This Is A Voice

Send us Fan Mail 🎙 This Is A Voice with Jeremy Fisher and Dr Gillyanne Kayes The podcast where we get vocal about voice. This special finale (Season 12 Episode 12) brings together unforgettable moments from across Season 12, featuring bite-sized excerpts from powerful conversations about singing, voice, performance, creativity, identity, burnout, boundaries, connection and what it really means to...

Send us Fan Mail What does a real week look like when you run a vocal coaching business? In this episode, we take you behind the scenes of our actual working week, the conversations, the decisions, the small wins, and the moments that don’t usually make it onto social media. We talk about the reality of being a singing teacher or vocal coach, including the balance between teaching, running a busin...

Send us Fan Mail In vocal health and voice rehabilitation, where does the speech language therapist's role end and the singing teacher’s role begin? In part 2 of this conversation, Jeremy Fisher and Dr Gillyanne Kayes go deeper into the relationship between the singing teacher and the SLT/SLP, exploring where the overlap is helpful, where boundaries matter, and why referral is sometimes the m...

Send us Fan Mail What's the difference between a speech and language therapist (or pathologist) and a singing teacher? Where do those roles overlap and where should the boundaries be? In this episode of This Is a Voice, Jeremy Fisher and Dr Gillyanne Kayes explore the similarities and differences between the work of an SLT/SLP and a singing teacher, especially when singers or professional voi...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of This Is A Voice, Jeremy Fisher and Dr Gillyanne Kayes welcome back psychologist Michelle Robinson for a deeper conversation about the singer-teacher relationship, motivation, wellbeing, and what voice training can learn from sport psychology. Michelle introduces Self-Determination Theory, breaking down the three psychological needs that help people flourish: aut...

Send us Fan Mail What if the teacher-student relationship in a singing lesson is not just the backdrop to vocal training, but the engine that shapes confidence, motivation, wellbeing and even performance anxiety? In Season 12 Episode 7 of This Is A Voice, we’re joined by Michelle Robinson (singer, psychologist and researcher) to explore what the research says about relationship quality in one-to-o...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of This Is A Voice (S12 Ep6), Jeremy Fisher and Dr Gillyanne Kayes continue the story from “The Secret Singer” (Ep5) and go deeper into what happens when a singer’s path gets interrupted. Gillyanne shares what came after stopping singing in her late 20s, how she rebuilt confidence (slowly and with care), and why her “happy ending” wasn’t about chasing the stage aga...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of our This Is A Voice podcast, we do something we've never done before. We have a “special guest”, not in the studio but on a recording, one that hasn't been played for more than 40 years. You'll have to listen to the first few minutes to discover who the special guest is! This conversation goes straight into the stuff singers quietly carry: The fee...

Send us Fan Mail Most singers can learn the notes and the words. That isn’t the part that gets in the way. The real block sits under the surface. It’s the moment where the song should land and somehow doesn’t. You can feel it. The audience can feel it. Something is missing. In this episode, we dig into that missing piece How singers learn songs too fast How the ear follows the recording but not th...

Send us Fan Mail Burnout can creep up quietly - until one day you realise you’ve got nothing left to give. In this honest, wide-ranging conversation, Dr Gillyanne Kayes, Jeremy Fisher and guest Dr Marisa Lee Naismith (host of A Voice and Beyond) talk about burnout in the performing arts: how it happens, what it feels like, and what recovery really takes. We explore: The link between trauma, stress...

Send us Fan Mail If you’ve ever felt exhausted, cynical or “not good enough,” this episode will help you spot the signs, set boundaries and start recovering - without guilt. What really causes burnout in musicians, singers, teachers, and students? In this second episode of This Is A Voice on burnout, Dr. Gillyanne Kayes and Jeremy Fisher discuss the physical, emotional, and systemic roots of burno...

Send us Fan Mail Burnout isn’t just “being tired.” For many musicians, singers, and creatives, it creeps in quietly until suddenly you can’t think clearly, you can’t create, and you feel stuck in cycles of exhaustion. In Season 12 Episode 1 of This Is A Voice, Jeremy Fisher and Dr. Gillyanne Kayes open up about their own experience with burnout, how it affected their work and creativity, and what...

Send us Fan Mail What does it take to be an effective singing leader?  Why is community music is so vital for social health?  How can positivity counteract our innate negativity bias? In this powerful follow-up with Dr Melissa Forbes, we talk about how singing transforms lives far beyond the stage. From rethinking the deficit mindset of traditional music training to leading groups for people with...

Send us Fan Mail Dr Melissa Forbes worked in law for 10 years until the firm's partner told a story about a bucket of water. That speech sent her straight to a jazz conservatorium, then to the research lab, and finally into community halls where group singing is healing real-world isolation.  In this episode of This Is A Voice, Jeremy Fisher & Dr Gillyanne Kayes chat with Melissa on  -  t...

Send us Fan Mail This isn’t just a podcast. It’s a five-year deep-dive into the voices, lives and lessons of singers, teachers and coaches around the world. In this special fifth anniversary episode of This Is A Voice, Jeremy and Dr. Gillyanne revisit the most powerful, personal, and punch-in-the-gut moments from over 100 episodes. From life-changing reflux wake-ups, to the moment a singer’s voice...

Send us Fan Mail "One of the greatest repositories of knowledge for singing and for performance in existence" What if you had 700 expert voice teaching tools at your fingertips—any time, any day? In this episode of This Is A Voice, Jeremy and Gillyanne get personal about the Vocal Process Learning Lounge — a powerhouse online resource designed for singing teachers, vocal coaches, choir l...

Send us Fan Mail 🎭 In this powerful episode of This Is A Voice, we welcome back Kevin Michael Cripps, Head of Singing at Guildford School of Acting (GSA), for a deep conversation about the real challenges - and the hidden joys - of training musical theatre performers today. 💬 From breaking down the myth of "giving 100%" to building stamina, challenging beliefs, decoding "mix"...

Send us Fan Mail In this powerhouse episode, Kevin Michael Cripps, Head of Singing at Guildford School of Acting, joins Jeremy and Gillyanne for a deep dive into the realities of training musical theatre performers in the 21st century. Kevin shares what it’s really like to work inside one of the UK’s leading drama schools—and how teaching voice has shifted to reflect individuality, neurodiversity,...

Send us Fan Mail This is the MOST nervous Jeremy's ever been recording a podcast — and for good reason! In this deep, honest and funny conversation, Jeremy Fisher and Dr. Gillyanne Kayes share how the world of Artificial Intelligence has changed their careers. And Jeremy shares an intensely personal moment where he broke ChatGPT — and what it taught him about trust, frustration, and human con...

Send us Fan Mail What actually happens in a top-tier vocal coach's studio? What is "crack sob" and why is it so common in Broadway belting? What's the deal with voice rehab? In this episode of This Is A Voice, Gillyanne and Jeremy are joined once again by Mike Ruckles - Broadway vocal coach and Singing Voice Specialist - to explore the fine line between SLPs (SLTs in the UK), E...

Send us Fan Mail What does it take to keep a Broadway voice strong, expressive, and injury-free through 8 shows a week? 🎤 In this episode, we’re joined by the brilliant Mike Ruckles — vocal coach, pianist, musical director, and the quiet powerhouse behind Tony, Grammy and Oscar-winning singers and actors. ✅ How Mike balances vocal science and artistic nuance ✅ The real challenges of coaching Br...

Send us Fan Mail Are you constantly chasing the next goal without celebrating your wins? You might have Success Amnesia—and it could be holding you back.  In this episode of This Is A Voice, Dr. Gillyanne Kayes & Jeremy Fisher dive into why high-achieving singers, teachers, and performers forget their own success, how this mindset can lead to burnout & imposter syndrome, and—most important...

Send us Fan Mail How do West End lead singers handle vocal demands, perfectionism, and the pressure of 8 shows a week? 🎤 In this episode of This Is A Voice, we welcome back Claire Underwood, West End resident vocal coach, to uncover more behind-the-scenes realities of training musical theatre stars. 🔹 What you'll discover in this episode: ✔️ How lead performers balance storytelling with voc...

Send us Fan Mail How do actors and singers deal with performing in long-running shows? And what is the role of a vocal coach - is vocal technique only part of the puzzle? In this episode of This Is A Voice, we sit down with Claire Underwood — the vocal coach behind Hamilton, Les Misérables, Cabaret, Phantom of the Opera and more in London's West End — to explore: 🎭 How top-level singers stay...

Send us Fan Mail Why are humans naturally drawn to sing together? And why do we need this now more than ever? Join us as we explore this deeply human experience. In Season 11, Episode 1 of This Is A Voice, Dr. Gillyanne Kayes and Jeremy Fisher kick off the new season with an inspiring deep dive into the transformative power of group singing. Explore the often-overlooked role of choir leaders as hi...