Gillyanne & Jeremy answer more questions about classical vocal technique versus musical theatre vocal technique. Which is best, should you teach either or both, what do you teach students at different ages? Great questions submitted from our listeners too: How can I make "So In Love" stop sounding like Puccini? Do you teach a 16 year old classical AND musical theatre or choose one? With a new young MT student do you focus on legit or belting? Gillyanne talks about her PhD research into...

Voice experts Dr Gillyanne Kayes and Jeremy Fisher share their thoughts about classical versus musical theatre. Is there one technique that works for both? Is one inherently healthier to sing than the other? Should we be teaching different genres to young singers? We have comments and questions sent in by our This Is A Voice podcast listeners too - there are some strong opinions! We share our own backgrounds and talk about knowing yourself. And why recognising the "filters" through which...

This is part 2 of our Best Bits from the last 4 series of This Is A Voice podcasts! We've got four glittering presents for you, beautifully wrapped under the tree. 1. Impostor Syndrome (S3 Ep1)  - the dictionary definition of imposter and why it isn't impostor syndrome  - different types of impostor syndrome by Valerie Young, based on the work of Clance and Imes. Which one are you?  - Why we recognise different types of imposter syndrome in our own lives 2. THE BREATH! (S3 Ep3) One of our...

The last time we did a Best Bits was 43 episodes ago! So here are three of our favourite episodes from the last 18 months (part 1) 1. Vocal folds and hydration (S2 Ep9)   - why singers have to be careful how MUCH water you drink (with a real-life horror story)  - different types of dehydration + research into hydration and the effects on your voice  - And which country has a different idea of how much water is enough 2. Songs, Lyrics and Life with Georgia Mancio (S2 Ep10). One of our...

Dr Marisa Lee Naismith is back talking to Gillyanne & Jeremy, and we get a bit heated! How to work with authenticity in singing and finding a student's "mode" (1.00). Our own reactions to witnessing authenticity in our classes (we're all different - 4.50)Marisa takes us step by step through a lesson with a CCM (contemporary commercial music) singer plus what to listen for and what to ignore (9.25)Why Jeremy thinks there's an expert on the song in the room (and it's not us - 13.20)The...

Ever wondered what it's like to do a PhD in vocal pedagogy? Or how that PhD might translate into teaching singing? Want to know exactly why we think classical vocal training doesn't work for contemporary commercial music singers? We go deep with Dr Marisa Lee Naismith, author of Singing Contemporary Commercial Music Styles, a pedagogical framework: How difficult is it to juggle the work of a PhD, family life and a full-time business? Marisa and Gillyanne compare notes (3.00)Why is CCM...

Feed the dog!  Changing your pitch patterns can help your listeners understand your emotions and meaning. In this week's This Is A Voice podcast (Season 6 Episode 12), expert vocal trainers Dr Gillyanne Kayes & Jeremy Fisher use the sentence "Feed the dog" to showcase different pitch patterns and meanings.   We read out the instructions from the second half of exercise 26 (page 84 of This Is A Voice) and show you step by step how to change meaning, intonation and interest in your speaking...

No? Yes! What makes a voice more interesting to listen to? Tone? Volume? Pitch patterns help your listeners understand your emotions and meaning. In this episode, expert vocal trainers Dr Gillyanne Kayes and Jeremy Fisher riff on pitch patterns and meaning in speaking voice. Exercise 26 on page 84 of our This Is A Voice book is a brilliant vocal technique exercise for improving your speaking (and singing). We go step by step through the instructions and demonstrate how the exercise works in...

What does a movie musical vocal coach do? Singer and pedagogue Irene Bartlett is back to chat with vocal trainers Gillyanne & Jeremy about coaching Austin Butler to sing Elvis in the latest movie, and how she works with singing teachers in the Pedagogy Programme at Griffith University in Brisbane. What was the first thing Irene needed to do when meeting Austin (or any singer) for the first time? (3.00) What is she listening for when working with professional singers? (6.53) How do we...

What is good singing? Singer and pedagogue Dr Irene Bartlett joins vocal trainers Gillyanne & Jeremy to talk about good singing, function and style. It’s an honest conversation between vocal trainers separated by 10,000 miles but together in spirit. Is it divisive to separate classical, CCM and Musical Theatre music? Irene has a great one-sentence answer to this (2.40)Is there a difference between classical singing lessons and musical theatre singing lessons? How do classical singers...

Gillyanne Kayes and Jeremy Fisher chat about putting their flagship vocal training course fully online for the first time, and describe the amazing content on each day of the course. And this episode they focus on consonants and false vowels, with an incredibly simple vocal technique to create more resonating space for awkward consonants, allowing you to match resonance more easily while singing words Discover why Jeremy says there isn't one way to breathe. And the thing you shouldn't do...

#ThisIsAVoice Vocal trainers Dr Gillyanne Kayes and Jeremy Fisher show you how to find easy and accurate consonants in your songs. It's like having private singing lessons but with the very best vocal coaches! Jeremy and Gillyanne go deep into vocal articulation and the effect consonants have on vowels when you sing. When is a t not a t? When does an s become a z? What are your favourite singing genres and does it make a difference to the way you make your consonants? Watch Jeremy give a...

Vocal pedagogue Dr Gillyanne Kayes challenges vocal coach Jeremy Fisher to show how a ventriloquist can sing words clearly. Using  @Darci Lynne 's excellent Creep video https://youtu.be/KB-390oClpw, Jeremy breaks down the movements needed to sing all the vowels and consonants in the song without moving your lips. Judge for yourself how well Jeremy does singing the first four lines of the Radiohead song Creep - does he move his lips? Can you follow the instructions and do the same? All the...

Gillyanne & Jeremy are back demonstrating the exercises in the This Is A Voice book. This week they're kicking and elongating consonants. Gillyanne takes Jeremy through Exercise 24, Consonant Awareness, in the Speaking Effectively section. Breaking down the plosives! Jeremy speaks and sings tongue twisters with two different ways of using the consonants.  You'll hear why one way is better than the other for singing in a non-classical style, and what changes Jeremy has to make to sing in a...

Petra Borzynski, singer, cognitive behavioural therapist & somatic vocal coach, is back with Gillyanne and Jeremy for more wisdom on dealing with emotion. Teacher boundaries, the difference between trauma and emotional discomfort, and why you don't need to be your student's therapist. There are questions on somatic exercises for performance nerves, and Jeremy shares what he did to deal with the extreme nerves in his workshop at the PEVoC conference last month. And a question on which...

On the day of Queen Elizabeth's funeral, Petra Borzynski, cognitive behavioural therapist & somatic vocal coach, joins Gillyanne and Jeremy for some expert wisdom on dealing with emotion. Singing is an emotional act. And we sometimes need to sing, or to teach singing, when we're emotional. How do we deal with our own wobbles, and when should we deal with the wobbles of our singing students? There are questions from listeners on anxiety in singing lessons - when do we hold the space for...

What's it like to PRESENT at an international voice conference?  Dr Gillyanne Kayes & Jeremy Fisher presented at PEVoC14 in Tallinn, Estonia.   Gillyanne's first Round Table organisation, and Jeremy's first solo Workshop  The nerves, the outcomes, the feedback, the content, the preparation  We reveal all!    Check out some of Jeremy's video examples from his workshop "Get On, Sing, Get Off" ·       Glottal onsets/offsets: Beyonce - Single Ladies...

Experiencing the voice conference. Gillyanne & Jeremy join the Pan European  Voice Conference in Tallinn, Estonia and share their experience of the city, the speakers, the voice science papers and the behind-the-scenes moments. https://www.pevoc2022.ee/ Catch up on this year's PEVoC in Tallinn, Estonia https://www.pevoc2024.com/ For the next conference in Santander, Spain

In this wide-ranging episode of This Is A Voice Podcast we chat with singer, author, musician and teacher Cate Frazier-Neely on: Working in the trenches - what it's like to be a singing teacher with an eclectic career (2.01)Jeremy's first terrifying job with Scottish Opera and how he stayed just one step ahead of the singers (5.00)The difference between playing a piano part and an orchestral reduction for singers - Jeremy is very clear on this! (6.30)Gillyanne's and Cate's personal experience...

We're joined by Cate Frazier-Neely, singer, author, pedagogue, collaborative pianist, composer and multi-instrumentalist, for a meeting of minds across the Pond. We chat about -musicality v musicianship -how we wrote the beatboxing chapter in our This Is A Voice book -working with spoken and sung voice -four different types of air supply -translating voice science into practical teaching (and Jeremy's pet hate) -diction and audience cues -gradient in voice exercises and soo, soo much...

We asked you for your opinions of six different logo designs. Wow, you did not disappoint. Your comments were brilliant, hilarious and outstandingly rude. In this episode we share the beginning-to-end process for choosing a new logo and brand look, and the worst of the comments you made the design brief we wrotethe advice we were given (some great, some bad) the design competition we set up choosing between the 353 designs we receivedthe feedback on six of the designs (OMG!)how we came to...

The work-life balance might be easier to find if you know the difference between hobby, job, career and vocation. Jeremy & Gillyanne chat about Jeremy's new blog post, based on a video by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Big Magic and Eat, Pray, Love. What our hobbies are and why I discovered I was messing them upWhy a job isn't a career, and what the real purpose of a job isWhy I was worrying (needlessly) about my lack of career and how I discovered I already had oneWhy people working in the...

She's back! Specialist Speech & Language Therapist Tor Spence returns with in-depth advice on the bane of a singer's life - ACID REFLUX.  What acid reflux is and what it doesTwo types of acid reflux and why treatment for one might not work for the otherNocturnal coughing, upper and lower sphincters and soluble fibreWe talk about LPR, GERD, PPIs and pepsins, and how effective Gaviscon (and other alginates) areAnd if that wasn't enough, we're talking noses. Nasal breathing and its benefits,...

Specialist Speech & Language Therapist Tor Spence joins us for a chat. She's become an expert on coughing - what it is, how we can control it and what it does to your voice. We break down the physiology of a cough, and describe the technique of mindful coughing. Tor also talks about the process of vocal diagnosis, both within the ENT structure and "sight unseen" in the 2-week wait clinic. Find out what the cycle and the seesaw have to do with coughing, and why Jeremy loves filtering in...

In the second episode of a new series, Dr Gillyanne Kayes & Jeremy Fisher take you through the two Breathy-Light Archetype exercises from the bestselling book This Is A Voice Jeremy demonstrates different versions of the breathy-light archetype at different points in his vocal range (covering almost 2 octaves), and Gillyanne uses the archetype to narrate part of "Arthur The Rat". Find out the upgrades we now add to the written exercise, and why we'd change some of the instructions We've...