Singing Teachers Talk

For our final episode of 2023, Alexa is joined by sought-after choral director and vocal coach, Mark De-Lisser. He has worked with the likes of Ariana Grande, Jessie J, and Beverly Knight. He has also been involved in TV shows such as "Our Dementia Choir" with Vicky McClure and "The Masked Singer." Mark made the arrangement of "Stand By Me," which was performed by the...

Voice scientist Aaron Johnson joins Alexa to discuss laboratories, rats, the ageing larynx, and wearable devices to detect vocal fatigue. Aaron has had a career as a professional classical singer and teacher and is now a researcher and speech-language pathologist specialising in vocal habilitation and rehabilitation. He is currently an associate professor in the Department of Otolaryngology at New...

BAST founder Line Hilton joins Alexa to discuss the best vocal exercises for pitch accuracy training. You’ll find lots of helpful information on perceived tone deafness, singing and the premenstrual voice, navigating matching pitch, whether being ‘pitchy’ is a thing, props you can use in your lessons, and of course, some amazing vocal exercises you can use with your singing students.  KEY MOMENTS...

Founder and CEO of Full Voice, Nikki Loney, is keeping us company this week with a teaching career spanning over three decades. Nikki works with music education specialists, children's composers, and musicians to create music education resources for young vocal students. She hosts her own podcast called "Full Voice" and is a member of NATS and the Speakeasy Cooperative. Nikki joins...

Joining Alexa this week to chat about the Alexander Technique is Patrick Ardagh-Walter, a professional singer who has worked with the likes of the Royal Opera. He's a trained Alexander Technique teacher himself and is an assistant at a training school for teachers of the Alexander Technique in Paris. Patrick is here to tell us where the technique originated from, how it can benefit singers, a...

Joining Alexa today is Professor of Performing Arts Pedagogy at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Roberta Wolff. As well as teaching on the Guildhall PGCert programme, she provides professional development on teaching skills to teachers across the performing arts disciplines. Roberta is also a workshop leader, coach, and piano teacher. In this episode, we will discuss how to create optimal lear...

Nate James is an independent soul artist with a successful career to date, having sold over a million albums, received MOBO nominations and urban music awards, and he has headlined festivals across Europe. He has also toured with the likes of Amy Winehouse and John Legend. Nate joins Alexa today to fly the flag for the music industry's LGBTQIA+ community, sharing his own personal story, inclu...

We first welcomed Kate Valentine to the Singing Teachers Talk podcast back on episode 85. But now, Kate is back with us in episode 135, to tell us all about Valentine Voice Care Lewes, a centre for vocal wellness development, prevention, and rehabilitation, which she has built in East Sussex KEY MOMENTS   ‘It felt like hell, I was so lonely and felt so stripped of my identity because of my vocal i...

Back in 2019, teenager Eddie Cortez went viral for a letter that he wrote to his teacher, explaining why he didn't do his homework. In that letter, he said, "I don't want to do school work over the weekend because it's a stress-free time to go out with friends, watch TV, play games. I don't do it also because it makes me very mad and unhappy. I do what makes me happy becau...

To continue our discussion on the juicy topic of "belt," Alexa is joined by voice teacher and trainer of musical theatre and CCM, Amanda Flynn. Amanda has performed in shows like "Wicked" and "Mamma Mia" and has held the position of Production Vocal Coach for "The Lightning Thief" and "Be More Chill" on Broadway. She is the author of "So You W...

Joining Alexa this week to discuss all things vibrato is Professor of Voice and Voice Pedagogy and Chair of Voice at the University of Texas at San Antonio, John Nix. John is a voice researcher himself, and his mentors include Barbara Doscher and Ingo Titze. John has produced 50 published articles and eight book chapters, co-chairs the Voice Science Advisory Committee, and serves on both the Journ...

Want to understand research papers but find them dull and impenetrable? Kate Cubley, dynamic voice researcher and vocal coach, is here to help. In this episode, Kate shares her passion for research and demystifies how to efficiently extract useful information. Learn her cheat sheet for navigating papers, focusing on the abstract, conclusion and applicable gems. Discover where to find studies, how...

If you've been listening to the Singing Teachers Talk podcast and have been wondering how you could start your own to support your business, then stay put. We are celebrating International Podcast Day right here with podcaster Kane Baron, who also runs the UK's largest podcast agency, Progressive Media. Kane joins me to give expert advice on how to get set up and create content, as well...

Singing teachers and vocal coaches, are you yet to build your business website, or, like Alexa, have been meaning to update it for months but just lack the inspiration for it? Well, stick around because website designer Taylor Rossi from Nicole Ricardo Media is here with me for this week's episode, dishing all the goods on this very topic. KEY MOMENTS   ‘The point of having a website that con...

This week's guest is a teacher of voice, movement, and wholistic expression. Jeremy Ryan Mossman is the founder of Body-Based Voice Ped and has presented at global events for the likes of The Voice Foundation, Voice Study Centre, and the Musical Theater Educators Alliance and has spoken about many topics, including fascia-based techniques. Jeremy is a contributing author, a 500-hour certified...

Education Committee Chair of PAMA, the Performing Arts Medicine Association, Dr. Kat Cottrell joins Alexa this week. Kat is a pianist, flautist, and percussionist turned GP and now cares for performing artists at the Musicians Clinics of Canada, supporting them with both mental and physical challenges related to their profession. Kat is here to discuss PAMA and is bringing us news of the PAMAthon,...

Once upon a time, there was a woman called Susan Payton who was passionate about helping fellow business owners to clearly articulate their value to their ideal customers with a simple messaging strategy. Susan wrote an Amazon bestseller called "The Business of Stories," knocking Diary of a CEO and Dragon Steven Bartlett off the top spot. She joins the host of the Singing Teachers Talk p...

Choral leader, singer, teacher, composer and now author Olivia Sparkhall is joining Alexa this week to discuss her book, ‘A Young Person’s Guide to Vocal Health’. The book is a simple guide to help you understand what's good (and what's bad!) when looking after your 'vocal instrument', and how you can keep your voice in great shape. It shows you the best ways to maintain good v...

Alexa is joined by Jono McNeil, a seasoned vocal coach, arranger and producer with more than 15 years of experience. Jono’s background includes working on popular TV shows like The Voice UK , The Masked Singer and The Voice Kids , and providing coaching for touring acts such as JLS and New Rules. Jono is also an accomplished artist and singer and has performed with Michael Bublé, Paloma Faith and...

Alexa is joined by Jono McNeil, a seasoned vocal coach, arranger and producer with more than 15 years of experience. Jono’s background includes working on popular TV shows like The Voice UK , The Masked Singer and The Voice Kids , and providing coaching for touring acts such as JLS and New Rules. Jono is also an accomplished artist and singer and has performed with Michael Bublé, Paloma Faith and...

Joining Alexa this week is Sarah Summers, who is a musical director, choir leader and vocal health first aider based in Swindon, UK. Sarah runs four choirs, including one for unpaid carers and another for staff and retired employees of the Great Western Hospitals Trust. She is currently studying on the MA Vocal Health pathway with the Voice Study Centre and has published some of her work with the...

Alexa is joined by Michele Weir, a renowned figure in vocal jazz education and arranging. Michele is the founder of the online school Music Habit and the creator of the app ScatAbility. Additionally, she has written several books on jazz, so who better to talk you through the topic of how to sing and teach this genre? KEY MOMENTS ‘No two jazz singers are alike’  ‘Jazz comes in different packages,...

Joining Alexa Terry for this episode is the wonderful Duncan Rock who spoke to Alexa in our 100th episode on the topic of the voice and dairy. He’s just returned from performing in Benjamin Britten’s 'The Rape of Lucretia' at Toulouse’s Théâtre du Capitole. In addition to being a professional Baritone, Duncan is a nutritionist and physiotherapist. He’s on the podcast to discuss singing a...

In this  episode, Alexa dives into the common struggles of imposter syndrome, low confidence, and feeling overwhelmed that many singing teachers face. As an experienced voice instructor and singer herself, Alexa shares personal stories and insights on managing these challenges in your teaching career and life. Learn how to overcome negative self-talk, build your confidence both in and out of the s...

The incredible Gemma Sugrue joins Alexa this week to take a deep dive into the world of mix voice and belt techniques. We’re thrilled to explore this topic with Gemma, especially after our enlightening conversation with John Henney in episode 101. KEY MOMENTS ‘I call it entering into the option area’  ‘A mix is anything that’s connected and still in mode one’ ‘I like to start with refining the eng...