November 15, 2024 • 43 mins
Ready to free your voice and embrace your authentic self? In this episode, we’re joined by Sarah Bishop, a vocal coach and podcast host on a mission to help people express themselves through the power of sound.
Sarah shares her inspiring journey from a discouraged dancer to a confident singer and vocal coach, showing us how our unique perspectives make our messages powerful and how it's never too late to follow our passions.
What you'll discover:
- How expressing your voice can lead to personal and professional transformation
- The connection between singing, speaking, and self-confidence
- Aligning your voice with your authentic self
- The power of saying "yes" to your heart's desires
- How podcasting can open unexpected doors
- Techniques for calming your body and freeing your voice
Sarah also introduces us to her Singer's Path program, designed for all skill levels—from pitch-matching to advanced vocal techniques—to help you enhance your vocal expression and confidence.
Whether you’re a podcaster, singer, or simply want to speak your truth more confidently, this episode is packed with insights and practical tips. Sarah’s approach combines technical skills with emotional healing, empowering you to improve your voice and truly own your unique sound.
Ready to step into your power and let your voice be heard? This episode could be the push you need to start your vocal journey.
Connect with Sarah:
Website: www.sarahbishopvocalstudio.com
(Singer’s PATH bundles + More)
Join my free Secret Singer Digest:
Singer’s PATH Podcast:
Insta and Tik Tok: @singwithbish
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
I am really excited podcasters becausewe have a special guest today that I
actually got to hang out with in personthat has a really cool story and is
going to help us set our voices free.
So welcome to the show, Sarah, thank youso much for having so excited to be here.
(00:21):
Thank you.
I'm really excited because again,we got to meet in person, which.
I'm loving now.
I'm like, I got to give people hugs thisyear and I'm very excited about this.
But when I was listening to your storyand about singing and how singing
can truly like, open your mind.
And then we got into the conversationabout like performers and, you
(00:43):
know, like, We all have our ownpoint of view on different fields.
And I think that the way thatyou shared opened my mind.
And I think that that's whystories are so important.
So I want to know a little bit abouthow you got into this profession.
And, yeah, then we'lltalk about your podcast.
(01:04):
Don't worry.
Sure.
Absolutely.
So, so I actually grew up a dancer.
, I did a lot of competitive dancing.
Was I fantastic at it?
Not really, not my strongest suit,but at that time, that's what we
did, you know, as a way for us to getphysically active and we were good
enough at it that we, we loved musicand it was a way for us to perform,
(01:25):
And so that's, that mixed with pianolessons was really how I just started.
but then there was this littlepageant that was going on in
my hometown called Miss ButlerCounty, little Miss Butler County.
Okay.
And I.
I really in, like, had been dreamingand dreaming and dreaming of being
(01:46):
on stage, right, kind of secretly.
And I wanted to do this pageant sobad for whatever reason, maybe I
just wanted friends, I don't know.
But I really wanted to do it, right?
And so they had sign ups at this dancestudio that I was super excited about.
I'm not going to, but they werereally mean at this dance studio.
They were kind of the worst people ever.
And I, but you needed a talent,right, to sign up for this pageant
(02:07):
that was part of the pageant.
And I went over to ask my teacher ifshe would teach me a dance solo so that
I could participate in said pageant.
And I remember her very vividlypointing at the list and
going, this is not for you.
Which to say to an 11 year old child isreally like benign, you know what I mean?
(02:30):
It was like, yeah, roughtimes in the early 2000s.
Okay.
And I don't know what kind of audacityI had as a child, but something moved me
to be like, okay, fine, then I'll sing.
And my mom at the time was like, honey,you can't sing, you're tone deaf.
You can't do that.
My mother, and, and meaning well, so thatshe, I didn't go embarrass myself, right?
(02:55):
And I was like, you know what?
I was 11.
I don't know why I did this, butmy, my grandmother had gotten me
a karaoke machine for Christmas.
Had no singing experience atall, but found, there was like
a karaoke Broadway kids CD.
That it had like a vocal demonstrationand then you could record the audio.
(03:15):
Or sorry, not record the audio, youcould sing with the accompaniment.
And so I literally taught myselfthe song Castle on a Cloud from
Les Mis because I liked it.
And I just felt, I was like,I really want to do this.
I went to my mom in her houseand I said, Mom, I really,
really, really want to sing.
I prepared this song.
(03:37):
I kind of like auditioning for my mother.
Can I please, please sing?
I really want to do this pageant.
I sang it for her.
She started to cry andwas like, I'm so sorry.
Like, of course you can sing.
It's like making me emotionalnow talking about it.
I know, and that honestly was thevery start of my own journey of
(04:02):
declaring that if you have it onyour heart to learn to sing, you can.
And that really projectedmy entire life, right?
And later was the foundation and theroots for why I've created what's now,
being announced as The Singer's Path.
Which is the name of my podcast.
(04:24):
Which is the name of all ofthe courses that I offer.
And it really meets anyperson that desires to sing.
Really truly has it on their heart.
It's for beginnersliterally to pro singers.
And each course, each step ofthis curriculum is designed to
(04:46):
meet you exactly where you are.
Whether you need to learn topitch like I did back when I
was 11 and taught myself to do.
To learning to mix belt likeElphaba on Broadway, which I've
literally auditioned for and Ihave learned to go from step one.
I need to learn to sing theright notes to I'm in final
callbacks for a Broadway show.
(05:07):
So this, this singer's path, all of whatI do with my business, what I'm going
to talk about on my podcast is all aboutjust showing singers that there is a way.
You know, everybody has their own journey.
Everybody is going to go throughdifferent things as an artist, but
I just want people to know thatsomeone's done it and there is
(05:31):
somewhat of a guide available to them.
So that's what the singer's path is allabout and why I got into it and kind
of the foundation of my whole business,which is called Sarah Bishop Vocal Studio.
Oh.
And I'm like, as I'm still emotionalabout that, but it's like, there's
so much of that that goes on, right?
That we're told, yeah,you're not a good dancer.
(05:52):
Like, the first thing I said, I'mnot good for your program because I'm
tone deaf, like majorly tone deaf.
I sing every day.
But, you know, the cats run away.
Well, you know, sometimes the cats arejust sensitive to volume, if we're honest.
Their ears are going to betwisting all around no matter what.
But I will say that was actuallythe first course that I created for
what's now known as The Singer's Path.
(06:13):
It's just called, waitfor it, Pitch Please.
I need to get thattrademarked immediately.
My trademark lawyer that, I gotset up with is like, okay, that
actually needs to be a priority.
We need to do that right now.
So TM, TM, TM, it's mine.
Pitch Please.
But, , that's the course thatteaches you to match pitch and
sing consistently on pitch.
I gathered as much informationas I could about the brain and
(06:36):
neuroscience and how the voice works.
, and created this course with,the most state of the art
information we have available.
And created this program thatsometimes goes against traditional
year training programs.
And that's why it was reallyscary to produce, I'll be honest.
I was like, it was kind of comingto me intuitively and then I went
back and backed it up in science.
But I was lucky enough to lectureon Pitch and the Brain and teach
(07:00):
about Pitch Please in Scotland at aWorld Teacher Conference this year.
And there was a woman in therethat, specializes in this.
I think she studied it atlike Oxford or something.
And she was like, no,everything in there is correct.
Yeah.
No, no, no.
That's, that's exactly what it is.
I was like, talk about validation.
I was like, oh my God, thank God.
This thing that I've created forpeople and use actually came up with
the structure via trial and error.
(07:23):
Of working with people, maybe likeyou, that had come, that loved to
sing, but literally just can't.
They just don't know how to pitch.
They're just like, please help me.
and I'll tell you onemore fun fact about this.
If you're ever like, well, why can't mysister sing on pitch and why can't I?
Right?
It often has to do with your musicalinfluence growing up, actually.
(07:45):
And how, you know, your brain'sforming when you're young.
And so if you played an instrument,especially like a string instrument,
like the cello, or you're, you'reused to tuning and understanding
the importance of tuning at a veryyoung age, you're going to be a lot
better at pitching most of the time.
It also has to do withmuscle coordination.
And almost muscle memory.
(08:07):
So yeah, so that's Pitch Please,Jen, if you want to check it out.
Oh, I think I need to.
And the funny thing is,like, I was in choir.
I was a clarinet player.
I played the piano.
I did them all very poorly.
Because I was Go ahead.
It's the stories.
It's the stories, right?
Yeah, it's the stories.
(08:27):
Yeah, that's what I was about to say.
I'd be curious to hear you.
And see, Pitch Please also benefitspeople who actually might have really
good pitch, they're just very critical.
I think that's the other thing, is like,often when people are really critical of
their voices, and they can really tell.
They're off pitch.
They actually have reallygood pitch perception.
(08:48):
They just have a difficulttime recreating it.
And with confidence.
And it's the story of,Oh, I'm a bad singer.
So therefore, you are a bad singer.
Right?
Versus like, No, I can actually reallydetect and hear when things are off pitch.
And so I just need to train my bodyto be able to do it more accurately.
There's a lot, there's a lot ofprofessional musicians, especially
like professional guitar players,professional clarinet players, who hate.
(09:13):
singing back because they have likeperfect pitch and they literally
cannot match it because it'sjust, it just drives them crazy.
So I'd be curious, Jen, to hear you andsee if it's maybe just a confidence issue.
Just curious.
Depends on the day.
It depends on the day.
Let's not take our catsas a, as a, as a meter.
Well, I don't have any cats.
It's the neighbor's cats that run away.
(09:34):
And I'm like, my dog appreciates it.
So my dog sings with me.
She's there.
She does.
She will sing with me.
But the reason why I think that thisis important is that it's, it's voice.
Right.
And so many people like podcasters are.
afraid of their voice.
Like I hear this all the time.
No one's going to wantto listen to my voice.
No one's going to want to do this.
(09:56):
And I, I kind of like related tosinging, although singing is, is way
different than just talking, but there'sthis release of sound from your mouth.
And it comes out in acertain tone, certain way.
And I think that it's so powerful bothfor the internal and the external.
So that's why I'm like really excitedfor you as a podcast, like podcasters
(10:17):
out there to listen to this, because,you know, maybe seeing could help you
become stronger, sharing your messagebecause you learn to open up and talk.
And I know that you had a showbefore, and I'd like to talk a
little bit about that, because.
You're now starting a second show.
(10:39):
So can you tell us a little bit about yourfirst, your first toe dip into podcasting?
Absolutely.
Well, just to briefly comment on whatyou said, I think studying the voice
no matter what is incredibly vulnerableexperience and listening back to
yourself is very vulnerable because it'squite literally an expression of you.
And if we're not comfortable andowning that expression of us,
like with zero fucks to give.
(11:00):
We're going to hear that backand we're going to be harshly
critical critical of ourselves.
So studying the voice in any capacityis very vulnerable, an emotional thing,
and it's important to have a safe spacethat you have a teacher that's able
to hold that for you, or you're in anenvironment taking a course where you
feel like you really belong there.
Speaking of that, I actuallystarted my first podcast, which is
(11:20):
called Jack of all trades master ofnothing, which is just a way my, the
dance teacher that was the worst.
She used to actually tell me I was thatlet's talk about some child abuse here.
There's that.
But she would tell me that I was ajack of all trades master of nothing.
And she's not smart enough torealize that the phrase is actually
jack of all trades master ofnone, but she would call me that.
(11:42):
So I was like, well, I'm going totake my power back as an adult.
And I'm going to call my podcastthis and I actually started the
podcast during COVID mostly becauseI just had this intuitive hit of
like, now you start a podcast.
It was so crazy.
I was like doing a lot ofnature bathing and healing.
Mostly because I had just spent thelast, you know, six years in my twenties
(12:04):
being vulnerable by using my voiceas a professional singer, showing up
in New York city, but you're going toBroadway auditions, but like hitting
wall after wall, after wall, after wall.
And I.
felt very rejected in the vulnerabilityof my voice and my artistry and was
really lost in the ownership of thatand so for some whatever reason I had
the intuitive head of being like okaylet's do a podcast then we don't have
(12:26):
anything else to do we're at our parentshouse in Pittsburgh like like okay and
like everybody and their mom was doinga podcast at that point but I was like
whatever I know I need to do this andreally jack of all trades turned into
Almost like, now looking back on it,like almost like a performance art
piece of capturing exactly the startingpoint of someone that was beginning
(12:49):
to heal in their artist's journey.
And I literally used it as an example,or just an excuse, rather, of bringing on
top industry professionals, I'm talkingabout casting directors on Broadway,
music directors on Broadway, pop singersthat have since gotten popular, I had
Dylan Mulvaney on my podcast, who is atrans rights, advocate, she's very famous
(13:12):
now, but we knew each other in college.
And really all it was, was justinviting people that I admired
on to help me understand howI wanted to feel about things.
Like, truly, that's what it did.
And so if you ever listen back tothat, I think I'll download the
episodes to my computer and probablyre upload them on my new podcast here.
(13:35):
But there are conversationswith the hard stuff.
Of, like, talking to a castingdirector who, more or less from the
actor's perspective, almost feelslike a gatekeeper of opportunities,
even though they're not.
All they want to do is help someone.
But, like, having conversations ofbeing like, what is this dynamic
between actors and casting directors?
Like, let's talk about it.
(13:55):
What is the dynamic of facing,and sorry, trigger warning here,
facing, complications with havingan eating disorder and body
imagery, issues in an industry.
That is so commercialized andcapitalistic, and who's making the
decisions at the top, and you'retrying to heal from that, but yet
you're also trying to show up as you.
(14:15):
How do you feel, it was the biggestthing, and this is what my new podcast
is gonna be about, but it all kind ofboiled down to, I was trying to figure
out, how do I feel safe enough to bewho I am, and free my instrument, and
come here to do what I came here to do?
How do I feel safe enough in theseenvironments that are just not that safe?
(14:38):
How do I say fuck it all and showup to do what I came here to do?
And so anyway, all of these peoplewere here in this, this performing
arts piece was the first start ofmy healing path in that regard.
And the other thing I'll say aboutJack of all trades and podcasting
in general, and how it kind of justcompletely transformed my life.
Besides starting that healing was it.
(15:01):
Honestly, it was the roots to mestarting the business that I have today,
and it was, it's wild, it's so wild.
One of my friends, again, another collegeacquaintance who's now very famous, but
at the time, TikTok was very new, right?
And she had something like 80, 000followers or something, she was,
in my mind, was blowing up, right?
And she was teaching some really greatstuff, she was teaching the voice!
(15:23):
And I, at that point, was nota voice teacher, I had not been
trained, I was a singer, but I, Youknow, it was like, wow, everything
she shares is like really great.
Like I want to, I'm going to bring her on.
so we have this podcast interview andI share that I am passionate about
teaching and I'm passionate about this,but at this point, you know, I don't feel
like I know how to help other voices.
Like I'm just exploringmy own, all of that.
(15:44):
And she's like, Hey, if you willgo and get trained, I have so many
students do like, I cannot handle this.
I'm overwhelmed with how manypeople want to work with me.
I need help.
Will you come on and bea teacher at my studio?
And I was like, okay, that studiois now EKM studios, which has like,
(16:06):
I mean, her following is like 1.
8 million followers or something.
It's one of the, it's an amazingvocal studio in the world.
Right.
And then at a certain, I workedwith her for like three years.
I mean, nonstop teaching theinflux of students was insane.
I got hundreds and hundreds of hoursof practice becoming a good teacher
and I trained through the Institute ofVocal Advancement and honed my skills.
(16:28):
All of that happened because Ihad this podcast and I, and I
had the audacity to invite myfriend to just talk about herself.
All of that happened.
And now eventually I had so many studentswhere I was like, I need to scale,
like I need to change my business.
I have a desire to help more people.
I got to break away and I'mgoing to form my own business.
Right.
So that's when Sarah BishopVocal Studios was created.
(16:50):
So yeah.
Thanks podcasting.
Thanks Jack of All Trades.
And now we have a new podcast, Singer'sPath Podcast, that's coming out here.
I'm so excited.
I'm so excited.
I love these stories because itdoesn't get talked about enough, right?
Of like, I started sharing myvoice and this is what happened.
I started sharing my storyand this is what happened.
Because I'm so excited.
This is one of the things that I thinkis kind of sad, like, because I listened
(17:12):
to a lot of storytelling podcasts.
It's like, I don't wantto just be stuck in that.
Like, okay.
Yeah.
We were told we sucked.
Like it sucked.
And I feel like.
You took that and you looked atit and you're like, I'm going
to step on that, that, whatever.
I always think of it like littleblocks that are being like
bricks that are thrown at us.
(17:33):
Great.
That's one brick thatmakes me a little taller.
I'm kind of short, so I'll take it.
I'll take the couple extra inches.
I'll take the step.
Let's go.
Thanks.
But I think it's really cool that you,Again, that that's this is the same thing
as my story is like I'm on this planetbecause of a podcast like you are creating
something that is helping others findtheir voice and that's something that
(17:54):
we like, but in a way that isn't angry.
And I appreciate that a lot because Ifeel like With music, even though, you
know, like I go everywhere from likehardcore death metal to like, opera,
like I am, I am the jack of all trades.
I mean, same, same.
(18:15):
I love music, but it's like, it's,it's something that frees my voice,
like I said, I, I am tone deaf.
I can harmonize really well, whichmakes me know that if I really put my
mind to it, I could probably do it.
You're not toned up.
If you can harmonize, you're not toned up.
I don't like to be the harder.
Is it?
Well, cause that's way easier for me.
(18:37):
No, harmonizing, you need tohear the fullness of the chord.
You're hearing not only the pitchyou need to hear, but you're hearing.
Other pitches simultaneously.
That's what makes a good harm harmonizeris someone that hears the whole
chord in the context of the piece.
That's very difficult.
We learned that in pitch, please.
Honestly, Jen, I'm, I want that forward.
(18:59):
It's the, I'm the back,I'm the backup singer.
I'm the harmonizer in the back.
But I think that it's so coolwith your story that it's like.
We have these fires inside of us andwe don't go after them for some reason
or another, you know, and I feel like.
(19:20):
I, I mean, I hate to say it like2021, 2020 woke a lot of people up
because we got to go inside and takea pause from our crazy, busy lives.
And I'm like, you know, like not to getinto any of the politics already, but
that, that pause helped so many people.
And I think that what it brought toyou and what you're bringing out into
the world, there's so much healing in.
(19:42):
expressing through sound, whetherthat's speaking sound, that's whatever.
I was just talking to somebody who'sgoing to start adding music to poetry.
And I'm like, that's really cool.
Like, great.
But I love I mean, like, that's,yeah, I'm like, I almost want to
(20:04):
like bleep every time we say it.
I know.
It almost sounds like, it almostsounds like, but it's, no, I
don't care about the, no, I just,until you get your trademark.
I was like, we're more protect.
I'm like, yeah, that's okay.
Yeah.
I'm going to get it filed here shortly.
So yeah.
Well, this is proof that I had it first.
So, right.
(20:24):
Get it out there sooner than later.
But I think that.
There's probably other stories thatyou have about using your voice, if I'm
not mistaking, about how it's really,I mean, and especially in an industry,
like you were, we were talking about,you were like, Body image, you know,
like critiqued on such a, I mean, weget critiqued in our everyday life.
(20:47):
I can only imagine as a performer,I'm like, how did you, and like,
what is something that you recommendto somebody who's really struggling
with taking that first step forward?
Because I can only imagine, again,I'm not in the industry, so maybe
like in my mind, it's more wildthan it is, but I can imagine
being like, here I am in all of me.
(21:10):
And having, being judged for that.
Yeah.
So, I mean, honestly, I thinkit just depends on the person
and it's different for everyone.
And I mean, me, I thinkit's an ongoing process.
I mean, again, another reason why thesinger's path is a thing is because
I feel like there isn't a whole lotof discussions happening about it
(21:33):
and exploring people's paths andjourneys that they're on with it.
And being okay, it's okay if it's hard.
Right?
And, I mean, I will say personally forme, struggling with body image as a
dancer, I think it all comes down tothe stories we tell ourselves again.
(21:56):
It's deciding in fullness ofyou, being like, Fuck that.
Fuck you.
And fuck that.
Right?
Any person that is gonna have an opinion,about my body can kindly fuck off, right?
And, and not with really anger, butI think one of the things that healed
(22:18):
me, especially about body image, andwe're not even talking about expression,
we're not talking about voice,we're not even talking about acting.
Acting's a whole other level.
You're talking about vulnerability.
Like, it's crazy.
But my biggest thing hasbeen, yeah, body image.
And it all came back to, it allcame back to thinking about my body.
And this might sound a littletrippy, but it's important for me.
(22:40):
As like, my house, right?
Like, I own this house.
It is my house.
It is my house for my soul.
It is the thing that keepsme healthy and protected.
It is the, it is my, myvessel for being here.
And it's nobody's fucking business!
It's, it's mine.
You can't, you can't, I don't givea shit, Broadway producer number 10,
(23:03):
if you have an opinion, and then youdon't fucking hire me because X, Y,
and Z reason, because I'm not skinnyenough, or I don't meet your male gaze,
because you're at the top, and you'rethe one ultimately calling the shots.
And I actually don't care, and I'mgonna, I'm gonna rewrite the narrative
of making myself so magnetic, and soauthentic, that it doesn't fucking matter.
(23:25):
Because I'm going to keep showingup over and over and over again
in whatever way that I can.
And eventually you may need me.
Hey, let's talk aboutbig dick energy here.
Maybe by standing in that, that spaceand owning yourself so much, is it
possible to expand yourself from thatlevel and then bring them to you?
(23:45):
What does that look like?
I don't know.
We'll see.
That's the process thatI'm in, constantly.
Of choosing differently.
Not choosing to feel like you'rereporting to someone else.
And changing yourself.
For them, but rather making your missionbeing like I'm actually just going to
radically accept where I am and who I amAnd give zero fucks and show up that way
(24:05):
what happens be curious So yeah, that'swhere I am and i'll be i'll be honest It's
vulnerable and it's messy and you know, Icome back and forth from it and some days
i'm feeling great And some days, you know,i'll slip back and I think the practice
is just being like no This is your life.
You get to decide Let's own thatand and let's use that voice, right?
(24:26):
It's layers, right?
I mean we again we could talk aboutacting and singing to a whole different
setup But I think I think nervoussystem isn't also an important thing
to how can we calm our body, you know?
We can logically think about it too Butwhen you're an audition and you have
a habit of looping on, you know Beingself conscious about them watching you
or listening to you, you know, not youhave to do that work subconsciously But
(24:47):
then you also have to calm your body.
You have to learn how to Holdhold yourself there So yeah, that
was a really long answer, butI hope that, I hope I answered.
No, and it's great because itbrings up so many different things.
And that's a lot of the reasonwhy I started podcasting is
because it was just voice.
It was like, I'm not putting the video up.
This is just voice.
And it felt safe.
(25:08):
And I don't know, because again, I am notthe expert, but is there something that.
Yeah.
Like you said, calming the body.
Is there something about what ourvoices do to our nervous systems
to calm them when we do speak up?
And I'm asking, I have no idea if you havethe answer, but I want to know this is so
again, the whole part of the singer's pathhas been very technically focused so far.
(25:31):
About like, okay, let's do the technicalthing of pitching, let's do the technical
thing of developing technique, which ispillars, and let's do the technical thing
of learning to mix belt high and highmix, which is like singing like Jessie J
or singing like you're in an opera, okay?
That's what it's been so far, butthe next step, and this is like,
on the deal, no one knows, okay?
So this is some juicy tips for Jenhere, but the next step is going to be
(25:57):
this, exactly what you're talking about.
How do we calm?
The body with the voice and lookingat somatic healing with the voice
looking at changing your energywith the voice and from I mean,
this is an early stages of research.
i'm working with a friend uh whospecializes in energy healing and
somatic work zoma So I'm actuallygoing to be going to a retreat in
(26:20):
Costa Rica in February and we'regoing to be starting to play with this
idea of healing through the voice.
Um, I do know that the vibrationcan be helpful for the vagus nerve.
And I do know energy wise, if we'retalking about like spirituality and that
kind of thing, it does end up clearing.
The space when you're using vibration,the vibration itself can like change,
(26:43):
I mean, I might be talking about it.
I'm out of my ass a little bitbecause again, I need to research
this more, but it can be changing theorg field and changing, your energy.
So the more if you take the scarystep to make the weird noises,
if you're in a voice lesson orjust speak out or speak loudly.
Just that step is almostexposure therapy in my opinion.
And the more you continue tojust do it and make yourself do
(27:05):
it , it'll get easier and better.
And that, again, that willreflect in, I can do this, I can
speak up, I can speak my truth.
You're proving to yourself,I am safe to be who I am.
I'm safe to speak my truth.
I'm safe to speak the truthand call out the bullshit.
And I'm safe in myself.
So, does that answer your question?
I hope it does.
(27:25):
It does.
But I also want to know, like,what are these weird noises?
Because I'm sure that, like, unconsciouslyI am holding, I, I, I, like, the more
I think of it, every time you say weirdnoises, I'm like, do I hold back all day?
Like, not making thenoises that I want to?
Oh, probably.
Probably.
I mean, again, I don't know.
I would have to hear, but, so, okay, sothere's a couple things you can do when
(27:46):
I've, When we're talking about somaticwork and energy healing and all that,
again, I'm not an expert in that yet,I'm working with someone to develop that,
who is, from what I understand, almostinsoma, right, for what I know about
it, it's about feeling the cues and theenergy traps in your body, and I think
there's a part of it of which you cangive sound to that sensation, and by
(28:08):
acknowledging and releasing the sound,it doesn't, it's not like you're trying
to change it, but you're being with it.
And you're expressing it.
So, I mean, weird noises, if you're doingsomatic work, could be like, uh, uh.
Like, those, like, ugly noises thatmaybe we were shamed of making before.
Whining, crying, yelling.
Could be what these sensations in thebody want to express through sound.
(28:33):
In a singing perspective, when I'mreally talking about weird noises, In,
if we talk about pillars, right, whichis the foundation of, in the singer's
path of creating vocal technique.
When you're doing vocal technique andyou're strengthening your voice, we
can use weird noises, funny sounds,to get basically the vocal folds to
be better configured with the air.
(28:55):
Meaning, using different toolscan help us more efficiently
use our muscle and air balance.
So for example, the bratty one is,everyone's, it's so funny, but if you,
for a second, if you go, for example,maybe, maybe Jen's singing voice in the
bottom of your voice, like maybe you,your speaking is clear, and then all
of a sudden when I ask you to sing, Jenputs on like a singer accent, okay, and
(29:18):
she goes, Uh, Uh, Uh, And it's all likeairy and like light all of a sudden,
because we're like hiding and you know,like, don't want to people hear us.
They're like, Oh my God,like, we got to control it.
We got to keep it here.
Otherwise people will hear us.
Oh my God.
God forbid.
Okay.
That might be subconsciously what'sgoing on when you're creating that sound.
Or maybe you think it's prettyand you're trying to put
(29:39):
something on to sound good, right?
What we do, especially in pillars,like this would be an example in
pillars of someone that needs towork on the chest voice because
chest voice is the speaking voice.
We're really just speaking on pitch.
So doing a funny noise to addressthat, uh, and get it closer to talking
would be this bratty spoken thing.
(29:59):
So if you, we'll do it together.
Go for it.
Jen, say it for me.
Say nasty.
Just say it.
Nasty.
Yeah.
There's your accent.
Yeah.
There you go.
Nasty.
And then you make it a little bratty.
Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah.
Nay, nay, nay, nay, nay.
Do that for me.
Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah.
Nay, nay, nay, nay.
I can't even not laugh.
That makes me happy.
(30:19):
I feel happier.
It's fun!
And so we would take Jen's voicein that lower part, if Jen was
sounding like, and I would giveyou a scale on that weird noise.
Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah.
And all of a sudden, by doingthat exercise, it causes
you to balance your voice.
It takes you from a place of feelingoff balance and light and weak,
(30:39):
energetically or physically, andthe tool of making the funny fucking
noise, all of a sudden, Makes, putsyou in the middle of your expression.
So that's an example of what a funnynoise can do, physically and emotionally.
And that just proves a point.
So if you're sitting there, podcaster,and you're like, my voice is,
(31:01):
you know, maybe it's down here.
Cause when I started, I was,you know, a little airy fair.
Hi.
Hi, I'm Jen.
All right.
We got to turn up the mic because I'mnot speaking up that I feel like learning
to sing, whether you can't, like, You'regoing to be professional or not actually
can help you show up as a speaker as apodcaster because maybe me singing every
(31:25):
day to whatever it is, whether it's,you know, Metallica or death metal.
Metallica is my all time favorite band.
FYI.
Um, but I'm like, I think maybethat has helped me show up.
(31:45):
Like, my car singing.
When you can turn it up reallyloud and you can't hear yourself
and you just let it out.
Like, I bet there's a ton of weird noisesthat are coming out that it's not singing.
Well, it's trapped.
It's blockage.
You're clearing the blockage and the fear.
You are proving to yourself over and overand over again by exposing yourself to
(32:07):
those vibrations that like, it's okay.
I didn't die.
I'm alright.
It's okay.
Right?
And then, yeah, I mean, I thinkit can also, I'm gonna bring up a
point here that, uh, you know, maybepodcasters aren't thinking about,
but it depends on the volume of theirpodcast, but if they're, if they're
speaking this way for hours and hoursand hours, they might hurt themselves.
(32:30):
I think there's something reallyimportant to say about aligning
the voice to work efficiently.
I mean, again, from a pedagogicalperspective, as a vocal health
professional here, you know, liningyour voice up and freeing it can
also be important for longevity.
You know, voiceover actors need tobalance their voice, and podcasters
need to balance their voice just asmuch as singers need to balance their
(32:52):
voice, because it's their livelihood.
And if you're not, again, healthilyand efficiently Using your muscle
and air correctly, uh, that'show you're going to get tired and
that's how you can get injured.
So, having, even though the airy, lightsound might not seem like it's aggressive
on the instrument when you're doing it,it's actually What it's doing is, it's
(33:17):
causing strain on the voice becauseyou're not, you're not expressing clearly.
It's, it's not the easiest wayfor the body to make sound.
It's not how you're meantto make sound, right?
So that's another point that I,you know, pillars, again, pillars
will help you with that if, evenif you're a podcast, being clear.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I'm like, as you're saying that, I'mlike, I have an anonymous podcast
(33:38):
because nobody ever gets to know thatit's me, that I do the sultry voice.
And I am so exhausted after the 30minute show being in that alter ego.
I'm like, I'm like, Well, it's okay.
And again, if we're talking aboutexpression, it's okay to make sultry
(33:59):
sounds on purpose for expression.
That is okay.
Right?
And you can hear that in pop music,pop stars, singers, you know,
Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish,but they know how to turn it off.
And they know how to rebalance.
you don't want to end up usingthat voice all the time because
you're going to run into trouble.
So again, what Pillars does is itteaches you to balance the voice back
to your vocal authentic alignment.
(34:21):
And so we can choose to make that soundfor expression, but that we can get
back to our authentic strong sound.
That's what's important.
Right?
So Jen, if you're tired, you mightwant to afterwards do some conditioning
for yourself, a little bit of a vocalworkout to get back to what's Jen's.
lined up healthy sound.
Okay.
And then we're set up and wecan rest and we'll be okay.
(34:42):
Does that make sense?
Yes.
So we all know that I'mjoining your program because
I, I would, I like that side.
I'm like, I really like being that,but it's so, I mean, I can, but I
don't want to talk afterwards andI get so hoarse for like hours,
but I really enjoy that podcast.
Do it, listen, do it.
(35:04):
But then if your body'slike rest, I'm tired.
Then rest.
Drink a lot of water, right?
And again, I think for Jen your bestthings that would help you would be
pitch, please so you get confidentand then in the pillar series.
I would want you to get the full thing.
So you're making all kinds of weirdnoises, honestly, girl, but chest
voice would be the first thing thatyou'd probably want to look at.
And it would, it wouldrebalance you for sure.
(35:25):
For sure.
So podcasters now, you know, now, youknow, you know the secrets because, you
know, it's not, What our voice soundslike it's not, you know, all of those
things it's aligning with ourselvesbecause the tone of your voice can be
very soothing to other people, especiallywhen you're sharing story, you know,
(35:48):
you, you know, you're trained, butlike the way that you express and share
stories is so much different than.
Then a lot of other people and I know it'sbecause you, you first you're speaking
from your heart, which a lot of peopleare terrified of and I really appreciate
that you came to us with like this muchhonesty and openness, but it's also.
(36:10):
I think that there's that side that,that I just realized as you were saying
that it's like, I really like SultryJen, like Spicy Jen's pretty fun.
Spicy Jen, we love a SpicyJen, a slutty little Spicy Jen.
But she's exhausting.
And I'm like, but there has to be away, like you said, it's probably in
your program, where I can learn to letSpicy Jen be a little more part of me,
(36:35):
but maybe it's on a different level.
I don't know the right word, different.
We prepare, we prepare to chooseSpicy Jen and then we can rebalance
after Spicy Jen so that regular Jen,everyday Jen, doesn't lose her voice.
So again, where can we find allthis amazing, I know that you've
(36:55):
mentioned it, but I want, youknow, here's the, here's that part.
Drop where we can find you so that we canstep deeper into our authentic voices.
Absolutely.
Oh my gosh.
Um, well, first of all, you guys canalways follow me on at sing with bish
on tick tock on if it's still aroundand Instagram, it's the same handle.
Um, but I have a, we're in themiddle of kind of rebranding my
(37:17):
vocal studio page and allowing thesinger's path to become under, you
know, Sarah Bishop Vocal Studios, butas of right now, my website is www.
sarahbishopvocalstudio.
com.
There's actually no S of it.
It's studio.
com.
Um, and there you'll find links,uh, to, uh, All of the courses
that's in the singer's path program.
(37:39):
So pitch, please pillars and sooncoming in winter 2025 advanced mix.
So if you are an advanced singerlistening to this and you're like,
listen, I just really want to likebelt my face off and sound amazing.
That's what that course is forprofessionals and intermediates.
So, um, and there'll be more addedto the singer's path and there'll
be bundles that'll be coming out.
(37:59):
Um, actually I'm not sure if thiswill come before black Friday or not.
But if you follow me, uh, on socials,um, and, you know, you go to my
website, you join my email list,uh, singers pass, er, what is it?
Oh my god, I gotta writeit down because it's new.
Singers Secret Digest,right, is my email list.
Um, if you just, like, follow and checkout my website, join the email list,
(38:22):
you'll have access to an amazing bundleand payment plan to take advantage of this
full experience that is the singer's path.
So that's what I'd recommend.
Go to sarahbishopvocalstudio.
com or follow me, join the emaillist, get on board, and then you'll
just be on the train and you'll,you'll know about all this stuff.
(38:42):
Listen to your new podcast.
Listen to my new oh god, thank you.
Oh my god, you're like, and there'sa lot going on in my business, so.
Finally, finally, the Singer's Pathprogram is going to be partnered
with a podcast that is free tolisten to, Singer's Path Podcast.
I'm going to be dripping out new episodes.
There's one episode on thereright now as we're recording this.
It's kind of just an introduction totell you what it's all about, um, but
(39:04):
that is for sure all my podcasterswhere you're going to be able, we're
going to be talking about all the samestuff we did, freeing the voice, talking
to industry professionals and workingon mindset shifts that we're showing
up not as a starving artist anymore,we're not doing that shit anymore.
We're going to be thrivingartists and we're going to own
what the fuck we have to say.
Period.
(39:24):
So, yeah.
Singer's Path Podcast.
Woo hoo!
There's a lot of stuff I just plugged,so you can, you know all about it now.
And don't worry, it's all linkedup for all of us that like easy
peasy in the show notes for you.
But I gotta leave youwith my favorite question.
If someone were to take away one juicynugget from this interview, what do
you want them to take with them foreither right now or in the future?
(39:49):
But this week for alifetime, my favorite thing.
And one of the, one of thefoundations of my business is that
you deserve to express your voice.
Whether that's podcast, whetherthat's a singer, if you have the
desire to sing on your heart.
It's an indication that you shouldbe singing, and it doesn't matter the
(40:13):
capacity, you don't have to be JenniferHudson to have the right to sing.
You can sing in any capacity, and if yourheart is calling you to sing or speak,
and be heard, then you owe it to yourself.
To love yourself enough.
To say yes to that because magicalfucking things happen for you for the
(40:37):
good of your own life for the quality ofyour life When you say yes to yourself
in that capacity and you honor whatyour heart is trying to tell you to do
So that's that's what I would say andI really truly fucking mean that yeah,
that's why I do what I do because Ijust want everybody to know that truly
I am really excited podcasters becausewe have a special guest today that I
actually got to hang out with in personthat has a really cool story and is
going to help us set our voices free.
So welcome to the show, Sarah, thank youso much for having so excited to be here.
(00:21):
Thank you.
I'm really excited because again,we got to meet in person, which.
I'm loving now.
I'm like, I got to give people hugs thisyear and I'm very excited about this.
But when I was listening to your storyand about singing and how singing
can truly like, open your mind.
And then we got into the conversationabout like performers and, you
(00:43):
know, like, We all have our ownpoint of view on different fields.
And I think that the way thatyou shared opened my mind.
And I think that that's whystories are so important.
So I want to know a little bit abouthow you got into this profession.
And, yeah, then we'lltalk about your podcast.
(01:04):
Don't worry.
Sure.
Absolutely.
So, so I actually grew up a dancer.
, I did a lot of competitive dancing.
Was I fantastic at it?
Not really, not my strongest suit,but at that time, that's what we
did, you know, as a way for us to getphysically active and we were good
enough at it that we, we loved musicand it was a way for us to perform,
(01:25):
And so that's, that mixed with pianolessons was really how I just started.
but then there was this littlepageant that was going on in
my hometown called Miss ButlerCounty, little Miss Butler County.
Okay.
And I.
I really in, like, had been dreamingand dreaming and dreaming of being
(01:46):
on stage, right, kind of secretly.
And I wanted to do this pageant sobad for whatever reason, maybe I
just wanted friends, I don't know.
But I really wanted to do it, right?
And so they had sign ups at this dancestudio that I was super excited about.
I'm not going to, but they werereally mean at this dance studio.
They were kind of the worst people ever.
And I, but you needed a talent,right, to sign up for this pageant
(02:07):
that was part of the pageant.
And I went over to ask my teacher ifshe would teach me a dance solo so that
I could participate in said pageant.
And I remember her very vividlypointing at the list and
going, this is not for you.
Which to say to an 11 year old child isreally like benign, you know what I mean?
(02:30):
It was like, yeah, roughtimes in the early 2000s.
Okay.
And I don't know what kind of audacityI had as a child, but something moved me
to be like, okay, fine, then I'll sing.
And my mom at the time was like, honey,you can't sing, you're tone deaf.
You can't do that.
My mother, and, and meaning well, so thatshe, I didn't go embarrass myself, right?
(02:55):
And I was like, you know what?
I was 11.
I don't know why I did this, butmy, my grandmother had gotten me
a karaoke machine for Christmas.
Had no singing experience atall, but found, there was like
a karaoke Broadway kids CD.
That it had like a vocal demonstrationand then you could record the audio.
(03:15):
Or sorry, not record the audio, youcould sing with the accompaniment.
And so I literally taught myselfthe song Castle on a Cloud from
Les Mis because I liked it.
And I just felt, I was like,I really want to do this.
I went to my mom in her houseand I said, Mom, I really,
really, really want to sing.
I prepared this song.
(03:37):
I kind of like auditioning for my mother.
Can I please, please sing?
I really want to do this pageant.
I sang it for her.
She started to cry andwas like, I'm so sorry.
Like, of course you can sing.
It's like making me emotionalnow talking about it.
I know, and that honestly was thevery start of my own journey of
(04:02):
declaring that if you have it onyour heart to learn to sing, you can.
And that really projectedmy entire life, right?
And later was the foundation and theroots for why I've created what's now,
being announced as The Singer's Path.
Which is the name of my podcast.
(04:24):
Which is the name of all ofthe courses that I offer.
And it really meets anyperson that desires to sing.
Really truly has it on their heart.
It's for beginnersliterally to pro singers.
And each course, each step ofthis curriculum is designed to
(04:46):
meet you exactly where you are.
Whether you need to learn topitch like I did back when I
was 11 and taught myself to do.
To learning to mix belt likeElphaba on Broadway, which I've
literally auditioned for and Ihave learned to go from step one.
I need to learn to sing theright notes to I'm in final
callbacks for a Broadway show.
(05:07):
So this, this singer's path, all of whatI do with my business, what I'm going
to talk about on my podcast is all aboutjust showing singers that there is a way.
You know, everybody has their own journey.
Everybody is going to go throughdifferent things as an artist, but
I just want people to know thatsomeone's done it and there is
(05:31):
somewhat of a guide available to them.
So that's what the singer's path is allabout and why I got into it and kind
of the foundation of my whole business,which is called Sarah Bishop Vocal Studio.
Oh.
And I'm like, as I'm still emotionalabout that, but it's like, there's
so much of that that goes on, right?
That we're told, yeah,you're not a good dancer.
(05:52):
Like, the first thing I said, I'mnot good for your program because I'm
tone deaf, like majorly tone deaf.
I sing every day.
But, you know, the cats run away.
Well, you know, sometimes the cats arejust sensitive to volume, if we're honest.
Their ears are going to betwisting all around no matter what.
But I will say that was actuallythe first course that I created for
what's now known as The Singer's Path.
(06:13):
It's just called, waitfor it, Pitch Please.
I need to get thattrademarked immediately.
My trademark lawyer that, I gotset up with is like, okay, that
actually needs to be a priority.
We need to do that right now.
So TM, TM, TM, it's mine.
Pitch Please.
But, , that's the course thatteaches you to match pitch and
sing consistently on pitch.
I gathered as much informationas I could about the brain and
(06:36):
neuroscience and how the voice works.
, and created this course with,the most state of the art
information we have available.
And created this program thatsometimes goes against traditional
year training programs.
And that's why it was reallyscary to produce, I'll be honest.
I was like, it was kind of comingto me intuitively and then I went
back and backed it up in science.
But I was lucky enough to lectureon Pitch and the Brain and teach
(07:00):
about Pitch Please in Scotland at aWorld Teacher Conference this year.
And there was a woman in therethat, specializes in this.
I think she studied it atlike Oxford or something.
And she was like, no,everything in there is correct.
Yeah.
No, no, no.
That's, that's exactly what it is.
I was like, talk about validation.
I was like, oh my God, thank God.
This thing that I've created forpeople and use actually came up with
the structure via trial and error.
(07:23):
Of working with people, maybe likeyou, that had come, that loved to
sing, but literally just can't.
They just don't know how to pitch.
They're just like, please help me.
and I'll tell you onemore fun fact about this.
If you're ever like, well, why can't mysister sing on pitch and why can't I?
Right?
It often has to do with your musicalinfluence growing up, actually.
(07:45):
And how, you know, your brain'sforming when you're young.
And so if you played an instrument,especially like a string instrument,
like the cello, or you're, you'reused to tuning and understanding
the importance of tuning at a veryyoung age, you're going to be a lot
better at pitching most of the time.
It also has to do withmuscle coordination.
And almost muscle memory.
(08:07):
So yeah, so that's Pitch Please,Jen, if you want to check it out.
Oh, I think I need to.
And the funny thing is,like, I was in choir.
I was a clarinet player.
I played the piano.
I did them all very poorly.
Because I was Go ahead.
It's the stories.
It's the stories, right?
Yeah, it's the stories.
(08:27):
Yeah, that's what I was about to say.
I'd be curious to hear you.
And see, Pitch Please also benefitspeople who actually might have really
good pitch, they're just very critical.
I think that's the other thing, is like,often when people are really critical of
their voices, and they can really tell.
They're off pitch.
They actually have reallygood pitch perception.
(08:48):
They just have a difficulttime recreating it.
And with confidence.
And it's the story of,Oh, I'm a bad singer.
So therefore, you are a bad singer.
Right?
Versus like, No, I can actually reallydetect and hear when things are off pitch.
And so I just need to train my bodyto be able to do it more accurately.
There's a lot, there's a lot ofprofessional musicians, especially
like professional guitar players,professional clarinet players, who hate.
(09:13):
singing back because they have likeperfect pitch and they literally
cannot match it because it'sjust, it just drives them crazy.
So I'd be curious, Jen, to hear you andsee if it's maybe just a confidence issue.
Just curious.
Depends on the day.
It depends on the day.
Let's not take our catsas a, as a, as a meter.
Well, I don't have any cats.
It's the neighbor's cats that run away.
(09:34):
And I'm like, my dog appreciates it.
So my dog sings with me.
She's there.
She does.
She will sing with me.
But the reason why I think that thisis important is that it's, it's voice.
Right.
And so many people like podcasters are.
afraid of their voice.
Like I hear this all the time.
No one's going to wantto listen to my voice.
No one's going to want to do this.
(09:56):
And I, I kind of like related tosinging, although singing is, is way
different than just talking, but there'sthis release of sound from your mouth.
And it comes out in acertain tone, certain way.
And I think that it's so powerful bothfor the internal and the external.
So that's why I'm like really excitedfor you as a podcast, like podcasters
(10:17):
out there to listen to this, because,you know, maybe seeing could help you
become stronger, sharing your messagebecause you learn to open up and talk.
And I know that you had a showbefore, and I'd like to talk a
little bit about that, because.
You're now starting a second show.
(10:39):
So can you tell us a little bit about yourfirst, your first toe dip into podcasting?
Absolutely.
Well, just to briefly comment on whatyou said, I think studying the voice
no matter what is incredibly vulnerableexperience and listening back to
yourself is very vulnerable because it'squite literally an expression of you.
And if we're not comfortable andowning that expression of us,
like with zero fucks to give.
(11:00):
We're going to hear that backand we're going to be harshly
critical critical of ourselves.
So studying the voice in any capacityis very vulnerable, an emotional thing,
and it's important to have a safe spacethat you have a teacher that's able
to hold that for you, or you're in anenvironment taking a course where you
feel like you really belong there.
Speaking of that, I actuallystarted my first podcast, which is
(11:20):
called Jack of all trades master ofnothing, which is just a way my, the
dance teacher that was the worst.
She used to actually tell me I was thatlet's talk about some child abuse here.
There's that.
But she would tell me that I was ajack of all trades master of nothing.
And she's not smart enough torealize that the phrase is actually
jack of all trades master ofnone, but she would call me that.
(11:42):
So I was like, well, I'm going totake my power back as an adult.
And I'm going to call my podcastthis and I actually started the
podcast during COVID mostly becauseI just had this intuitive hit of
like, now you start a podcast.
It was so crazy.
I was like doing a lot ofnature bathing and healing.
Mostly because I had just spent thelast, you know, six years in my twenties
(12:04):
being vulnerable by using my voiceas a professional singer, showing up
in New York city, but you're going toBroadway auditions, but like hitting
wall after wall, after wall, after wall.
And I.
felt very rejected in the vulnerabilityof my voice and my artistry and was
really lost in the ownership of thatand so for some whatever reason I had
the intuitive head of being like okaylet's do a podcast then we don't have
(12:26):
anything else to do we're at our parentshouse in Pittsburgh like like okay and
like everybody and their mom was doinga podcast at that point but I was like
whatever I know I need to do this andreally jack of all trades turned into
Almost like, now looking back on it,like almost like a performance art
piece of capturing exactly the startingpoint of someone that was beginning
(12:49):
to heal in their artist's journey.
And I literally used it as an example,or just an excuse, rather, of bringing on
top industry professionals, I'm talkingabout casting directors on Broadway,
music directors on Broadway, pop singersthat have since gotten popular, I had
Dylan Mulvaney on my podcast, who is atrans rights, advocate, she's very famous
(13:12):
now, but we knew each other in college.
And really all it was, was justinviting people that I admired
on to help me understand howI wanted to feel about things.
Like, truly, that's what it did.
And so if you ever listen back tothat, I think I'll download the
episodes to my computer and probablyre upload them on my new podcast here.
(13:35):
But there are conversationswith the hard stuff.
Of, like, talking to a castingdirector who, more or less from the
actor's perspective, almost feelslike a gatekeeper of opportunities,
even though they're not.
All they want to do is help someone.
But, like, having conversations ofbeing like, what is this dynamic
between actors and casting directors?
Like, let's talk about it.
(13:55):
What is the dynamic of facing,and sorry, trigger warning here,
facing, complications with havingan eating disorder and body
imagery, issues in an industry.
That is so commercialized andcapitalistic, and who's making the
decisions at the top, and you'retrying to heal from that, but yet
you're also trying to show up as you.
(14:15):
How do you feel, it was the biggestthing, and this is what my new podcast
is gonna be about, but it all kind ofboiled down to, I was trying to figure
out, how do I feel safe enough to bewho I am, and free my instrument, and
come here to do what I came here to do?
How do I feel safe enough in theseenvironments that are just not that safe?
(14:38):
How do I say fuck it all and showup to do what I came here to do?
And so anyway, all of these peoplewere here in this, this performing
arts piece was the first start ofmy healing path in that regard.
And the other thing I'll say aboutJack of all trades and podcasting
in general, and how it kind of justcompletely transformed my life.
Besides starting that healing was it.
(15:01):
Honestly, it was the roots to mestarting the business that I have today,
and it was, it's wild, it's so wild.
One of my friends, again, another collegeacquaintance who's now very famous, but
at the time, TikTok was very new, right?
And she had something like 80, 000followers or something, she was,
in my mind, was blowing up, right?
And she was teaching some really greatstuff, she was teaching the voice!
(15:23):
And I, at that point, was nota voice teacher, I had not been
trained, I was a singer, but I, Youknow, it was like, wow, everything
she shares is like really great.
Like I want to, I'm going to bring her on.
so we have this podcast interview andI share that I am passionate about
teaching and I'm passionate about this,but at this point, you know, I don't feel
like I know how to help other voices.
Like I'm just exploringmy own, all of that.
(15:44):
And she's like, Hey, if you willgo and get trained, I have so many
students do like, I cannot handle this.
I'm overwhelmed with how manypeople want to work with me.
I need help.
Will you come on and bea teacher at my studio?
And I was like, okay, that studiois now EKM studios, which has like,
(16:06):
I mean, her following is like 1.
8 million followers or something.
It's one of the, it's an amazingvocal studio in the world.
Right.
And then at a certain, I workedwith her for like three years.
I mean, nonstop teaching theinflux of students was insane.
I got hundreds and hundreds of hoursof practice becoming a good teacher
and I trained through the Institute ofVocal Advancement and honed my skills.
(16:28):
All of that happened because Ihad this podcast and I, and I
had the audacity to invite myfriend to just talk about herself.
All of that happened.
And now eventually I had so many studentswhere I was like, I need to scale,
like I need to change my business.
I have a desire to help more people.
I got to break away and I'mgoing to form my own business.
Right.
So that's when Sarah BishopVocal Studios was created.
(16:50):
So yeah.
Thanks podcasting.
Thanks Jack of All Trades.
And now we have a new podcast, Singer'sPath Podcast, that's coming out here.
I'm so excited.
I'm so excited.
I love these stories because itdoesn't get talked about enough, right?
Of like, I started sharing myvoice and this is what happened.
I started sharing my storyand this is what happened.
Because I'm so excited.
This is one of the things that I thinkis kind of sad, like, because I listened
(17:12):
to a lot of storytelling podcasts.
It's like, I don't wantto just be stuck in that.
Like, okay.
Yeah.
We were told we sucked.
Like it sucked.
And I feel like.
You took that and you looked atit and you're like, I'm going
to step on that, that, whatever.
I always think of it like littleblocks that are being like
bricks that are thrown at us.
(17:33):
Great.
That's one brick thatmakes me a little taller.
I'm kind of short, so I'll take it.
I'll take the couple extra inches.
I'll take the step.
Let's go.
Thanks.
But I think it's really cool that you,Again, that that's this is the same thing
as my story is like I'm on this planetbecause of a podcast like you are creating
something that is helping others findtheir voice and that's something that
(17:54):
we like, but in a way that isn't angry.
And I appreciate that a lot because Ifeel like With music, even though, you
know, like I go everywhere from likehardcore death metal to like, opera,
like I am, I am the jack of all trades.
I mean, same, same.
(18:15):
I love music, but it's like, it's,it's something that frees my voice,
like I said, I, I am tone deaf.
I can harmonize really well, whichmakes me know that if I really put my
mind to it, I could probably do it.
You're not toned up.
If you can harmonize, you're not toned up.
I don't like to be the harder.
Is it?
Well, cause that's way easier for me.
(18:37):
No, harmonizing, you need tohear the fullness of the chord.
You're hearing not only the pitchyou need to hear, but you're hearing.
Other pitches simultaneously.
That's what makes a good harm harmonizeris someone that hears the whole
chord in the context of the piece.
That's very difficult.
We learned that in pitch, please.
Honestly, Jen, I'm, I want that forward.
(18:59):
It's the, I'm the back,I'm the backup singer.
I'm the harmonizer in the back.
But I think that it's so coolwith your story that it's like.
We have these fires inside of us andwe don't go after them for some reason
or another, you know, and I feel like.
(19:20):
I, I mean, I hate to say it like2021, 2020 woke a lot of people up
because we got to go inside and takea pause from our crazy, busy lives.
And I'm like, you know, like not to getinto any of the politics already, but
that, that pause helped so many people.
And I think that what it brought toyou and what you're bringing out into
the world, there's so much healing in.
(19:42):
expressing through sound, whetherthat's speaking sound, that's whatever.
I was just talking to somebody who'sgoing to start adding music to poetry.
And I'm like, that's really cool.
Like, great.
But I love I mean, like, that's,yeah, I'm like, I almost want to
(20:04):
like bleep every time we say it.
I know.
It almost sounds like, it almostsounds like, but it's, no, I
don't care about the, no, I just,until you get your trademark.
I was like, we're more protect.
I'm like, yeah, that's okay.
Yeah.
I'm going to get it filed here shortly.
So yeah.
Well, this is proof that I had it first.
So, right.
(20:24):
Get it out there sooner than later.
But I think that.
There's probably other stories thatyou have about using your voice, if I'm
not mistaking, about how it's really,I mean, and especially in an industry,
like you were, we were talking about,you were like, Body image, you know,
like critiqued on such a, I mean, weget critiqued in our everyday life.
(20:47):
I can only imagine as a performer,I'm like, how did you, and like,
what is something that you recommendto somebody who's really struggling
with taking that first step forward?
Because I can only imagine, again,I'm not in the industry, so maybe
like in my mind, it's more wildthan it is, but I can imagine
being like, here I am in all of me.
(21:10):
And having, being judged for that.
Yeah.
So, I mean, honestly, I thinkit just depends on the person
and it's different for everyone.
And I mean, me, I thinkit's an ongoing process.
I mean, again, another reason why thesinger's path is a thing is because
I feel like there isn't a whole lotof discussions happening about it
(21:33):
and exploring people's paths andjourneys that they're on with it.
And being okay, it's okay if it's hard.
Right?
And, I mean, I will say personally forme, struggling with body image as a
dancer, I think it all comes down tothe stories we tell ourselves again.
(21:56):
It's deciding in fullness ofyou, being like, Fuck that.
Fuck you.
And fuck that.
Right?
Any person that is gonna have an opinion,about my body can kindly fuck off, right?
And, and not with really anger, butI think one of the things that healed
(22:18):
me, especially about body image, andwe're not even talking about expression,
we're not talking about voice,we're not even talking about acting.
Acting's a whole other level.
You're talking about vulnerability.
Like, it's crazy.
But my biggest thing hasbeen, yeah, body image.
And it all came back to, it allcame back to thinking about my body.
And this might sound a littletrippy, but it's important for me.
(22:40):
As like, my house, right?
Like, I own this house.
It is my house.
It is my house for my soul.
It is the thing that keepsme healthy and protected.
It is the, it is my, myvessel for being here.
And it's nobody's fucking business!
It's, it's mine.
You can't, you can't, I don't givea shit, Broadway producer number 10,
(23:03):
if you have an opinion, and then youdon't fucking hire me because X, Y,
and Z reason, because I'm not skinnyenough, or I don't meet your male gaze,
because you're at the top, and you'rethe one ultimately calling the shots.
And I actually don't care, and I'mgonna, I'm gonna rewrite the narrative
of making myself so magnetic, and soauthentic, that it doesn't fucking matter.
(23:25):
Because I'm going to keep showingup over and over and over again
in whatever way that I can.
And eventually you may need me.
Hey, let's talk aboutbig dick energy here.
Maybe by standing in that, that spaceand owning yourself so much, is it
possible to expand yourself from thatlevel and then bring them to you?
(23:45):
What does that look like?
I don't know.
We'll see.
That's the process thatI'm in, constantly.
Of choosing differently.
Not choosing to feel like you'rereporting to someone else.
And changing yourself.
For them, but rather making your missionbeing like I'm actually just going to
radically accept where I am and who I amAnd give zero fucks and show up that way
(24:05):
what happens be curious So yeah, that'swhere I am and i'll be i'll be honest It's
vulnerable and it's messy and you know, Icome back and forth from it and some days
i'm feeling great And some days, you know,i'll slip back and I think the practice
is just being like no This is your life.
You get to decide Let's own thatand and let's use that voice, right?
(24:26):
It's layers, right?
I mean we again we could talk aboutacting and singing to a whole different
setup But I think I think nervoussystem isn't also an important thing
to how can we calm our body, you know?
We can logically think about it too Butwhen you're an audition and you have
a habit of looping on, you know Beingself conscious about them watching you
or listening to you, you know, not youhave to do that work subconsciously But
(24:47):
then you also have to calm your body.
You have to learn how to Holdhold yourself there So yeah, that
was a really long answer, butI hope that, I hope I answered.
No, and it's great because itbrings up so many different things.
And that's a lot of the reasonwhy I started podcasting is
because it was just voice.
It was like, I'm not putting the video up.
This is just voice.
And it felt safe.
(25:08):
And I don't know, because again, I am notthe expert, but is there something that.
Yeah.
Like you said, calming the body.
Is there something about what ourvoices do to our nervous systems
to calm them when we do speak up?
And I'm asking, I have no idea if you havethe answer, but I want to know this is so
again, the whole part of the singer's pathhas been very technically focused so far.
(25:31):
About like, okay, let's do the technicalthing of pitching, let's do the technical
thing of developing technique, which ispillars, and let's do the technical thing
of learning to mix belt high and highmix, which is like singing like Jessie J
or singing like you're in an opera, okay?
That's what it's been so far, butthe next step, and this is like,
on the deal, no one knows, okay?
So this is some juicy tips for Jenhere, but the next step is going to be
(25:57):
this, exactly what you're talking about.
How do we calm?
The body with the voice and lookingat somatic healing with the voice
looking at changing your energywith the voice and from I mean,
this is an early stages of research.
i'm working with a friend uh whospecializes in energy healing and
somatic work zoma So I'm actuallygoing to be going to a retreat in
(26:20):
Costa Rica in February and we'regoing to be starting to play with this
idea of healing through the voice.
Um, I do know that the vibrationcan be helpful for the vagus nerve.
And I do know energy wise, if we'retalking about like spirituality and that
kind of thing, it does end up clearing.
The space when you're using vibration,the vibration itself can like change,
(26:43):
I mean, I might be talking about it.
I'm out of my ass a little bitbecause again, I need to research
this more, but it can be changing theorg field and changing, your energy.
So the more if you take the scarystep to make the weird noises,
if you're in a voice lesson orjust speak out or speak loudly.
Just that step is almostexposure therapy in my opinion.
And the more you continue tojust do it and make yourself do
(27:05):
it , it'll get easier and better.
And that, again, that willreflect in, I can do this, I can
speak up, I can speak my truth.
You're proving to yourself,I am safe to be who I am.
I'm safe to speak my truth.
I'm safe to speak the truthand call out the bullshit.
And I'm safe in myself.
So, does that answer your question?
I hope it does.
(27:25):
It does.
But I also want to know, like,what are these weird noises?
Because I'm sure that, like, unconsciouslyI am holding, I, I, I, like, the more
I think of it, every time you say weirdnoises, I'm like, do I hold back all day?
Like, not making thenoises that I want to?
Oh, probably.
Probably.
I mean, again, I don't know.
I would have to hear, but, so, okay, sothere's a couple things you can do when
(27:46):
I've, When we're talking about somaticwork and energy healing and all that,
again, I'm not an expert in that yet,I'm working with someone to develop that,
who is, from what I understand, almostinsoma, right, for what I know about
it, it's about feeling the cues and theenergy traps in your body, and I think
there's a part of it of which you cangive sound to that sensation, and by
(28:08):
acknowledging and releasing the sound,it doesn't, it's not like you're trying
to change it, but you're being with it.
And you're expressing it.
So, I mean, weird noises, if you're doingsomatic work, could be like, uh, uh.
Like, those, like, ugly noises thatmaybe we were shamed of making before.
Whining, crying, yelling.
Could be what these sensations in thebody want to express through sound.
(28:33):
In a singing perspective, when I'mreally talking about weird noises, In,
if we talk about pillars, right, whichis the foundation of, in the singer's
path of creating vocal technique.
When you're doing vocal technique andyou're strengthening your voice, we
can use weird noises, funny sounds,to get basically the vocal folds to
be better configured with the air.
(28:55):
Meaning, using different toolscan help us more efficiently
use our muscle and air balance.
So for example, the bratty one is,everyone's, it's so funny, but if you,
for a second, if you go, for example,maybe, maybe Jen's singing voice in the
bottom of your voice, like maybe you,your speaking is clear, and then all
of a sudden when I ask you to sing, Jenputs on like a singer accent, okay, and
(29:18):
she goes, Uh, Uh, Uh, And it's all likeairy and like light all of a sudden,
because we're like hiding and you know,like, don't want to people hear us.
They're like, Oh my God,like, we got to control it.
We got to keep it here.
Otherwise people will hear us.
Oh my God.
God forbid.
Okay.
That might be subconsciously what'sgoing on when you're creating that sound.
Or maybe you think it's prettyand you're trying to put
(29:39):
something on to sound good, right?
What we do, especially in pillars,like this would be an example in
pillars of someone that needs towork on the chest voice because
chest voice is the speaking voice.
We're really just speaking on pitch.
So doing a funny noise to addressthat, uh, and get it closer to talking
would be this bratty spoken thing.
(29:59):
So if you, we'll do it together.
Go for it.
Jen, say it for me.
Say nasty.
Just say it.
Nasty.
Yeah.
There's your accent.
Yeah.
There you go.
Nasty.
And then you make it a little bratty.
Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah.
Nay, nay, nay, nay, nay.
Do that for me.
Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah.
Nay, nay, nay, nay.
I can't even not laugh.
That makes me happy.
(30:19):
I feel happier.
It's fun!
And so we would take Jen's voicein that lower part, if Jen was
sounding like, and I would giveyou a scale on that weird noise.
Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah.
And all of a sudden, by doingthat exercise, it causes
you to balance your voice.
It takes you from a place of feelingoff balance and light and weak,
(30:39):
energetically or physically, andthe tool of making the funny fucking
noise, all of a sudden, Makes, putsyou in the middle of your expression.
So that's an example of what a funnynoise can do, physically and emotionally.
And that just proves a point.
So if you're sitting there, podcaster,and you're like, my voice is,
(31:01):
you know, maybe it's down here.
Cause when I started, I was,you know, a little airy fair.
Hi.
Hi, I'm Jen.
All right.
We got to turn up the mic because I'mnot speaking up that I feel like learning
to sing, whether you can't, like, You'regoing to be professional or not actually
can help you show up as a speaker as apodcaster because maybe me singing every
(31:25):
day to whatever it is, whether it's,you know, Metallica or death metal.
Metallica is my all time favorite band.
FYI.
Um, but I'm like, I think maybethat has helped me show up.
(31:45):
Like, my car singing.
When you can turn it up reallyloud and you can't hear yourself
and you just let it out.
Like, I bet there's a ton of weird noisesthat are coming out that it's not singing.
Well, it's trapped.
It's blockage.
You're clearing the blockage and the fear.
You are proving to yourself over and overand over again by exposing yourself to
(32:07):
those vibrations that like, it's okay.
I didn't die.
I'm alright.
It's okay.
Right?
And then, yeah, I mean, I thinkit can also, I'm gonna bring up a
point here that, uh, you know, maybepodcasters aren't thinking about,
but it depends on the volume of theirpodcast, but if they're, if they're
speaking this way for hours and hoursand hours, they might hurt themselves.
(32:30):
I think there's something reallyimportant to say about aligning
the voice to work efficiently.
I mean, again, from a pedagogicalperspective, as a vocal health
professional here, you know, liningyour voice up and freeing it can
also be important for longevity.
You know, voiceover actors need tobalance their voice, and podcasters
need to balance their voice just asmuch as singers need to balance their
(32:52):
voice, because it's their livelihood.
And if you're not, again, healthilyand efficiently Using your muscle
and air correctly, uh, that'show you're going to get tired and
that's how you can get injured.
So, having, even though the airy, lightsound might not seem like it's aggressive
on the instrument when you're doing it,it's actually What it's doing is, it's
(33:17):
causing strain on the voice becauseyou're not, you're not expressing clearly.
It's, it's not the easiest wayfor the body to make sound.
It's not how you're meantto make sound, right?
So that's another point that I,you know, pillars, again, pillars
will help you with that if, evenif you're a podcast, being clear.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I'm like, as you're saying that, I'mlike, I have an anonymous podcast
(33:38):
because nobody ever gets to know thatit's me, that I do the sultry voice.
And I am so exhausted after the 30minute show being in that alter ego.
I'm like, I'm like, Well, it's okay.
And again, if we're talking aboutexpression, it's okay to make sultry
(33:59):
sounds on purpose for expression.
That is okay.
Right?
And you can hear that in pop music,pop stars, singers, you know,
Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish,but they know how to turn it off.
And they know how to rebalance.
you don't want to end up usingthat voice all the time because
you're going to run into trouble.
So again, what Pillars does is itteaches you to balance the voice back
to your vocal authentic alignment.
(34:21):
And so we can choose to make that soundfor expression, but that we can get
back to our authentic strong sound.
That's what's important.
Right?
So Jen, if you're tired, you mightwant to afterwards do some conditioning
for yourself, a little bit of a vocalworkout to get back to what's Jen's.
lined up healthy sound.
Okay.
And then we're set up and wecan rest and we'll be okay.
(34:42):
Does that make sense?
Yes.
So we all know that I'mjoining your program because
I, I would, I like that side.
I'm like, I really like being that,but it's so, I mean, I can, but I
don't want to talk afterwards andI get so hoarse for like hours,
but I really enjoy that podcast.
Do it, listen, do it.
(35:04):
But then if your body'slike rest, I'm tired.
Then rest.
Drink a lot of water, right?
And again, I think for Jen your bestthings that would help you would be
pitch, please so you get confidentand then in the pillar series.
I would want you to get the full thing.
So you're making all kinds of weirdnoises, honestly, girl, but chest
voice would be the first thing thatyou'd probably want to look at.
And it would, it wouldrebalance you for sure.
(35:25):
For sure.
So podcasters now, you know, now, youknow, you know the secrets because, you
know, it's not, What our voice soundslike it's not, you know, all of those
things it's aligning with ourselvesbecause the tone of your voice can be
very soothing to other people, especiallywhen you're sharing story, you know,
(35:48):
you, you know, you're trained, butlike the way that you express and share
stories is so much different than.
Then a lot of other people and I know it'sbecause you, you first you're speaking
from your heart, which a lot of peopleare terrified of and I really appreciate
that you came to us with like this muchhonesty and openness, but it's also.
(36:10):
I think that there's that side that,that I just realized as you were saying
that it's like, I really like SultryJen, like Spicy Jen's pretty fun.
Spicy Jen, we love a SpicyJen, a slutty little Spicy Jen.
But she's exhausting.
And I'm like, but there has to be away, like you said, it's probably in
your program, where I can learn to letSpicy Jen be a little more part of me,
(36:35):
but maybe it's on a different level.
I don't know the right word, different.
We prepare, we prepare to chooseSpicy Jen and then we can rebalance
after Spicy Jen so that regular Jen,everyday Jen, doesn't lose her voice.
So again, where can we find allthis amazing, I know that you've
(36:55):
mentioned it, but I want, youknow, here's the, here's that part.
Drop where we can find you so that we canstep deeper into our authentic voices.
Absolutely.
Oh my gosh.
Um, well, first of all, you guys canalways follow me on at sing with bish
on tick tock on if it's still aroundand Instagram, it's the same handle.
Um, but I have a, we're in themiddle of kind of rebranding my
(37:17):
vocal studio page and allowing thesinger's path to become under, you
know, Sarah Bishop Vocal Studios, butas of right now, my website is www.
sarahbishopvocalstudio.
com.
There's actually no S of it.
It's studio.
com.
Um, and there you'll find links,uh, to, uh, All of the courses
that's in the singer's path program.
(37:39):
So pitch, please pillars and sooncoming in winter 2025 advanced mix.
So if you are an advanced singerlistening to this and you're like,
listen, I just really want to likebelt my face off and sound amazing.
That's what that course is forprofessionals and intermediates.
So, um, and there'll be more addedto the singer's path and there'll
be bundles that'll be coming out.
(37:59):
Um, actually I'm not sure if thiswill come before black Friday or not.
But if you follow me, uh, on socials,um, and, you know, you go to my
website, you join my email list,uh, singers pass, er, what is it?
Oh my god, I gotta writeit down because it's new.
Singers Secret Digest,right, is my email list.
Um, if you just, like, follow and checkout my website, join the email list,
(38:22):
you'll have access to an amazing bundleand payment plan to take advantage of this
full experience that is the singer's path.
So that's what I'd recommend.
Go to sarahbishopvocalstudio.
com or follow me, join the emaillist, get on board, and then you'll
just be on the train and you'll,you'll know about all this stuff.
(38:42):
Listen to your new podcast.
Listen to my new oh god, thank you.
Oh my god, you're like, and there'sa lot going on in my business, so.
Finally, finally, the Singer's Pathprogram is going to be partnered
with a podcast that is free tolisten to, Singer's Path Podcast.
I'm going to be dripping out new episodes.
There's one episode on thereright now as we're recording this.
It's kind of just an introduction totell you what it's all about, um, but
(39:04):
that is for sure all my podcasterswhere you're going to be able, we're
going to be talking about all the samestuff we did, freeing the voice, talking
to industry professionals and workingon mindset shifts that we're showing
up not as a starving artist anymore,we're not doing that shit anymore.
We're going to be thrivingartists and we're going to own
what the fuck we have to say.
Period.
(39:24):
So, yeah.
Singer's Path Podcast.
Woo hoo!
There's a lot of stuff I just plugged,so you can, you know all about it now.
And don't worry, it's all linkedup for all of us that like easy
peasy in the show notes for you.
But I gotta leave youwith my favorite question.
If someone were to take away one juicynugget from this interview, what do
you want them to take with them foreither right now or in the future?
(39:49):
But this week for alifetime, my favorite thing.
And one of the, one of thefoundations of my business is that
you deserve to express your voice.
Whether that's podcast, whetherthat's a singer, if you have the
desire to sing on your heart.
It's an indication that you shouldbe singing, and it doesn't matter the
(40:13):
capacity, you don't have to be JenniferHudson to have the right to sing.
You can sing in any capacity, and if yourheart is calling you to sing or speak,
and be heard, then you owe it to yourself.
To love yourself enough.
To say yes to that because magicalfucking things happen for you for the
(40:37):
good of your own life for the quality ofyour life When you say yes to yourself
in that capacity and you honor whatyour heart is trying to tell you to do
So that's that's what I would say andI really truly fucking mean that yeah,
that's why I do what I do because Ijust want everybody to know that truly
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