This week's guest is Meredith Colby.

Meredith Colby is an author, teacher, speaker and the creator of Neuro-Vocal, an approach to teaching singing for popular music styles based on brain science. In this episode, Meredith speaks candidly about her professional career, the demands of the CCM industry for singers, the lack of formal training for the styles she was performing and the vocal issues she encountered as a classically trained singer working in a touring rock band. She firmly believes that the many years of classical training she received did not give her the tools she needed to sustain the styles she was performing and ultimately led to her vocal burnout. These experiences inspired her to research and write her book, Money Notes, in which she introduces Neuro-Vocal, a fast, effective training approach that encourages healthy singing habits for microphone singers and is based on neuroscience. 

Neuro-Vocal teaches students to steer changes in their brains and to be guided by these changes as they occur. Meredith breaks down her approach which has been proven to achieve remarkably fast results and puts the student in the driver's seat. Not only that, but equips singers with tools for a healthy voice that will last for a lifetime? There is so much to unpack in this show and I know you are going to love all the information Meredith has to share with us.

In this Episode

04:11 – Meredith's earliest singing memories
09:16 – Frustration for not being able to sing loudly
12:18 – The kind of music Meredith was performing
13:01 – Classical music experience
17:48 – Ignoring her voice’s health warning signs
25:50 – How did you hear your voice?
26:43 – Talking to a Laryngologist and avoiding surgery
30:53 – Aha moment from Cyndi Lauper and Patti LaBelle
31:22 – Transitioning to being a voice teacher
34:50 – The Neuro Vocal Method
40:25 – The Alexander Technique
54:17 – Being a Vehicle for the Composer’s Intent
1:00:49 – Helping people find their own voice
1:01:50 – Training program exercises
1:14:23 – Meredith's greatest piece of advice for the singing voice community

Meredith's Links
https://www.meredithcolby.com/
https://www.meredithcolby.com/nvm-certification
https://itascabooks.com/money-notes-how-to-sing-high-loud

Find Marisa online:

• Website: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmarisaleenaismith/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmarisaleenaismith/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marisa.lee.12
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@avoiceandbeyond3519/videos

Resources:

• MLN Coaching Program: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/mentoring/
• Download your eBook: Thriving in a Creative Industry: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/product/ebook-thriving-in-a-creative-industry-dr-marisa-lee-naismith/

Like this episode? Please leave a review here - even one sentence helps! https://lovethepodcast.com/avoiceandbeyond

Share your thoughts and takeaways from this episode on social media and tag us @avoiceandbeyond — we’d love to hear your perspective!

This week’s guest is Lori Sonnenberg.

Lori Sonnenberg is a Chicago based Licensed Speech-Language Pathologist, Clinical Voice Specialist, and Singing Voice Specialist whose clients include professional performers, educators and speakers. In her voice clinic, Lori works exclusively with voice and breathing disorders and specialises in muscle tension dysphonia related disorders, recovery from voice injuries, professional voice care and support, post-operative voice recovery, and problematic technical voice issues for singers. 

In this episode, Lori explains what is involved in the initial consultation with a patient, including the diagnostic process and gives us an insight into the treatments she uses to assist her patients to recover from voice disorders and pathologies. Prevention is better than cure and Lori explains how we as voice teachers can detect when there is a potential problem occurring within our own instrument as well as that of our students and when to proactively seek the help of a voice specialist before it’s too late. 

Lori also discusses the impact of COVID on the singing voice, misconceptions concerning the incidence of vocal pathologies across genres, how we as a voice community can listen better and the importance of supporting and not shaming singers through voice problems. This interview with Lori Sonnenberg is a must-listen.

In this episode

04:38 – Lori’s early singing days
20:46 – The Diagnostic Process for patients
23:30 – What Causes Muscle Tension Dysphonia?
25:36 – Treating Muscle Tension Dysphonia
28:55 – Mucosal Swelling
31:17 – Voice’s Warning Signals
36:48 – How do you know if your vocal folds are swollen today?
42:09 – What are the worst injuries one can have as a singer?
49:10 – A Voice World
50:13 – Do CCM singers experience Voice Injuries and Disorders more often than Classical Singers?
53:33 - Getting confusing messages in terms of Vocal Health
56:46 – Lori’s favourite Vocal Warm up
1:01:13 – Lori’s favourite Vocal Cool down
1:02:52 – COVID’s effect to voice
1:07:26 - Piece of advice for teachers in the singing voice community

Lori's Links
www.sonnenbergvoice.com
www.facebook.com/sonnenbergvoice
instagram.com/sonnenbergvoice/
linkedin.com/in/lori-l-

Find Marisa online:

• Website: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmarisaleenaismith/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmarisaleenaismith/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marisa.lee.12
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@avoiceandbeyond3519/videos

Resources:

• MLN Coaching Program: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/mentoring/
• Download your eBook: Thriving in a Creative Industry: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/product/ebook-thriving-in-a-creative-industry-dr-marisa-lee-naismith/

Like this episode? Please leave a review here - even one sentence helps! https://lovethepodcast.com/avoiceandbeyond

Share your thoughts and takeaways from this episode on social media and tag us @avoiceandbeyond — we’d love to hear your perspective!

How often do you begin an important task and then you suddenly find yourself standing in front of the coffee machine just five minutes later. Ask yourself, do you feel as though you are going nowhere fast. Instead of moving forward, it feels like you're stagnating and could be doing so much more with your life is the amount of time you're spending distracted amongst all the chaos and the drama far greater than the time you're being productive.

In today's episode, we are going to figure out why you may be distracted and I will share some simple ideas that you can use to manage your day.

In this episode

1:10 - Do you get distracted often? 

2:15 - Take time out to release and reset

4:37 - Check in on your progress to stay focused 

6:40 - Cultivate a disciplined mindset

9:38 -  Take charge and develop purposeful habits

For more go to https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/59

Like this episode? Please leave a review here - even one sentence helps!

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Find Marisa online:

• Website: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmarisaleenaismith/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmarisaleenaismith/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marisa.lee.12
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@avoiceandbeyond3519/videos

Resources:

• MLN Coaching Program: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/mentoring/
• Download your eBook: Thriving in a Creative Industry: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/product/ebook-thriving-in-a-creative-industry-dr-marisa-lee-naismith/

Like this episode? Please leave a review here - even one sentence helps! https://lovethepodcast.com/avoiceandbeyond

Share your thoughts and takeaways from this episode on social media and tag us @avoiceandbeyond — we’d love to hear your perspective!

Do you experience feelings such as self doubt, fear, anger, anxiety, guilt, shame, or perhaps even regret? Try not to get caught up worrying about worse case scenarios, as they may never happen. We're all having to come to terms with the fear of what "could" happen next. Now more than ever, on any given day, we all have a moment where we struggle with our fears. If you are always stressing about the future, you will be held to ransom by this overwhelm. You are never going to give yourself the opportunity to experience the joys of the here and the now. You must shift your focus to the present. I promise you that you aren't going to know yourself.

In this solo episode I focus on the importance of dedicating time for yourself, leveraging stress to our advantage, letting go of our future worries and allowing ourselves to embrace the unknown.

In this episode

1:10 - Do you often feel overwhelmed? 

2:36 - Find time for you 

3:45 - Leverage stress to your advantage

4:58 - Don’t fear the future

7:03 -  Allow yourself to let go and embrace the unknown

For more go to https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/58

Like this episode? Please leave a review here - even one sentence helps!

Follow me on Instagram.

Find Marisa online:

• Website: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmarisaleenaismith/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmarisaleenaismith/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marisa.lee.12
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@avoiceandbeyond3519/videos

Resources:

• MLN Coaching Program: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/mentoring/
• Download your eBook: Thriving in a Creative Industry: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/product/ebook-thriving-in-a-creative-industry-dr-marisa-lee-naismith/

Like this episode? Please leave a review here - even one sentence helps! https://lovethepodcast.com/avoiceandbeyond

Share your thoughts and takeaways from this episode on social media and tag us @avoiceandbeyond — we’d love to hear your perspective!

This week's guest is Linor Oren.

How many of us have been told that we can’t sing, or that we can’t hold a tune in a bucket or we have simply been told please don’t sing? Whether we hear this from a family member, a singing teacher, or as I did from a choral director when I was in high school, this kind of discouragement can potentially silence many who will choose not to ever sing again. 

In this episode, our guest is Linor Oren, a singing teacher from Amsterdam, who didn’t sing until she was 21 years old, because of the impact of her father’s words and actions as a child as he relentlessly and unknowingly pushed her way from singing. Linor shares with us how she finally discovered the joy of singing, however, once she launched into her performance career, as a professional opera and musical theatre singer, she suffered terribly from performance anxiety as a consequence of these childhood experiences. Linor tells us how these lived experiences ultimately led her into a teaching career, where she has developed a specific training program called Sing Well. The teaching philosophy behind her program was inspired by a need to help other singers overcome all the obstacles she had been confronted with on her journey of discovering her own voice. 

Linor also has a popular YouTube channel with millions of views from almost 60,000 subscribers and she talks about one video in particular where she conducted a social experiment with approximately 20 willing participants. She surveyed them to find out how many of them had been told they could not sing and the consequences this had on them ever singing again. The results are surprising and to hear what happens, you must listen to this episode with Linor Oren.

In this episode

08:08 – Was singing culturally accepted in Israel?

09:55 – Her Father’s impact on her singing ability

14:36 – Her biggest obstacle in having performance anxiety

17:55 – How did she overcome her anxiety

24:33 – The Non-Stop Principle

26:01 – Studying voice formally and moving to Amsterdam

27:29 – Breaking up with the love of her life

30:21 – Developing her voice teaching approach

36:20 – Bright Spots Concept

38:12 – Linor’s teaching philosophy

41:10 – Does mental and emotional status impact a student’s voice?

44:03 – The Negative Self Talk

46:32 – Walking up to random people in the park to ask questions about singing

58:46 – Linor reacting to Freddie Mercury and getting 4 Million views

1:02:04

Find Marisa online:

• Website: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmarisaleenaismith/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmarisaleenaismith/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marisa.lee.12
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@avoiceandbeyond3519/videos

Resources:

• MLN Coaching Program: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/mentoring/
• Download your eBook: Thriving in a Creative Industry: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/product/ebook-thriving-in-a-creative-industry-dr-marisa-lee-naismith/

Like this episode? Please leave a review here - even one sentence helps! https://lovethepodcast.com/avoiceandbeyond

Share your thoughts and takeaways from this episode on social media and tag us @avoiceandbeyond — we’d love to hear your perspective!

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of being interviewed on the podcast, The Wander Mom Diaries, hosted by Mandie Kramer. The theme of the podcast centres around self-care, overcoming adversities, and empowering women and, my story and messaging certainly dives into all three! During my conversation with Mandie, I allowed myself to become vulnerable as I began to share my personal story of how I had to overcome one major challenge in my life, after another, including being a suicide survivor, the challenges of being a single mum whilst having a hectic schedule as professional in the music industry and how I was silenced by my culture and my community. Eventually I discovered I could stand up and use my voice in life, and It is my intention to release this episode as I truly want to inspire other women, that no matter where they are at, no matter what adversities, they are having to deal with, there is a way to live your best, most authentic life each and every day and please know you are beautiful just as you are. You are stronger than what you think. I hope you find something within this episode that will empower you to follow your dreams and embrace the woman that you are.

 For all The Wander Moms socials visit https://linktr.ee/wandermomdiaries

In this episode

01:16 - Introducing this episode with Mandie Kramer

03:22 - Mandie's introduction from our episode on The Wander Moms Podcast

12:44 – My early career background

14:32 – Loosing my first husband

18:00 – Struggling with Mental health and developing bulimia

20:06 – Meeting my second husband 

22:38 – What helped her act to step up and leave her environment?

24:16 – My advice for other mothers

29:12 – Opportunities for moms looking for a singing career

For more go to https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/56

Like this episode? Please leave a review here - even one sentence helps!

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Find Marisa online:

• Website: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmarisaleenaismith/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmarisaleenaismith/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marisa.lee.12
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@avoiceandbeyond3519/videos

Resources:

• MLN Coaching Program: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/mentoring/
• Download your eBook: Thriving in a Creative Industry: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/product/ebook-thriving-in-a-creative-industry-dr-marisa-lee-naismith/

Like this episode? Please leave a review here - even one sentence helps! https://lovethepodcast.com/avoiceandbeyond

Share your thoughts and takeaways from this episode on social media and tag us @avoiceandbeyond — we’d love to hear your perspective!

Today’s guest is Dr David Juncos.

Dr David Juncos a clinical psychologist, performance coach, a voice workshop lecturer, and co-author of the book ACT for Musicians, which is due for release in the coming months. David shares that he considers himself to be a "third wave" therapist, with additional training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy otherwise known as (ACT). In this episode, he describes ACT as an evidence-based psychotherapy that aims to promote mindfulness and acceptance and he explains how he has been able to successfully treat performance anxiety in musicians, as well as singers, using this treatment approach. 

David also answers questions around willingness and avoidance and how they relate to dealing with problems such as anxiety, including performance anxiety, drug and alcohol abuse and addiction, as well as depression. David breaks down the signs and symptoms of all of these issues and identifies the possible impairments that filter into the lives, work and relationships of those who are suffering with these problems. 

This is such a powerful and informative episode and one of the most important pieces of information that resonated with me, is David reinforcing the idea that we, as teachers, should only do what we have been trained to do and that if we ourselves, are in trouble, we must seek help. There is so much to unpack in this episode, so be sure to listen carefully.

In this episode

1:17 - Introducing Dr David Juncos

6:33 - David’s inspiration to study psychology 

14:01 - David’s motivation to work with singers

23:05 - How to access ACT psychotherapy

28:37 - Where do we draw the line between therapist and teacher

39:29 - What is depression and how does it differ from anxiety?

43:16 - Dealing and treating with addictions

45:04 - Is one addiction harder to treat than another?

46:33 - CAGE screener technique for identifying alcohol addiction

51:38 - Particular drugs more prevalent amongst musicians

For more go to https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/55

Like this episode? Please leave a review here - even one sentence helps!

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Find Marisa online:

• Website: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmarisaleenaismith/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmarisaleenaismith/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marisa.lee.12
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@avoiceandbeyond3519/videos

Resources:

• MLN Coaching Program: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/mentoring/
• Download your eBook: Thriving in a Creative Industry: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/product/ebook-thriving-in-a-creative-industry-dr-marisa-lee-naismith/

Like this episode? Please leave a review here - even one sentence helps! https://lovethepodcast.com/avoiceandbeyond

Share your thoughts and takeaways from this episode on social media and tag us @avoiceandbeyond — we’d love to hear your perspective!

We are so excited to announce it is our first birthday. Yes, it is one year since we launched our very first episode of A Voice and Beyond and to celebrate this exciting milestone, we would like to share some brilliant highlights from our interview rounds, where our internationally acclaimed voice teachers and music artists offer their pearls of wisdom from lessons they have learned throughout their own personal and professional experiences in the music industry, in the teaching studio and beyond. 

Each guest shares with us their empowering words of advice, as they speak candidly about their own journeys of self-discovery, self-care and self-awareness. It is through these lessons, we can all learn and grow, reconnect with our most authentic selves, and discover our voices in song as well as life, so we too can empower others, including our students. 

It has been a real joy spending time with all my guests and I am truly grateful for their contribution to the show. We hope that you enjoy part two of our two-part birthday celebrations.

In this episode

0:01 - Introduction to our Birthday Celebration of Voices

1:44 - Donna Cameron from Episode 4

9:53 - Petra Raspel Borzinski from Episode 46

13:48 - Sarah Marshall from Episode 33

19:41 - Emma Ferris from Episode 23

23:53 - Duncan Rock from Episode 29

27:24 - Elina Winnel from Episode 37

31:11 - Chris Johnson from Episode 15

35:05 - Dr Nidhi Krishnan from Episode 30

37:43 - Grace Ng Ee Wern from Episode 40

40:18 - Peter Edwards from Episode 39

44:50 - Julie-Anne Whitfield from Episode 25

50:09 - Jen Haddix from Episode 49

53:51 - Heidi Moss Erickson from Episode 35

59:48 - Evan Dunn from Episode 52

For more go to https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/54

Like this episode? Please leave a review here - even one sentence helps!

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Find Marisa online:

• Website: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmarisaleenaismith/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmarisaleenaismith/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marisa.lee.12
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@avoiceandbeyond3519/videos

Resources:

• MLN Coaching Program: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/mentoring/
• Download your eBook: Thriving in a Creative Industry: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/product/ebook-thriving-in-a-creative-industry-dr-marisa-lee-naismith/

Like this episode? Please leave a review here - even one sentence helps! https://lovethepodcast.com/avoiceandbeyond

Share your thoughts and takeaways from this episode on social media and tag us @avoiceandbeyond — we’d love to hear your perspective!

We are so excited to announce it is our first birthday. Yes, it is one year since we launched our very first episode of A Voice and Beyond and to celebrate this exciting milestone, we would like to share some brilliant highlights from our interview rounds, where our internationally acclaimed voice teachers and music artists offer their pearls of wisdom from lessons they have learned throughout their own personal and professional experiences in the music industry, in the teaching studio and beyond. 

Each guest shares with us their empowering words of advice, as they speak candidly about their own journeys of self-discovery, self-care and self-awareness. It is through these lessons, we can all learn and grow, reconnect with our most authentic selves, and discover our voices in song as well as life, so we too can empower others, including our students. 

It has been a real joy spending time with all my guests and I am truly grateful for their contribution to the show. We hope that you enjoy part one of our two-part birthday celebrations.

In this episode

1:16 - Introduction to our Birthday Celebration of Voices

1:44 - Dr Elizabeth Blades from Episode 2

5:06 - Dr Jenevora Williams from Episode 5

8:50 - Dr Gillyanne Kayes & Jeremy Fisher from Episode 6 & 7

12:27 - Ashlie Amber from Episode 9

16:02 - Lisa Popeil from Episode 11

20:01 - Brenda Earle Stokes from Episode 50

25:31 - Chris Johnson from Episode 15 

28:05 - Dr Elizabeth Benson from Episode 13

32:00 - Dr Wendy LeBorgne from Episode 17 & 18

35:44 - Nancy Bos from Episode 20 & 21

39:18 - Dann Milton from Episode 32

44:16 - Nadine Manion from Episode 24

46:51 - Heidi Moss Erickson from Episode 35

51:15 - Dr Trineice Robinson-Martin from Episode 47

For more go to https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/53

Like this episode? Please leave a review here - even one sentence helps!

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Find Marisa online:

• Website: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmarisaleenaismith/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmarisaleenaismith/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marisa.lee.12
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@avoiceandbeyond3519/videos

Resources:

• MLN Coaching Program: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/mentoring/
• Download your eBook: Thriving in a Creative Industry: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/product/ebook-thriving-in-a-creative-industry-dr-marisa-lee-naismith/

Like this episode? Please leave a review here - even one sentence helps! https://lovethepodcast.com/avoiceandbeyond

Share your thoughts and takeaways from this episode on social media and tag us @avoiceandbeyond — we’d love to hear your perspective!

Today’s guest is Evan Dunn.

Many of us identify so strongly with the thoughts that are running through our minds that we begin to believe those thoughts and sometimes it can be difficult to sort through all the doubts and uncertainties that you experience in the process. However, our thoughts do not define us and they are not always the truth. Mindfulness is a practice that helps us to dis-identify with those thoughts and manage our emotions so we can live a far more intentional life. 

Evan Dunn is a mindfulness coach for Take the Stage Coaching, a professional opera singer and host of Take the Stage Coaching podcast. Evan describes mindfulness as a way to discover who we truly are, connect to our deepest feelings, learn how to process these feelings and ultimately become more empowered in the future. Evan believes that we all have the power to design a life where we feel so much better than we at present and the only person who can make that happen is you. 

In this episode Evan explains the true meaning of mindfulness, he gives us some tools we can use to become more mindful and the benefits it can have on all us in our relationships with others as well as our own physical, mental and emotional health. The past lives as a memory and the future as thoughts. We all have a choice in life and you don’t want to miss Evan’s great advice for designing the lives we choose for ourselves.

In this episode

1:16 - Introduction

10:17 - Evan's early performance career

11:58 - What is Take the Stage Coaching?

15:40 - Mindfulness explained

29:45 - Tools that Evan uses to teach mindfulness 

31:28 - A mindfulness role-play example

49:28 - Is Meditation a mindfulness tool?

53:45 - Resources available to learn more about mindfulness

1:01:40 - As voice teachers how can we help our students

1:04:51 - Evan's personal mindfulness discoveries 

For more go to https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/51

Like this episode? Please leave a review here - even one sentence helps!

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Find Marisa online:

• Website: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmarisaleenaismith/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmarisaleenaismith/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marisa.lee.12
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@avoiceandbeyond3519/videos

Resources:

• MLN Coaching Program: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/mentoring/
• Download your eBook: Thriving in a Creative Industry: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/product/ebook-thriving-in-a-creative-industry-dr-marisa-lee-naismith/

Like this episode? Please leave a review here - even one sentence helps! https://lovethepodcast.com/avoiceandbeyond

Share your thoughts and takeaways from this episode on social media and tag us @avoiceandbeyond — we’d love to hear your perspective!