What's on my mind...
What do Plungers, Flippers, and Teaching Voice have in common? The potential for pinball.
Pinball is fun when you are the playfield and not the ball. The playfield is the part of a pinball machine that all the cool dohickeys reside. The place where pinballs get trapped, ramped, orbited, flipped, and bumped. Are you the playfield or the pinball? Do your...
Does your life, or business, ever suck, just when you were getting AWESOME?
Because if you do, you're not alone. IT IS A THING. Inspired by a brave and daring post I was commenting on within the last week, I was PM'd and asked to talk a little bit about Upper Limiting. A term coined by Gay Hendricks in his book "The Big Leap". I think the...
Actually, Your Mindset Doesn’t Matter.
What would you say if I told you that your mindset doesn't matter? That all of your goals are achievable no matter what you believe? What if I told you that it DOES NOT matter how prepared you are. Or how knowledgeable? "You don’t have to be great to start, but you...
Pop/Rock/Jazz just isn’t the same…
...as Classical or Musical Theater singing. Which is kind of a big fat duh, but also a little difficult to talk about in voice teacher land. Why? Because our field really does want the best for our students (do no harm!) and some of the sounds and stylings around...
Balance is a lie. Priorities are better.
Balance sucks. I'm allowed to say that, because I am a Libra, and therefore know these things automatically. It sucks because striving for it never brings peace, and almost always brings pressure. Balance brings pressure to be FaceTastic. Facebook + Fantastic =...
Airport Wisdom
Upon arrival at Sacramento International Airport, a curious thing happened. The self-check-bag-drop area was packed. People were waiting in long lines in order to get to the little kiosks, shifting their weight and their bags. Children were distracting parents....
Why I Charge What I Charge, or, What’s in Your “Hour”?
We are often challenged to defend pricing. It's part of this business we signed up for, and if a few folks are not asking questions, we probably aren't charging enough. If lots of people are asking questions, then we certainly aren't charging enough. Instead of...
Food for thought…
We are in charge. If there is something that doesn't quite fit in the way our studio runs, we can change it. We are in control. We get to make the rules. Here's a fun game: Write down all the things that make you want to stab your own face bug you about your studio....
Some Days, Magic. Thoughts on Open Door Productions’ Jesus Christ Superstar
Open Door Productions is a brand spankin' new company formed by the University of Utah Department of Theater undergrad students. (Yes. That means 18 to 23-year-olds are creating things. On their own. With sets! GASP!) This company did a thing. They staged the first...
This One Thing: A Mis-Guide to Singing
A poem for singing friends.
When Nikki Loney Asks to Podcast You, Say Yes.
^^^^ That is Faith, the official feline of Full Voice Music. She's awesome. I used her as the featured image because I knew she would make incredible click bait for all you cat lovahs! When the Universe tells you to do something, you should do it. Being a naturally...
Guest Blog by Teacher Developer Extraordinaire Sharon Genkin
I met Sharon when I was living in San Jose, Ca. We had a lot of fun being snarky and passionate together, and grew to be fast friends. It was no wonder: we are both teachers, and teachers of teachers. Sharon's experiences have enlightened and encouraged me in my...
On the Expectation of Information
So, this happened. Again. Since it recently happened, I should probably NOT be writing about it, because, you know, feelings, but I decided I'd throw together something for y'all anyway. Think of it as external processing for the entire web to hear. I know, I know,...
A Guide to Social Media-ing, for Voice Teachers, Because I Care.
One of my favorite things to do is frolic on the interwebs. I love the community that I have been able to create here, and the true friendships that have been cultivated across time and location. The BEST! It has been noticed, however, that sometimes we have a hard...