I can't sing low or I'm an owl too.
I can't sing high or whatever.
Anyone can learn to do anything.
Yes, yes.
That's my
I think that's a lukewarm
take that I agree with
like warm to look take

(08:34):
where it's like
some people are really like
I can't like get stuck in the cans.
But I fully agree it's
I think
labels in general
in the singing world, are a nice way.
It's a nice way to find identity
and be like, yeah,
when I Google soprano

(08:55):
pop stars, but soprano pop singers,
that's a nice way to be like,
okay, I know where to start.
But then once
you've saying all those songs then what?
Like then you're like I'm out of songs
for the rest of my life. Yeah.
You know like push yourself
if you're passionate,
if you're really passionate
about expanding yourself.

(09:17):
Yeah I feel like voice types are great
to help you
identify your natural strengths.
Like if you identify as a soprano,
that probably means
that you're more comfortable
with the higher notes, right? Yeah.
And if you identify as an alto,
me, for example,
then you

(09:37):
like low notes come more easily to you.
So it can help with like
if you don't know where to start,
like if you're like,
I don't know what I can
do, what I can't do.
You know,
going off of these
vocal classifications can be helpful.
Yeah.
But again, at the end of the day,
in contemporary music, it's just it's
just yeah, it doesn't matter. Yeah.
It doesn't matter.
And I've had people like ask me
and I always preface I'm like,

(09:59):
this is not totally relevant
in the contemporary music space,
especially with like
if you're trying to nail
your one song at karaoke
like this is knowing your voice type.
Like I'll tell you what I perceive.
Yeah, but like knowing
your voice type
is not going to make or break your voice.
No, it's really not going to change much
unless you only allow yourself to,

(10:20):
you know, level one range.
Yeah, yeah. And the limit yourself.
Why limit yourself when I do that?
That's a big thing
about my singing that
I think I implement in my teaching a lot.
Like I it's really important to me
as a singer to be able to do everything.
I don't have to be perfect at everything,
but I want to be able to do everything
and have every option
I possibly could make, every sound

(10:41):
I possibly could.
I was up here in New York
for the wicked open
call, and I was thinking I was like,
okay, well, it's an open call.
So we'd be like sitting outside for hours
in the chilly
it was in, I think September, October.
And I was like,
I'm not gonna have time to warm up.
And I'm belting.

(11:01):
I am belting, belting hi
first thing in the morning
after being outside cold.
This is something I need to be able to do
without messing with my sound and,
you know, enjoying myself.
I want to be able.
I'm yeah,
I want to be taken care of
and walk out of the room
feeling confident
and I, you know, created a little plan.
I'm going to
steam my water bottle a little bit,
just feel where things are.

(11:23):
And I practiced
roughly every day for two weeks
singing my song cold.
What is it?
What is it like? What am I experiencing?
How do I adjust?
So I started with like cold, cold, like
maybe not first thing in the morning,
but like,
once I like,
brushed my teeth
and was going to sit down on my desk
and start teaching, I would sing.
It was a 32nd cut.

(11:43):
So I would like sing through my cut.
I'd be like, okay,
I see where that feels weird.
This one spot isn't
hitting the way that I want it to,
so I'm going to switch over that
like once or twice. Yeah.
And then I did that
and I it was sitting there.
So then the next day I would stop
two for that one spot.
And then I was hitting right,
things like that.
And I was thinking about someone

(12:04):
I work with who's
been singing a ton lately
and writing an album
and things like that,
and I was like, oh,
she should be able to do this.
She should be able to do a quick warm
up and go, yeah,
not that that should be the case
all the time,
but I noticed that my want to be able
to do everything
in anything with my voice

(12:24):
really shows up in my teaching, because I
want my students to be as flexible
as they can with the warming up too.
It's like, yes,
we want to warm up if we have the time.
Like, let's try
and make a habit out of that.
But sometimes it's just not the reality.
Yes.
And like,
what am I going to do at 6 a.m.?

(12:45):
Warm up in my friend's apartment
and then take the train for 20 minutes
and sit outside for two hours
and then not saying,
what song did you pick for
your audition cut?
I will make Thunder violin Schenkel.
Okay, yeah. Cool.
I'm going to have to listen to that song.
Yeah, it's it's a great.
My friend Eric gave it to me.
Okay.
It's an
that's like

(13:05):
we're already getting into like.
Yeah, we're already getting into it.
But but tell us a little bit
more about yourself.
How did you get into singing. Yes.
So I was just like always singing
I the story is that my grandfather
would, like,
sing opera,
not professionally,
but like while he was holding me
and I would, like cover.
His mouth is like a we are weaving,
you know.
And then I was always singing

(13:25):
my, my grandma
in her house shout out me, I love you.
Has it's like
one area is just a little elevated.
And then the living room
is just like a step down.
Now it's always come out.
And she would be
presenting Emily and Olivia
and this my sister
and I would come out
and we do a little song and dance and.
Yeah,

(13:45):
and that I was just always singing.
I just always loved to sing.
That's where it kind of came first.
And then my Aunt Cheryl
was running a summer camp,
and I was going to the summer camp.
It was like you could do arts and crafts,
basketball, really.
It was just like kids do everything.
And they were putting on beauty
and the beast,
and they needed someone
to play the baker.
And my almost like, do you want to do it?
And my sister was the narrator, okay.

(14:06):
And we dumped it
and we jumped in and I was like,
oh, I'm obsessed with this.
I like it,
but they say you get bit by the bug
and I so was.
And then the next like camp session,
I was Annie and Annie
and I was so fixated on Annie, I was
I loved it
and I just was all in, in theater there.
And then around eighth grade,

(14:27):
my voice changed
as the as it does for eighth graders.
Yeah.
And suddenly I'm belting just for guys.
Yeah, yeah for everyone.
And I went from like,
comma Tim to like,
I was singing A Whole New World.
And I was like a whole new.
I was belting everything.
Yeah.
And I decided that summer
I was like, great.
I have a belt now at 14, 14,

(14:47):
like a crazy person.
I was like, great, I have a belt now.
I need to become a soprano now, okay?
And that summer, I literally was like,
I'm going to sing head with all the time.
I tell everyone that I learned
how to sing by singing
all the parts in liquid form.
Like, that's just kind of.
I've always really been into
the creativity aspect of
just using your whole voice.

(15:09):
That's always been my thing.
That was actually
my personal
theme for my Masters showcase.
I was like, I want to use my whole voice.
In this hour.
I did a duet showcase,
and I
did, except for classical,
because I'm not a classical girly voice.
But you studied,
I studied contemporary, yeah.
Then I went to this like.
Like in my book school

(15:30):
singing contemporary singing it.
They're like two different entities.
It's a totally different thing.
And I,
I got, really positive feedback on
singing classical stuff.
They're like, you should do this.
I'm not not drawn to it.
Well, yeah,
this is going to I'm going to one day
I'm going to be at the met.
And then
I was going to pull this up and be like,
yeah, yeah.
I'll be like,
I mean, I love singing in that world
specifically in musical theater

(15:53):
because I'm that's I'm
just really drawn to it.
Like I'll sing
the Golden Age stuff all day long.
But yeah, yeah, it started.
It's funny, it started with belting.
And then I was like,
I need, I need to develop my head voice.
Why? Who knows why I thought that?
But now,
now that you had those thoughts,
I remember,
like looking back at my journey,
I started voice lessons
when I was 13 grade and,

(16:16):
I had to wait till then
because they wouldn't
take anyone under under 30. Yeah.
And I started like a couple months
before I turned 30 anyway, so
I had no clue about anything.
Like, I,
I was always like,
why can't everybody else
sing so much higher than me
and I can't,
I, I didn't know head voice was a thing.
Yeah.
You know,
so it's like you were aware

(16:37):
of all these things are like, somehow
what I'm going to do on your head.
All this is freaking crazy.
We were just messing around earlier,
and you were like, hitting a six.
Yeah, just like came out.
I was just pulling it out,
freaking it out, whatever.
It was like,
not ever in my life
have I been able to hit an E-6?
That was not a whistle.

(16:58):
I it's so interesting.
It just started like
it started developing
and then somehow
that was my senior year of
and I ended up going to school to finish.
Sorry, I did theater in high school.
I was like, I have to do this
for the rest of my life.
I have to be in art like, I'm I'm so pro
follow your dreams.
So I think that's also
why I'm when people are like,

(17:19):
give me brutal honesty, I'm like, okay,
I won't give you brutal anything.
I will give you honesty.
I will be truthful with you,
but I'm not going to be like,
yeah, that was that was really not good.
You'd get embarrassed.
You know, my mom always says honesty
without kindness is cruelty.
Yes. It's so true.
It's so true.
Especially when people are being gracious

(17:40):
enough to share this huge
vulnerability with you and be like,
I've been working so hard at this thing,
and I just want to be good.
And I think I've been hurting
too many horror stories
from students who are like,
ten years ago, 20 years
ago, 50 years ago. Yes.
This person laughed
when I, when I was singing
and I never sang again till now.
And, and it creates these

(18:03):
big entanglements in the voice
and you're like,
why are you so tense around this one?
No, it's not even in your break.
You can sing well above it,
you can sing well below it.
And it's just because, like,
that's the note.
They put way too much mental pressure
on the idea of,
oh, well, like someone told me,
I sound like the opposite of Celine Dion
or whatever.
Yeah.
And like,
yeah, it was like, it's

(18:23):
funny
how we just hold on to certain things
and people tell us
unless you train yourself,
I think mentally to kind of let it go.
And I think that's
one thing in the theater world
that I've really
learned is just like rejections,
not often. Rejection is not about you.
Sometimes
I look too much like their ex-girlfriend.

(18:44):
They can't get out of their head.
Oh, yeah. I'm tired.
They need a replacement in two weeks,
and I'm not tall enough.
And maybe they love me
and they put my headshot on a shelf.
Yeah.
Or maybe they're like
I like every everything she got
or I like everything she offered.
But something's just not clicking.
Okay. That's fine.
Yeah.
Like it's, it's not about me.
I'm not that directors Cathy.

(19:05):
In the last
five years I'm
not that directors whomever
I might be and other directors,
you know and that's okay.
That doesn't mean that my art
is inherently
less important.
Yeah.
Just because my
if my performance doesn't align
with the idea of what they want

(19:26):
and that's okay. Yeah.
That's okay.
I'm not mad at people
for having creative ideas,
but it kind of helps you.
We talked a little bit
about like removing the morality
from singing,
like it is not inherently good
or inherently bad.
You're just making sound.
Yeah, you're making sound.
Some things may serve
you better than others,
and that's totally okay.

(19:47):
Going back to the were grabbing,
like holding on to things
that people tell us sometimes.
For me as a voice teacher,
that's a lot of pressure.
Yeah, right.
Because like,
you have to be so careful with your words
because you don't want to be the reason
someone stopped singing
because you said something
that rub them the wrong way or
or they misunderstand you.

(20:08):
You meant one thing,
but they understood it in this other way.
And then that confuses them
and creates a lot of tension or whatever.
Yeah.
How do you how do you navigate that?
I am as, as often as I can.
I'm very intentional with my language
and I try to stick to it
unless I see that
something is like really not clicking,

(20:30):
not clicking,
or like
not triggering
in a deep emotional way,
but really just
isn't making sense to someone.
I will
often say instead of saying that's flat
or that's sharp,
which is not an inherently
bad thing to say
because it's just sing or half step
above or under or above,
I'll, I'll try to be like,
that was a little under.
Let's try it again with the note.

(20:51):
Like, let's try it again
with a little bit more air.
Typically your airflow and, pitch
accuracy is related
in what I'm hearing in your voice
specifically, like, you know.
Yeah, like I tried to attach.
Here's what happened.
Here is why.
And here is how
we can overcome the obstacle. Yeah.

(21:13):
And I try to approach
not just like this is the problem.
Try again. Yes, exactly.
Because you're not helping
to solve the problem.
And sometimes the
sometimes the first time doesn't work
because they're nervous.
And the second time is perfect
and also perfect.
But,
and that's also something
that I try to keep in mind too.
I also question myself
and not in a self-doubt way, but like,

(21:34):
is my note going to help them
if they have a performance on Saturday?
I don't need to change everything.
What I need to do
is help them get from point A to point B.
Yeah, there maybe.
Yeah,
I was just helping out a friends like
oh my gosh how old is she.
9 or 10.
Oh like that
little girl auditioning for Annie.

(21:55):
And she was singing Annie.
Yeah. Like so come out tomorrow.
And she was so good like oh my gosh
she sounded incredible.
But I was like
her audition is tomorrow
or two days from the lesson.
Like literally within a day or two. Yeah.
I was like here
are the things that we can adjust
that we have a chance at her applying
and not confusing her,

(22:16):
you know,
and then like thinking about things
that are not nearly as important
as singing the song. Right? Yeah.
And then she gets super nervous
about it or whatever.
But then on purpose,
leaving out things that I'm like,
there's no chance. Yes.
Because then they're just
going to be thinking about a new concept.
They're not
they're going to be like, oh,
my soft palate is doing a weird thing.
Instead of being like,

(22:37):
all right,
I know that if I breathe more and
press down on my
shoulders, that's helping me
to get to do this one thing.
So tell me a little bit more
about your teaching style,
because, like,
we talked about,
there's going to be
lots of different people
that come into your studio,
different backgrounds, different,
experience, different goals, different

(23:00):
people, just different.
So let's like what's your
what's your approach to that?
What's your teaching style? Yeah.
So I try to be adaptable
without being like too malleable.
You know, like I,
I uphold my boundaries of like,
this is what I can provide for you.
But I also try to be very

(23:23):
I try to be very straight up without
being brutal.
We kind of just talked about like, yeah,
I don't
I can be honest without being brutal.
And I can gently guide you
in a direction, in the direction
you're looking to go
without interjecting my opinion too much.
I guess that's really what it is
I try to just stick to. Okay, what?

(23:45):
What do I know
and how can I use that to solve?
And I, I'm very upfront, like,
I take my time to think through things
and like I'll say a lot like,
that's really interesting.
Yeah.
And then I'll explain why
I try not to, like, over talk
because there are time to sing.
Yeah.
But I know some people are very

(24:06):
they want to do a vocal workout.
They want to do a ton of exercises.
They do songs all the time.
That's fine.
And some people are like,
okay, let's just do a warm up.
I just want to sing.
I want to sing my songs. Yeah.
And some people are in the voice,
are taking voice lessons
because they need a sounding board.
And so I just try to
and there are more
and more a
lot of different types of students.

(24:26):
But I try to just like
make things click like Sarah on Monday,
like you saw I wrote in my notes,
stars are such a star dancer.
Yes, yes. I was like, what is that about?
Yeah, just read. Yeah.
First to hear a little
not reversing of yeah.
Just going back to stuff.
We do check in sessions
with our students.
So, you know,
I place a student with the teacher.

(24:47):
I feel like it's the best fit.
And then you
work with them for a little bit,
and then I check in now, like,
show me the progress with the results.
Right. Did we make progress?
Is there some sort of transformation
here? Yeah.
And so we had one of those sessions
where the student called Sarah on Monday.
So very recently.
And,
I was looking through the lesson notes

(25:07):
and there was that starts
our star dancer and I was like,
I don't know what that means. Yeah.
And we were just talking about
she was singing Someone Like You. Yeah.
And it was like the word dreams goes up.
The dreams came true,
and it was being a little way down.
She was using too much,
more chest voice than
she needed for the style
she was going for.

(25:28):
And I just knew that she had told me
she was a professional dancer
for two years.
I was like, oh, let this feel like,
I was like, have you ever done,
you know, like a pot,
a shot and a left, a potter?
She was like,
it's called step of the Cat.
Yeah, that's basically a jump.
You're like, good to do. Yeah.
Oh my God.
And I was a little thing about
I remember
my musical theater training
and like dancing

(25:49):
and then just doing across the floor
where there's a partner guiding you
and they just make you jump higher.
And I it just kind of related like
think about doing a pot shot
over the word,
you know
like we're lifting through it in dreams.
And you know exactly what I mean.
It works. So simple.
And it's just like adapting to

(26:11):
what makes sense for them.
Some people are never going to do that.
Oh God. I'm never going to unsee that.
Just like a beautiful ballerina.
Dreams came true.
And that's exactly
what she was looking for.
And she was no longer
falling under on the note
because she had a clear
image of where she wanted to go.
Yeah,
I could have another student
maybe would have worked better with,

(26:32):
hey, let's add a little bit
more breath there.
Another student would have worked
better with,
can you throw head into that?
Another one could work better
with like more technical things
rather than a visual image.
Some people are very imagery based.
I'm not fully an imagery based learner,
and so that has been something
I've learned to like grow through
in my teaching.
Yeah. Okay.
Let let's talk about this. Yeah.

(26:53):
So what's right for you
is not necessarily
right for your students. Yes, 100%.
And it's important to find the balance.
And also that's
also a reason
I have some people who are like
I watched like 100 YouTube videos
on singing this week. Yeah.
It's like cool. Yeah I'm like awesome.

(27:14):
But I'm
I'm never going to shame someone for that
because sometimes I say excited
and they want to learn. Exactly.
And I'll say the same thing every week
and sometimes it works.
But I'm not every
but I'll say the same thing a few times
and they'll nod.
But maybe it's like not fully clicking
and they see someone else
phrase it a different way
and they bring it to me
like I heard them say this.

(27:34):
And so then I'll be like, oh,
that's actually what I mean by this.
I'm so glad
that's something
that another way of phrasing
it has served
you and like,
yeah, you feel like you're able
to grow from that.
It's everybody's a different
everybody learns differently. I just
again, like
with upholding my,
my boundaries, I'm
not going to teach something
I'm not comfortable teaching.

(27:55):
When in doubt, refer out
everything I've ever learned.
Yeah, but
like I'm upfront with like,
hey, I can
if you want to learn
how to sing like hardcore
distortion, like I can get
give you a little intro to distortion.
There are very,
very qualified people
who have written books on it.
Yeah.
If you want to go fully down,
like the screaming route,

(28:16):
there are people who can get you there.
Yeah, yeah,
I can teach you how to do a little growl.
You know,
we touch on the rock singing and.
But not death metal. Exactly, exactly.
So part of it is upholding boundaries
for me, for myself,
and
feeling confident in my capabilities.
And because I have worked through

(28:37):
imposter syndrome,
I was just going to bring that up.
I wasn't going to interrupt you,
but that's exactly what I
was going to go with this,
because I feel like
a lot of people out there expect,
well, there's two kinds of people.
Yes, there's the kinds of people
that are like those who can't do teach.
Which which is I'm sorry,
none of that works at all.
Or at least it shouldn't be because

(28:57):
know you're like, yeah, I'm no no no no.
Yeah.
And then the other side is like
well if you can't do it
like how am I going to like yeah,
hold on, hold on, hold on.
Just because we're voice teachers
doesn't mean
we need to master
every single thing there is.
And it's possible.
Like or improbable,
you know, like to use it when possible.

(29:18):
But it is. Yes.
To master everything is just a little
a little nuts,
unattainable, unattainable.
And it's also like, again, Olympic
swimmers aren't in tennis lessons
every week.
I'm not going back into that
Olympic swimming.
They're saying
how many different ways to swim.

(29:41):
I mean, I'm
not the person to talk about that.
But yeah, I know, but like,
you're not going to win all eight
different kinds of swimming things.
Yes. Styles. Yes.
Exiles, things like whatever.
It's called love. Right.
But it's also swimming. Yes.
But you're only going to win 1
or 2 because. Yes.
Because you're training a specific way.
Because you're playing to your strengths.

(30:02):
Exactly.
And it's the same thing for singing.
Like I get people asking me about whistle
all the time and I'm like, not to girl.
So yeah,
I was like,
I can get too up into those notes.
My approach is
usually in more of a soprano way
than a whistle way.
That's just how I, that's how I rocket.
I can manipulate my way into a whistle
a little bit.

(30:22):
Not in a way
that's going to harm me long term,
but probably not in a way
that's gonna make me put it in an album.
Yeah, yeah yeah yeah.
But like if I,
if you need me to pop up there,
especially if I'm singing
an ensemble piece,
not a lot of people singing, you know.
But yeah, that's just exactly.
Well, and one thing I like that
you touched on as well
is like,
I'm so glad you brought in that video
and like that, that clicked with you.

(30:43):
It's saying the same thing
to phrase differently.
That's what I like about our studio.
Yes, we have different coaches
for.
Yeah. Like how many do we have.
Four plus me. Yeah.
And and if something doesn't click
with a student,
we can switch them
to a different teacher. Yeah.
For one lesson

(31:03):
or for the remainder
of their lessons or whatever. Right.
Like it gives us that flexibility.
And, you know,
it doesn't happen often where we do
switch rooms. Yeah.
But sometimes, like,
if that's what serves the student
the best and that's
what we go for,
it has nothing to do with the other two.
Like it, at least at Vox.
It has nothing to do

(31:24):
with the other teacher.
Well, that's
because we're all kids are killing it.
But, But yeah, but different styles.
It's different styles.
And I see things in a more technical way
or a very, very artistic way,
which is also something
some people,
the people who want to get in
and sing songs.
I try to teach them

(31:44):
technique through artistry.
Like, yeah.
Like we,
we start in song work
and I'm like all right,
well what does this feel like.
What does this emotionally you know.
Yeah.
How are you connecting there.
Oh it's it's sad.
Let's expand on that.
What does sad sound like.
Like what does that make you think of
what physicality comes with that.
And like when we dissect artistry

(32:05):
we can really get into into. Yeah.
But then we realize, oh,
it kind of comes with a,
maybe it's a little warmer tone.
All right.
Now we're lowering the larynx
a little bit.
All right there. Little breath here.
Maybe we're using some chest voice
when we go from sad to like, sad angry.
If it's a breakup song, you know?
And now we're like, great.
We have our technical things to work on.

(32:26):
Oh, I see that you want to sound
sad in this part.
So let's work on a neutral to low larynx
in chest voice.
And we're just going to isolate that.
I have never heard of
anyone that uses that approach.
That's incredible.
I have worked with like 15
different coaches myself.
Like as the student
not once works backwards.
Yeah. Or backwards.

(32:46):
Yeah.
That once
it just has to be with like what?
That's why I say I'm adaptable
because there's some people who are like,
what you mean?
Yeah. Yeah.
I mean, sounds sad. Yeah.
And it flips their world upside down.
And sometimes that is very helpful.
Flipping their world upside down
opens them up
because they're out of their idea.
Singing specially
with someone
who has had a lot of experience before
and they're very much in their lane.

(33:07):
And it's like it's not serving you.
And a lot of teachers,
someone who's had a lot of
teachers, which I love, I've,
I've had a lot in a short amount of time.
I've had a lot of teachers
just because that's
kind of how it worked in its undergrad.
It's school. Yeah.
I really only taken lessons at school.
I started
my vocal technique in undergrad,
had a teacher for two years,
had a teacher for one year,
I had another teacher for one year

(33:28):
and then semester, semester a year.
And that's also same for me
during college day.
So that's all the vocal training
I've had,
plus some drop ins with like my,
my teacher peers
when I went on an audition
or I just want to be singing for fun.
So I really like
getting a lot of different approaches
because I like to
use my teacher as a sounding board.

(33:49):
I'm also in a space where, like,
I have a master's of music,
I've been singing a lot.
Yeah, I feel very technically sound.
Typically,
we're not working on technique.
Doesn't mean I'm perfect,
but typically we're not
working on technique.
It's more of like,
this is what I'm going for.
Is this breathing cool.
Next I'm like, where is this reading?
Let's do it again. Oh, okay.
I kind of wanna work on that one part.

(34:10):
I'm aiming for this whatever.
And try to.
So you yourself are still taking lessons?
Yes.
I'm not like regularly right now
in this moment,
but like probably again soon. Yeah. Yeah.
Because I when I sing more
when I am in love.
So when I feel I need to perform,
whether that means to be

(34:31):
which is something I've learned,
I love teaching.
It fills my cup so much, but performing
also really fills
my cup,
and I prefer not to do one
without the other.
Yeah, I really like doing them
on the same time
because they inform each other,
of course.
Yeah.
And I've, I've always been a performer.
Like I just love, love doing it.

(34:51):
I love
I think that's also why I teach
with such an artistic approach.
I mean, like, I'm an actor.
I'm very
I was always a singer, singer, singer.
And then I started taking
acting classes in college,
and I was like, this.
Yeah, like, this is something different.
Yeah, this hits me in a different way
that singing also fills my cup.
But being,
emotionally connected and and using art

(35:15):
really for expression.
Not because I love singing. Hi.
Yeah, and love singing for fun.
It's just a
it's just a different
way of doing things. Yeah, yeah.
We're going to have to record
a whole episode on emotional connection,
because it's interesting to hear
you talk about those,
because my background
is the literal percent.
Yeah.

(35:35):
So we'll
we'll talk about that in another episode.
Otherwise this one's
going to be three hours long.
Yes. But, I love it.
I would love to,
you know, like, do a little coaching.
I would love
like, because,
you know,
we can describe our style all day long.
It's like, okay, well,
let's just put it to that.
I mean,
like, let's just, you know, let's.

(35:55):
Yeah.
See it like, what is he
what is what's happening real time.
And I can also break down
as we're doing it.
Like this is what I hear.
And this is why
I'm giving you this thing.
Yeah.
So you can kind of,
like, see how my crazy brain works.
All right.
We we're doing beautiful things then.
So then for a while there, it was rough,
baby.
Up then doing that, then the last

(36:19):
cold December's our call.
I see my family every month.
I found a girl my parents love.
So come and stay the night.
And I think I'm.
I have it all.
And I thank God every day

(36:41):
for the girl he sent my way.
But I know the things he cares.
He can't take away.
And I hold you every night.
It's I feel it I want to get used to.
There's no man.

(37:01):
And I was terrified.
As the man who stands to lose you.
Oh, I hope
I don't lose you.
Please stay.
I want you, I need you.

(37:22):
Oh, God.
Don't take
these beautiful things that I've got.
Please stay here, I want you, I need you.
Oh, God. Want you.
Take
these beautiful things that I've got.

(37:44):
Oh, honey, please
don't take charity.
So first,
I just want you to tell me about that.
It felt good.
Yeah.
Physically felt good.
Like, not once was.

(38:04):
I like that feel stuck.
Yeah, because usually that's my tendency
as a singer is to push
and force and strain
and like, my throat, just like,
you know,
my vocal folds literally
just just pinpoint together too tightly.
And then there's no air coming through
and I'm just muscling through. Yeah.
So singing this, I was like,

(38:26):
I can do this ten more times and be fine.
Yeah.
So that to me is a major, major,
major win.
Funny enough, it's not necessarily
the chorus like the piece song
I want you on here too.
Oh, God.
Like, I'm feeling pretty good about that.
The. Whoa, whoa.
I don't know if I because I'm

(38:48):
switching and,
like, on purpose until later.
Oh.
On purpose. Lighter there.
Maybe we can play around with, like,
making that more powerful and, like,
belting it more.
Yeah.
But anyways, where I was going with
my initial
thought was winning the whole.
Yeah, I mean,
I the feeling
I want to get used to, there's no man

(39:09):
man, man man
that now sits in a weird spot.
So I have to.
Yeah,
find it in a way
where I'm not going
flat on the note I like to under,
as you like to call it, fall under I.
Yeah, there's no man.
Because if I'm going, if
there's no man, man,
I feel like you bring it down.
Yeah. Yeah.

(39:30):
Okay.
Well,
I think those are really
great observations, and I.
And I always say that, too.
But but truly they are.
It sounds like you're in touch
with your instrument
and you're in touch with you want to go
back,
but you're also in touch
with where you want to go, like.
All right.
I have a clear intention with this song.
I have roughly a goal sound,

(39:50):
not that you have to achieve it
every time you have a place
you want to go. Yeah.
You made this hard for me.
Was I love.
I love a challenge
because you are coming with.
This is comfortable and easy
and it feels awesome.
You have a few things.
Usually it would be a challenge.
Like a song like
this would be a challenge.
But my voice lessons have paid off.
So I love that.
Here we go, I love that
I also think
it's important to know
that there's a mic right here.

(40:13):
And there is no feeling of needing
to communicate to me across the room
or like right across from each other.
I think that that also could play a part
in, like if you have a tendency to push,
there's no need because I'm right here.
Okay.
So do you feel like I
did a good job at not? Yes.
Yeah, I think so.
I think
I think you were very successful with it.

(40:34):
That's another thing I say.
I typically don't say good or bad,
I say successful.
Oh there you go.
Because you, you succeeded at the thing
you were trying to do.
Yeah. And I won't say unsuccessful.
Yes, but it's a challenge.
It's it's a challenge. Yeah.
We talked like I like to talk
in wins and challenged.
Usually I would break that down.
But you already said it.
Yeah.

So one thing I noticed
that I thought was very,

(40:55):
very successful
and very clear in
your artistry
was that, in the chorus, it was.
And I think God every day
and the something,
something you
I think it was very clear
in your artistry.
I don't know if this was your intention,
but it's almost like
the the floating of the word
before the noun.

(41:18):
Or the verb for the you like.
Yeah.
Thank you. It's it sounds like that.
And it sounds like here's my wish.
And I'm grounded in the result.
Grounded in the
the god whatever goddess to you.
You got carve out. Interesting. Yes.
And I think, God,
I love God and not God.

(41:39):
Like it was more like,
brighter and brighter then.
And I thank God it was not that it was.
And I think, God was God.
I also think.
But that's also that's also a moment.
God is also a moment
that's telling me, okay,
your timbre is adjusted for this song
because you're not grabbing from,
low larynx trying to create a belt

(42:01):
in that, in this, like, heavy,
heavy sound.
So I think that also
often there are signs in the verse
or in the easy part
that is going to tell you
what the challenges are
or what is causing
the challenge in the hard part.
Yeah, that's a clear,
representation of the opposite, where
we can hear in the easy part

(42:22):
that you're setting yourself up
for success,
or when you get it beautiful
because you're not, God beautiful.
You kind of hear that?
Well,
like a little grit there with a little
that I can do
a little bit of compression. Yeah.
So I thought that was very successful.
We're going to talk about that one note
I didn't notice
it didn't raise a red flag to me.
The one where you feel like

(42:43):
it's in an odd place,
but I would love to, break down. Yeah.
The man part, man.
And there's no man I set aside as the man
who stands to lose
you is the man, man, man.
Is it on every man,
or is it after terrified?
There's no man is the first one.
The first terrified flight is easier

(43:03):
because I'm switching more into, like,
a breath here.
Lighter thing.
Tone. Yeah.
There's no man is terrified.
Like I'm like, yeah.
Switching it up there.
That was a little sharp, but man,
I know where you go.
Yeah, there's a madman as terrified
as the man is.

(43:25):
It's insane.
No, it is that.
It's like no worst spot in my voice
then, man.
Then it's like flat.
So I would say
this is a round
where I recognize often, like, I'll say a
first break
where it's a lot less noticeable,
and people who makes a lot.
But this is around this area is

(43:46):
where, male voices to.
I'm being very general when I say
male, but,
male
male voices
typically will start breaking
and that is where female voices will
typically start
switching from your full chest.
It's their.
Or if you

(44:07):
are really, really strong in your head
voice, it's around an A okay.
Yeah, I mean I'm definitely more lower.
Yeah. In my my range.
I mean, you can hear it
in my speaking voice. Yeah.
Like I'm in the basement.
Yeah.
But so for me it's like, man, man,
if I give it more volume
and I give it more chest,
whatever that means, then that,
then then I can hit the note
like it's fine,
but I don't want it to

(44:28):
be so powerful there
because it's in a softer.
You can hear it in the music, it's
softer. Right.
So yeah,
we want to be complimenting
what the music is doing,
or just
letting the music inform the choice
you want to make. Yeah.
And I think, yeah, you're right there.
One thing I noticed those last two times
specifically were that your M
was that your M is lower.
You're going man, man, can you try?

(44:51):
Oh man.
There's no man man I still
if I can try the whole
like there's no man is terrified
as the man who sends
that one must get that one. Yeah.
As the as the man.
So think about
I was just talking to someone about this,
getting on the note
in the continent before the valley.

(45:13):
You need to. Yeah.
There's no man,
there's no man, there's no.
Yeah, there's no man, man.
Why is that so hard?
There's no man as terrified as the man.
Who am I doing it, I do it, I'm not.
Okay.
Yeah, you're still doing it

(45:33):
because now you're not,
for lack of better terms,
wasting your vowel time
getting to the note.
Yeah, man, man, there's no man.
There's no man.
And then your M is a little,
It's a pressure launch pad right now.
It's coming off.
There's no man. Yeah, I'm.
There's no man. Yeah.

(45:54):
Can you think about your lips
barely closing on.
There's no, no, there's no man I a side.
There's no man.
How's that feeling?
There's no man is.
There's no man I said.
How's that experience?
It's a it's a mental experience.
It's because it's it's

(46:15):
so my it's very my. Yeah.
And it just takes pressure off the notes.
Yes. It takes the pressure off the notes.
I'm also giving you
specifically that note
because you've told me
that you're a bottom heavy singer.
I am so if you're going to bring up
if you're typically
going to bring up weight,
how can we instead of
going down to the weight
and trying to shut it,
how can you just start with with less

(46:36):
without the weight? Yeah.
There's no man as terrified
as the man who stands to lose you.
Does that feel more stable?
Shoulders. Big dub.
Does it sound good?
Yes, it sounds lovely.
It's a lot more stable.
It sounds like the goal you
you told me you're trying to achieve.

(46:57):
Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah. Oh.
Mean like it.
Okay. Yeah.
The next thing I want to
look into is that.
Oh I can want to skip the other stuff
because it seemed very successful to me.
And if you're telling me
that it sounded decent, then
I'm good with it because it felt good.
Good. It feels good.
It sounded decent to your ear.
It sounds decent to my ear.
We'll go with this.

(47:17):
Those are the I think that you
I think beyond decent.
But yeah,
I try to live in neutrality
as much as I can.
Yeah.
Yeah I, I probably wouldn't say decent.
I'm, I'm ceiling
I'm saying decent
because that's what
you're adapting to my language
that I'm using. Absolutely. Absolutely.
Yeah.
But yeah it's that low up
that part there.
Again I am switching on purpose.

(47:40):
I can try and belt it for you so you can.
That's the part
you're talking about, right? Yes. Yeah.
I can try to belt it
so you can hear what it sounds like.
If you want,
I can ask you a question first.
Yeah. What?
Why does that part go up?
Not because it's on the page.
And that's how I see things that you see.
This is this is
what are you communicating with?
Well, it's

(48:02):
kind of a begging thing, right?
Like, now I finally have a good thing.
Like, don't you dare
take it away from me now.
Okay, so can we flip that language of.
Don't you dare take this.
Don't you dare take this away from me!
I'm finally have a good thing.
Because that relates
more to what you are doing vocally.
And what it sounds to me
from what you're saying

(48:23):
is comfortable on
your vocals
also serves the piece
where you have a little bit of a pullback
or a little bit of a lightning.
There,
or I think I'm doing it because I'm
afraid of belting belting it.
Okay, so
let's let's reverse
the language back then
we find that desperation.
I believe that you can do it.
Can you think of it as asking,

(48:44):
not asking.
I want you to live in the action of
begging, begging
or you begging in my book
because I try to relate it
to myself and not, not Fenton,
not like this. Is these like.
And I think not every day.
Like, you know, that doesn't apply to me.
Yeah. That. Well.
So, for me, I would,

(49:05):
put it into, like, an actual situation,
like with actual people. Yep.
And then it's more like,
hey, I thought we have a good thing.
Like, why are you leaving now?
So you're asking the person. The person.
Okay, that's a
that's a very clear thing to note
because where are they standing.
And I like to
you just to kind of preface
what I'm doing to explain what I'm doing,

(49:25):
I like to use roughly
some acting techniques to get there,
but that doesn't mean we're going to act.
Yeah.
You know,
I think it's just a nice way
to start getting clarity.
Especially on Uze and HMMs
and O's and little riffs
like why why are you doing it.
Other than that's how the song goes.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So and you don't have to tell me

(49:47):
I always, I
always say that to my students.
Sometimes they tell me,
sometimes they don't.
And I don't need to know, like,
just think of
the person and I want you to just, like,
take a beat.
You can close your eyes
or you can keep them open,
whatever feels right
for you in the moment.
And I just want you to think
they're walking out that door
and you need them to turn around.
They'll say there's a door there.

(50:08):
Yeah. That's imaginary door. Yeah. Yeah.
Can you try,
would you like to get into it.
Okay.
Listen
please say
I want you I need you a lot.
Don't take
like, beautiful things that I've gone.

(50:30):
Please I say
I want you, I need you got God.
Okay.
These beautiful things I've done.
Oh, my.
Oh, oh,

(50:50):
please
don't take that is so.
Hi. Hi, hi.
It's hollow.
It's an f. It's an is.
Have you ever lived there before
in exercises. Okay. Yes.
Yeah. And exercises. You've lived there.
Well, first
tell me about that experience before we,

(51:11):
we break down some technical stuff.
I had to pace myself.
Like, immediately.
I was like, hold on, don't go into hot.
Right?
Because it's just like, again,
that's when,
you know,
I always have to be careful
when I'm bringing in,
like the storytelling,
the emotion and all that.
Like
we're still only in the first course.
Yes, yes,
we're still only in the first chorus.
And like I mentioned, at some point,

(51:34):
there are more ways to express
other than volume.
Yeah. Oh, yeah.
Yeah, I wouldn't say that
that was a volume problem.
I heard some some squeeze up there.
An instability.
Were you thinking,
here comes, here it comes, here it comes.
Now I'm here.
I was
I was trying to tell myself
to just go for it.
Just go for it.
Go for it.
And then I was like,
oh, shit, this is high.
It's high. Yeah. Good time.

(51:54):
What I heard was a little more sliding
than you
probably need,
and you started
a little heavier than you need,
for where you're trying to go
and what your tendencies currently are.
Yeah. Okay.
Like for start later.
Yeah. Oh. Yes.
And then give yourself a

(52:19):
well put the W up there with it.
Okay. Oh, wow.
Pretend about it.
Okay, okay.
Oh.
Yeah. Wow.
So, Yeah.
Getting in your feelings
when I do that, I feel I also
sometimes I need to feel something,

(52:40):
and then I can explain what happened.
I felt a little bit of tongue.
Oh, okay.
A little bit of tongue.
Not pulling back, just grabbing.
Oh.
Whoa, whoa.
We're trying to get whoa, whoa oh.
If you're trying to get up there,
a little slide is not necessarily
a bad thing,
but a slide with constriction

(53:01):
is where we're running into the
question mark.
What I just noticed you do
and again, you just
I quickly demonstrating
why just notices you were like whoa
rather than whoa like that.
Just having that
like dropping off of that
top note
quicker
might help me
take the weight off a little.

(53:23):
So let me like, let me try that.
There's a different rhythm on it. Yeah.
Try to see if that helps. Okay.
Whoa, whoa.
That already helps.
That was in a totally different space.
Yeah.
Should I distortion on that top?
Now,
I don't know
if I can't like a little gritty

(53:43):
because sometimes when I grit,
it helps me reach the high.
I was gonna say
the grit means you're going
to be doing a lot less.
Yeah.
In a way that I think will serve you,
which is,
I think
why the high part
feels so easy for you because
see it in that.
Yeah. On there.
Well not quite that but yeah.
Setting that time.

(54:04):
Exactly.
You're, you're
letting that mix have a little bit more.
What I hear is just a little bit
more like add in it. Yeah.
But it reads because we have that.
Yeah. Great in there. Yeah.
So try and add distortion on that.
See what happens
if I can do that.
You have access to it already.
Yeah I will say yeah okay.

(54:25):
Well let me try it.
Yeah. See what happens.
Can I make any promises. Yeah. Okay.
Oh that sounded a little.
Yeah. That was grinding grippy.
It's it's that slide.
Whoa. What's that?
Yeah.
I'm really sealing,
Works straight up for it.

(54:46):
That is so much harder than it seems.
Isolating it. Yeah, yeah.
Not like not sliding.
Not sliding into
what can we think in two parts.
Can we just do.
Whoa, whoa.
Just starting there.
F out of fucking blue.
Okay, whatever.
Well,
that distortion seemed a little,

(55:07):
a lot less.
It was less.
It still does not feel as effortless
as I would like it to, and I. Yeah.
Can you try? No distortion.
Think about oh offer this
taking in a little bit more air
and using it all the whole time.
Like he just wow.
Well you can do that again

(55:31):
before I talk about it. No.
Okay.
Whoa, whoa.
Okay, okay, I got to white.
You got it.
You got it?
Yeah. Your mouth opened too much. Yes.
Whoa, whoa.
For the first time
before you set to do it again,
that one was better.
I like that one.
But what was that experience like?

(55:53):
It was like it just came out.
It felt brighter.
Like it was a little mix here.
Like when you maybe it could handle
it could have had a little bit
more twang.
What I notice was
that there was less pressure
because you were letting
that air flow through.
So what we usually works for me
well, in that case is just to make it
breathy, make it breath.

(56:13):
So the
so the word breathy trigger are you.
And when you think that for yourself,
do you think I'm going to make it breathy
but you belt it, or do you think, oh no.
And then the pressure belted,
but in a breathy way,
but it's not going to sound breathy.
Yes.
In my brain,
that's like open
those goddamn vocal folds
that they're not squeezing together.
So there you go.
So that's a really good example of like,

(56:35):
me saying something
and you have verbiage
that works really well for you,
but it's the same concept. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Exactly.
Yeah I love
I love that that just happened.
That's awesome.
So can you try making it breath
taking a breath
before I ask you to do it again? One.
How are you feeling? Time.
Yeah okay. Good.
Two is isolating.
It feel like
does that feel like it's helping
or does that feel like you're

(56:56):
starting with more?
No.
I'm actually impressed
that I even have a shot
at getting up there
with just like a bomb.
Like, like just nothing leading up to it.
Just just go for it. Like.
Okay. Okay.
Yeah, yeah.
Can you,
then can you try it again
in think breathy. Okay.
Breathy as you.
Oh, it's higher than I thought it was.

(57:20):
Well, that's what we're.
Yeah, it's a little
flat I think it well maybe had a little.
It was, it wasn't,
it wasn't on top of the note.
I wouldn't say it was fully flat. Okay.
But it was like centered,
not perfectly centered.
Yeah.

(57:40):
Whoa, whoa.
So this the.
Did you hear the,
the the the the dry come in.
That is typical for me up in that range.
Interesting.
Where that's just
my vocal folds just going.
Yeah.
Trying to pinch together
a little too much. It's very interesting.
So that's very typical.
That's what I'm working on in
my voice lessons to not get them.

(58:00):
Not get that.
Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Can I try.
So. Yeah.
See if that helps you
get that, that air flowing.
So you had it
until you started switching the out.
Okay.
That's what I noticed because
did you hear a little bit of that.
Like a little.

(58:22):
Yeah.
It was,
it was like your body was like oh yeah.
Let me I pressure we're going down.
Like the hard parts over like.
Yeah.
Can you give it a Z
z.
Where did you do the Z.
You did the. Yes.
SS.
Yeah.
But you don't have to do too much.

(58:44):
You can add a little bit of belt
to what you just said.
So, so I was like
what does that even like
I know what it means.
But I'm like like where is that?
Like, where does that sit?
Where does that like,
how does that feel in my voice.
So, so yeah.
So that's the I

(59:05):
that's what I want to hear as well.
Yeah. Z that's where we're going
Z
why are you looking at me I
mean because you're smiling at
your opinion.
So like a little I'm
a little unsure on it, like, okay. Yeah.

(59:26):
Like none of these ones where I'm like,
I nailed it.
Yes.
You know, what does is nailing it
feel.
And is the experience of nailing it
aligned with what you did that one time
when I did that,
like the first time you're like,
yeah, that that
maybe it was because I like
not on purpose.
Like was under the note

(59:47):
and I thought we were all the way up
and that's all.
Oh, maybe it was an E
instead of an F, right. But yeah.
Holding for New York sirens.
It hasn't felt like
oh yeah, like that
feels like I'm right on the note.
It's not necessarily
like a physical thing where I'm like,
it's like squeezing
or anything like that. It's more like
any just
a little bit more stretch,

(01:00:07):
you know, stretch.
So I'm going to ask you
and then I'll give my $0.02.
What what does that mean for you?
If it needs a little bit more stretch,
it's a little bit more length
in the vocal folds.
I can get all the way up to that.
And what does that.
So how do you do that?
How do I do that? Like there's no wrong.
Well, yeah,
there's an answer I'm looking for.
But like
I'm not expecting you to be there.

(01:00:29):
Well usually what I would do
is switch into a head voice and go higher
and then come back down to that.
And then
then I have to stretch
in the vocal folds.
And so that's why when I do
my warm ups and my exercise,
I go all the way up,
like as high as I humanly can,
which is not that high for, for you,
but for me it's very high.

(01:00:49):
So anyways,
I try to go as high as possible
so that I get the stretch. Yeah.
So yeah.
Anyway,
so if I say sprinkle
a little bit of head into your mix,
does that do anything for you
or are you like on paper. Yeah.
Can I translate it.
We'll see
I want you we're going to start lower.
So this is going to have

(01:01:09):
a little bit of a challenge.
We're doing an exercise.
I'm going to start a little bit lower.
The challenge here is
that we're going to be lower,
which means you're going
to have easier access to chest.
Excuse me.
And I'm easier access to chest.
I want you to start and mix and slide up.
Keeping that, finding that stretch.

(01:01:35):
You can add
a little bit of brightness there,
but start in mixed stay and mix.
Okay.
Mix belt land.
It looks like you're moving so hard
to not go.
Woo!
Yeah.
Well, can you do a physical

(01:01:56):
or a physical?
Okay.
Sometimes you just need
a kinesthetic connection.
Sometimes I think you're
there's not science behind this.
Your hand.
Maybe there is, but I don't research it.
Your hands can tell your voice
what to do, if that makes any any sense.
Yeah. We're stretching.
We're just.
We're saying
this is what I want you to do.

(01:02:16):
Brain communicate. Communicate.
We're going to jump.
Who?
Who?
Yeah.
You right there.
And, when I, when I feel that,

(01:02:37):
I'm feeling a little like
grip.
In the back of my tongue.
No. Okay.
Retract not retraction.
Can you try it?
Yeah.
Tongue out.

(01:02:58):
If you zoom into that.
So. Yeah.
I wasn't saying zoom into that close up,
you'll see a little quiver in the tongue.
Okay. Little, little.
But see some of what
were experiencing here.
My vocal folds are just grabby.
They're grabby interesting.
I like to just they like to.
Yeah.
So that so when I practice
this kind of stuff, I'm always, like,
breathy, ready, breathy,

(01:03:20):
breathy. Yes.
You found it.
Then we did it
a, few more times
and we were really hitting a wall.
I switch topics, yeah,
and we can get back into it.
Some people,
we we literally just switch
and there's method to the madness.
But like,
we switch,
get their brain off something else
and then randomly when they may not think
we're done with the exercise and like,
can you try the song again?

(01:03:41):
And then we do it and,
and then it was like, do it. Yeah.
Because sometimes you just get caught
in your own head
of your idea of here's
what I,
I always bring up too much weight.
And I'm not saying this is fully inherent
in your head thing,
but what could have happened?
I think it's like we got it.
And then it was like, okay,
how do I get it again?

(01:04:01):
When I always do this one thing,
I'll say wrong for lack of better words,
and then the weight comes up,
and then the weight comes up
and then the weight comes up.
So what I would do, I did it.
We lived on it
longer than I normally would today.
But I would say,
okay, let's just
check in with head voice.
Then we would do a little woo woo

(01:04:24):
ooh, find
a little bit of a low larynx position
or a little John woo woo.
Just what I'm trying to do
is get your voice in the.
It just we're not doing anything
near what we just did. Yeah.
Woo watch woo
woo woo

(01:04:45):
woo woo ooh.
And here we are in the woo woo ooh.
Let's just live here.
Ooh. More.
Ooh. One more.
Ooh ooh
ooh ooh ooh

(01:05:05):
ooh ooh.
And now
we'll just do a little bit of agility.
Because we can't use too much pressure.
Let me not say can't.
It's much easier to riff with
the lighter with lighter closer.
Oh we're going to refer okay.
We're going to do.
Okay.
So we're just and we're not,

(01:05:27):
not.
Hey, can you try not to do a full flip?
It can just be a normal mix.
So. Maddie.
Hey, hey,
now just try to speed it up a little bit.
Hey hey hey hey
hey, I know

(01:05:49):
I demonstrated
with your attention for tonight. Didn't.
Oh, hey, find a little bit more mix.
Hey, like you're talking.
Hey hey hey
hey hey hey hey hey.
Hey, yeah.

(01:06:09):
Hey hey
hey, hey, how's your jaw feeling?
Hey, hey
hey hey hey,
can we just do the sunken moon, please?

(01:06:30):
Say
Oh, God.
Don't take
these beautiful things
that I've got this.
Oh, God.
Don't tell

(01:06:53):
these beautiful things
I've got for you.
Hey, you.
Please don't take
this.
I want this,

(01:07:13):
I forgot to do the distortion
on those as I was already in my mind.
Oh, whoa, whoa.
That's so.
And I was like, that's going to be clean.
So I forgot to do the
distortion on that.
And then I was like, oh,
that's harder to sing
without the distortion.
And then I was thinking about that.
It's like so hard to be in the moment.
It's so hard to be in the moment.
Yeah. It's so hard to beat them up.

(01:07:33):
But how was that.
Well honestly pretty good
I think again it was like
it's not in the middle.
It wasn't in the,
in the center of the pitch.
You can get away with it in the song
fair.
Not that that's the
most sustainable practice
that we want to have,
but if you had to sing the song tomorrow
and it sounded like that, we'd be.

(01:07:54):
It'd be okay. We'd be chillin. Yeah.
And in the studio.
Just get it right in the center.
But yeah, that's like
I kind of went through, like,
a few different
approaches with you, like,
knowing what you've told me.
And then just kind of showing you, like,
how I start from artistry sometimes.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Did any of that which worked

(01:08:15):
last one was pretty good.
Was the most successful getting.
Get it, get away from it.
Do a little head voice.
Get the stretch,
get the stretch, stretch for me.
Because when the vocal folds
are stretching more,
they're also pinching less some reason.
So yeah, that's
that's just really helpful. Yeah.
And the bicep tricep thing. Yeah.
Yeah. We're we're not going to stretch.
Yeah.
We're stretching the bicep.

(01:08:36):
Don't
even if we're not like
stretching judging.
You know when that triceps engaged.
Yeah. Very similar. Yeah.
That was good I think I'm pretty close.
And if I just
think on this like a little bit
where I get it fully warmed up.
Haven't been talking in
your low chest voice all day.
It wasn't bad speaking
20 degrees outside.
Yeah.
Like,
you know, all of these different,

(01:08:57):
but that's like the of like.
Yeah, this is like,
that's so when you,
when you're performing. Right.
Like very rarely.
Is everything perfect.
Yeah. Right where you need it.
All your circumstances.
Right. Oil your your environment. Yeah.
Whatever. Right.
Like no.
Like you got to,
you got to do with what you got. So.
And what I would give you to practice
if like, let's say

(01:09:17):
we're meeting again in a week,
what I would say
is live in a descending head voice
because we want to teach our head voice
how to go down.
Because you already got chest voice
going up.
Yeah.
And then find that mix, though
we would probably live
in that exercise for longer. Yeah.
Where you live in mics,
where your chest voice usually is
and slide that up. Yeah.
So you can really practice

(01:09:38):
that stretching feeling. Awesome.
That's what I would say. Go practice.
Yeah I shall thank you.
Yeah that was fun.
Yeah it's fun. Just a different approach.
Not me going up
and then me being like
what does that feel like.
Like dying goats or something like that.
Okay. Whatever.
But that's a part of the process, right?

(01:09:58):
Like he was part of the process.
You have to make crazy
or like allow yourself to not be perfect,
to be like this is happening.
Yes.
Well, then we can make adjustments
and then allow yourself as a teacher
to like, sit and process
and, you know, going back to taking voice
lessons myself,
I took a break for a little bit. Like
at first

(01:10:18):
I was like, I'm a voice
teacher on the internet
and I have to be perfect
in my voice lessons
because otherwise
they're going to be like,
why is this person teaching other people
how to sing?
You know?
Yeah, like just imposter syndrome.
It's what it is. It's very real. Yeah.
And so that just getting back
into taking lessons myself
has really helped me to be like,

(01:10:38):
no one's expecting perfection from you.
Yeah. Except yourself.
So just let it go and have it
be a learning process. Yes.
All you can do and be okay with, like,
be comfortable.
What kind of like with what I did.
Like let's try.
This is my first time
working with your voice.
Or even if it's my third time
working with your voice.
That's not a lot of.
That's three hours.

(01:10:59):
Yeah, maybe if we.
If I didn't ask you
to introduce yourself
at the beginning of the first hour.
Yeah, I asked you.
Hey, how's your day been?
And you had a really bad day.
So you you told me about a 15 minute.
Like what?
Which is like, okay, those things happen.
Yeah.
Like,
it's like maybe three hours
of hearing you in general.
That's not a ton of time.

(01:11:21):
It definitely gives me information,
but it's not a ton of time for me
to really get your learning style,
see what your typical habits
and tendencies
are and,
be able to perfectly work around them.
If you are
a professional or living
in the professional world,
or just consider yourself
a very advanced singer
and in tune with your voice,
then you can say, oh, here,
my habits, here my tendencies.

(01:11:42):
Yeah.
And,
imagery doesn't really work for me too.
Well.
Like,
you know,
if you go in saying
that, I'm like, great.
I have that information about you.
I can probably be more effective
from our.
I'm halfway through our first lesson.
Yeah.
You know. Yeah, absolutely.
But it takes a little bit of time
to get to know each other's style.
Yes. And. Yeah.
And don't worry, this message

(01:12:03):
to all the teachers
out there from a wise 25 year old.
No, but, like,
allow yourself to try something.
And if it doesn't work
and this is with nuance, like, don't
do harm.
Yeah. Please.
But like,
but like allow yourself
to try something kind of like read it.

(01:12:23):
And if it doesn't serve your student,
move on, move on.
And don't be like and don't
beat yourself up about being like,
I didn't get it right on the first try.
That's okay.
It happens all the time as a singer.
Like they didn't either.
Yeah, that's fine.
And that's why you're both in this fight.
That's why the internet is so hard
sometimes because, like,
you see these clips that are,
you know, pieced together. Yes.

(01:12:44):
And then it's like,
oh my God, in five minutes
I got this amazing result.
Like, sure,
it might have been five minutes,
even if there's no
cutting, know how to do nothing. Sure.
But also like
you don't know what happened
leading up to it. Yes.
And you don't know what's
going to happen after.
Can they do it again?
Yes, exactly.
Like, did you go practice?

(01:13:05):
Are you tuned in to
what you're experiencing,
or did that note just come out
because the adrenaline is is rushing
and someone is
is doing it right next to you
demonstrating, demonstrating.
And then you like call and response.
Another thing that we,
that we played around with was like,
does it work?
Is it easier for you

(01:13:26):
to mentally like kind of let go of
this is a high note
if I'm demonstrating it for you?
Doesn't sound like high in a voice,
then it does in the piano sometimes that.
Oh yeah. Ruin.
Yeah.
I think it did a little bit.
It wasn't like
the most effective thing for your voice.
But I do think it helps
because, like, just playing it on
the piano is like, I was like,
you're like.
You're like, it's an ally. Yeah. No.

(01:13:48):
So I am not allowed to know what notes
I'm singing.
Because I know because like yeah
it's like all right we got to brace for.
Yeah. Yeah.
Moral of the story
the better you know yourself
and your tendencies
the faster you can learn.
Yeah.
But that takes time to get to that point.
Yeah. Awareness.
Yeah. And trial and error is okay.
Yeah.

(01:14:08):
It's okay
to explore that with your teacher.
So you can both learn.
And that's one thing going
circling back to my teaching style.
My teaching style is like
let's figure out
what will serve you best.
I think at the end of the day if,
if being careful with my language
on not calling things flat or sharp
or saying wins versus

(01:14:29):
challenges, never saying good,
never saying bad
and living a little bit
more neutrality will help
get you out of your head. Awesome.
But you're technically pretty.
Pretty much already there.
Like, that's what
I'm going to be writing about.
Notes
like stuff like that
doesn't hit my radar at all.
Yeah, like you can tell me like,
that was shit.
Or like, that was flat.
Like, I don't care.
Like.
Yeah,
because I've been doing this

(01:14:50):
for a long time.
Yeah. Right. So again different.
Different people.
Different me a little different things.
Yeah. Yeah.
And some people like
that was wrong again.
That was wrong again. Yeah.
And some people get freaked by like yeah.
Yeah. Very like.
And that's just who I am
as a teacher right now
in the stages of me teaching.
Like I
might even get into that
because we're going to sit here

(01:15:11):
for another three hours.
Just like how my style as a teacher
has evolved so much.
Oh, yes,
because I started
full time teaching
while I was getting my masters in this.
Yeah. So like it went from,
okay, I know stuff.
Yeah, yeah stuff to
I know a lot of stuff right now.
Yeah too.
Okay.
I just learned about learning styles.

(01:15:32):
Yes. I'm really going to apply that.
And like seasonal applications of things
not and never letting go of
like what I've read because.
Yeah,
but what's really what
I'm learning right now
actually often aligned.
I would have like one student
come to me with a specific question,
and the next day in class
we'd be talking about it.
And I was like, this is awesome.
Yeah, yeah.

(01:15:52):
I was like, I can solve that.
I can help you overcome
that challenge today.
Yeah. Today.
Yeah. But, yeah, it's.
And then now that I've been out of school
for just a little bit, still,
I am just noticing the way that I am
settling into certain things,
understanding like personality types
and what they want to achieve
more and like learning who's an artist

(01:16:15):
first versus a technical part,
like those things. Yeah.
So yeah, yeah, we could I could go on.
But I,
I think that's a good
wrap up there though. Yeah.
Thank you so much for coaching me.
Thank you for having me.
Oh my goodness.
Going on the roller
coaster of my my brain. No I love it.
I think it's so fascinating
to see the different styles.
And yeah
we can all learn from each other.

(01:16:36):
So that was really cool.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for joining me here today
to be here
and for you
know, being a part of art,
say if you want to do lessons with Emily,
she's awesome.
You should totally do it.
And we can totally set that up.
Oh yeah. It's work session. Yeah.
But just tell us.
Yes, to tell us how we can help
and where or, you know,

(01:16:57):
maybe not the how we can help,
but just like we need help.
Yeah.
And then we're like, we're here to help.
Let's figure out how. So. Yeah.
Anyways,
thank you so much for being here
for Emily.
Thank you.
And, we'll catch you next time.
Thanks for joining. Thank you.

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VTS Coach Emily Helps Me Unlock My Mix Belt (Game-Changing Tips!)

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