Expert coach, sound healer, vocalist, author of Coaching for Performance Excellence, and host of The Soulfull Sound podcast, Simone Niles joins Alexa on Singing Teachers Talk. Simone's work includes empowering soul-driven creatives and entrepreneurs to generate meaning in their work and life.

BAST Training helps singers gain the confidence, knowledge, skills & understanding required to be a successful singing teacher.

"The course was everything I hoped it would be and so much more. It's an investment with so much return. I would recommend this course to any teacher wanting to up-skill, refresh or start up." Kelly Taylor, NZ ...more

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This week Alexa is joined by an author, educator, presenter, and vocal coach who specialises in teaching the child singer. She is the founder of Born 2 Sing Kids and mentors other voice teachers in working with this particular demographic. Dana Lentini joins us from New York to tell you all you need to know about teaching children to sing. 

KEY MOMENTS

I always want to grow and become a better version of myself
I use lots of props in my lessons to make it fun
Think about teaching as a life skill

RELEVANT LINKS & MENTIONS

• Zoltán Kodály Method/John Spencer Curwen Solfege Hand Signs 
• Teaching the Child Singer: Pediatric Pedagogy for Ages 5-13 by Dana Lentini
• Kids’ Singing Song Book Series - Level 1 by Dana Lentini
• Teaching Singing to Children and Young Adults by Dr Jenevora Williams
• Teaching Children to Sing by Kenneth Phillips 
• Full Voice Music (Nikki Loney)
• Voice Teachers for Young Singers Facebook Forum
• The Full Voice Podcast with Nikki Loney 

ABOUT THE GUEST

Dana Lentini is a US-based mentor, author, presenter, and educator specialising in working with the child singer. After cultivating techniques as a singer, performer, and music educator, Dana Lentini created Born 2 Sing Kids to nurture the development of young singers through a systematic, yet customised approach. Through various forms of mentorship, she helps teachers learn about the unique differences in teaching singing to children and how to build their own successful studios. 

Dana has been sought after as a presenter for universities and professional music organisations as well as for the National Association of Teachers of Singing, for whom she has also served on various panels and committees. Her consulting and courses on teaching children in the private studio are offered through her website at danalentini.com. Dana holds a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from The University of Southern California, Thornton School of Music and a Master of Music degree in Vocal Pedagogy from Oakland University. Her book, Teaching the Child Singer: Pediatric Pedagogy for Ages 5-13, is available from Hal Leonard Publishing. Dana's new and unique spiral approach to repertoire development can be found in her Kids' Singing Songbook series, to be released by Hal Leonard in fall 2022.

EPISODE RESOURCES 

BAST Training

Guest Website
danalentini.com
born2singkids.com

Social Media
Instagram: @lentinidana
Facebook: @Born2SingKids

BAST Training helps singers gain the confidence, knowledge, skills & understanding required to be a successful singing teacher.

"The course was everything I hoped it would be and so much more. It's an investment with so much return. I would recommend this course to any teacher wanting to up-skill, refresh or start up." Kelly Taylor, NZ ...more

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This week’s guest has made it her mission to open up the conversation on mental health in the performing arts. Raffaella Covino has spent the past ten years working on the West End and internationally as a Dance Captain and Swing. She’s also the founder and director of Applause for thought which offers accessible mental health training and support to those in the entertainment industry. Raffaella joins Bronwyn on Singing Teachers Talk to chat about all things mental health. 

KEY MOMENTS

‘Mental health wasn’t spoken about the way it is now’ 

‘Education equals prevention’ 

‘Mental health is so tricky because it seems invisible’ 

ABOUT THE GUEST

Raffaella Covino is a creative who has spent the past decade working as a Dance Captain/Associate and Swing across the West End, UK and internationally. She took a year-long hiatus from the industry in 2018 as she navigated mental illness. But born out of that experience is the now triple award-winning Community Interest Company Applause for thought. 

AFT launched in February 2019 with the ethos and mantra ‘education equals prevention’. It facilitates lower-cost mental health, support, talks and workshops, accredited training and bespoke consultancy to the arts and entertainment industry.

EPISODE RESOURCES 

BAST Training 

Guest Website:

• www.applauseforthought.com

Social Media:

• Instagram: @applauseforthought
• Twitter: @ApplauseThought

BAST Training helps singers gain the confidence, knowledge, skills & understanding required to be a successful singing teacher.

"The course was everything I hoped it would be and so much more. It's an investment with so much return. I would recommend this course to any teacher wanting to up-skill, refresh or start up." Kelly Taylor, NZ ...more

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Dr Jenevora Williams was the first singing teacher to be awarded a PHD in voice science in the UK and was awarded the BVA Van Lawrence prize for her outstanding contribution to voice research in 2010. Her research has taken her to subjects such as vocal health, performance anxiety, teaching young singers, and singing in the brain. Dr Jenevora Williams joins Alexa this week on Singing Teachers’ Talk to discuss vocal rehabilitation for singers. 

KEY MOMENTS

‘Legally you need to be covered by insurance, and if you’re not then you’re a bit of an idiot’ 

‘Our life is governed by learned patterns of behaviour’ 

‘Parting company is an absolute last resort’ 

RELEVANT LINKS & MENTIONS

• Teaching Singing to Children and Young Adults by Dr Jenevora Williams
• Vocal Health Education
• National Association of Teachers of Singing
• Dana Lentini
• Nikki Loney
• Dr Steven Sims (ENT Laryngologist Consultant)
• Voice Care Centre
• Duncan Rock
• Joanne Bozeman (on hormones)
• Singing Teachers Talk Podcast: Ep.32 - The Bio-Psycho-Social Model with Stephen King
• Everyday Voice Care - The Lifestyle Guide for Singers and Talkers by Joanna Cazden
• The Voice Clinic Handbook
• Manual of Singing Voice Rehabilitation by Leda Scearce 
• Laryngeal Endoscopy and Voice Therapy - A Clinical Guide by Sue Jones
• The National Centre for Voice Studies

ABOUT THE GUEST

Dr Jenevora Williams is a leading exponent in the field of vocal health and singing teaching. After a successful career in Opera, Jenevora turned her attention to investigating healthy and efficient vocal function. The combination of academic study and practical experience has resulted in a unique perception for understanding the human voice. She was the first singing teacher to be awarded a PhD in voice science in the UK, and won the 2010 BVA Van Lawrence Prize for her outstanding contribution to voice research. Her book, Teaching Singing to Children and Young Adults, has been enormously popular with singing teachers throughout the world. She is well-known for her imaginative and rigorous international training courses for singing teachers and voice professionals. She now runs Vocal Health Education and Evolving Voice, training the first generation of Voice Rehabilitation Specialists worldwide. As a teacher of singing, she works with professional singers of all ages in both voice rehabilitation and career mentoring.

 EPISODE RESOURCES 

BAST Training 

Guest Website:

• jenevorawilliams.com
• evolvingvo

BAST Training helps singers gain the confidence, knowledge, skills & understanding required to be a successful singing teacher.

"The course was everything I hoped it would be and so much more. It's an investment with so much return. I would recommend this course to any teacher wanting to up-skill, refresh or start up." Kelly Taylor, NZ ...more

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This week Alexa is joined by a physical therapist, whose approach to manual therapy has evolved to consider bio-psychosocial influences, as well as incorporating shared decision making between clinician and patient, Walt Fritz. Walt is on Singing Teachers’ Talk today to tell you all about manual therapy.

Check out the BAST Youtube channel to watch Walt work with Alexa, offering her a series of patient-perspective, self-guided exercises to help relieve symptoms of a vocal difficulty
 

KEY MOMENTS

‘Ask ten clinicians what manual therapy is then you’ll get twenty different answers’ 

‘I was trained that it was all about the connective tissues, then my evolution started’ 

‘Our work is not about what we do with the tissue, it’s about what we do with the person’

RELEVANT LINKS & MENTIONS

• Singing Teachers Talk Podcast: Ep.32 - The Bio-Psycho-Social Model with Stephen King
• The Naked Vocalist Podcast: Ep.57 - Walt Fritz on Vocal Massage, Manual Therapy, Nocebo
• Vocal Health Education
• Singing Teachers Talk Podcast: Ep.63 - Developing a Singer’s Self Awareness And Clarifying Intention with Robert Sussuma
• Research Citations (used to support Walt’s work)
• BAST Youtube Channel Segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfbgPNUpoJQ

ABOUT THE GUEST

Walt Fritz is a physical therapist from Upstate New York, USA. Since beginning work as a manual therapy educator in the mid-1990s, he has more recently evolved into teaching a unique interpretation of manual therapy for speech-language pathologists, registered dental hygienists, voice professionals, and related communities. This approach advances views of causation and impact from historical tissue-specific models into a multifactorial narrative, leaning heavily on biopsychosocial influences. His principles apply to a broad spectrum of intervention models using a model of evaluation and intervention that incorporates shared decision-making rather than clinician-as-expert. Unlike traditional laryngeal manipulation, Walt offers the clinician and patient a more subtle approach, aligning well with newer models and allowing the patient to frame the intervention from their preferences. Seeing the utility of manual therapy not as a standalone treatment but as an integral part of clinicians' more extensive body of work, Walt makes his approach easily assimilated into those treatment protocols.

Walt presents his workshops internationally through his Foundations in Manual Therapy Seminars, WaltFritz.com, and maintains a physical therapy practice in Upstate, NY.

EPISODE RESOURCES 

BAST Training

BAST Training helps singers gain the confidence, knowledge, skills & understanding required to be a successful singing teacher.

"The course was everything I hoped it would be and so much more. It's an investment with so much return. I would recommend this course to any teacher wanting to up-skill, refresh or start up." Kelly Taylor, NZ ...more

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BAST founder Line Hilton joins Alexa this week to continue on from a discussion they had in Episode 62 - How to Choose the Best Vocal Exercises. This week the focus is on the larynx and finding the best vocal exercises for larynx stability.  

KEY MOMENTS

‘Most singers don’t even realise they can control the height of their larynx’

‘Ask your students to notice what’s happening while they’re singing, awareness is the first step’

‘This is how it should feel and I can feel where it is’ 

‘Many singer are not tuned into the feeling of singing’

RELEVANT LINKS & MENTIONS

• Singing Teachers Talk Podcast: Ep.62 - How to Choose the Best Vocal Exercises with Line Hilton: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4dWJ0kU0g65yJIpgVVWP6I?si=a62fc2bfd4ac4381
• David Phelps: https://www.davidphelps.com/
• Kerrie Obert: obertvoicestudios.com
• Singing Teachers Talk Podcast: Ep.59 - Top Tongue Tips for Boosting High Frequency Energy with Kerrie Obert: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1P8K7Ys9gpeCaT2eUqIQQX?si=0a000c384b414171

 EPISODE RESOURCES 

BAST Training 

Guest Website:

• www.basttraining.com

Social Media:

• @basttraining

BAST Training helps singers gain the confidence, knowledge, skills & understanding required to be a successful singing teacher.

"The course was everything I hoped it would be and so much more. It's an investment with so much return. I would recommend this course to any teacher wanting to up-skill, refresh or start up." Kelly Taylor, NZ ...more

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Two guests for you today on the show, firstly it’s Kaya Herstad-Carney who is a BAST trainer and educational director for vocology in practice. Our second guest is Claire Cannon, lead vocalist for Flip and Fill and vocal coach specialising in advanced vocal techniques. The pair joined Alexa this week on Singing Teachers Talk to chat about becoming a vocology in practice authorised teacher. 

KEY MOMENTS

‘It’s about having the network of experts to take questions to’ 

‘If you want to progress and gain more skills and knowledge, you have to be in the room’

‘It’s important to be part of a network which is really passionate’

RELEVANT LINKS & MENTIONS

• Jono McNeil
• Wolfgang Saus
• Dr Felix Graham
• Lisa Haupert 
• Ian Davidson
• Justin Stoney
• (Amber Mogg Cathey) Nashville Vocal Studio
• Gemma Sugrue
• Teach Voice with Chris Johnson
• Voice Study Centre
• Heidi Moss
• Line Hilton
• Johan Sundberg 
• Get Vocal Now 
• Kerrie Obert
• Songbird Studio
• Kaya’s ViP Email Contact: [email protected]

ABOUT THE GUESTS

Kaya Herstad-Carney

Kaya is a creative with a wide skill set, ranging from powerful performances of her original music, vocal coaching & singing teacher training, artist development & co-writing, artistic direction for Threshold Festival and gig promotion, band & choir direction/arranging, mentoring and community workshops, in addition to her lecturing career across the popular music subjects including voice, songwriting, band skill and music industry studies. Originally from Norway, she made the UK her home in 1999. She is an established artist with a track record of performances at The Royal Variety Show, to the BBC Songwriting Showcase, touring UK and Europe. 

Kaya has a varied portfolio career and is a passionate singer, songwriter, performer and a harmony/vocal fanatic, vocal arranger and producer, festival director, mentor, musical/choir director, vocal geek and senior lecturer with a wide range of experiences and interests on and off the stage. She has a particular love for vocal habilitation and artist development in the Contemporary Commercial field of music including popular music, musical theatre and extreme vocals. 

She is the Director of Education for the global vocal organisation Vocology in Practice (ViP), managing the education programme, and is a singing teacher trainer for BAST. Before taking on the course

BAST Training helps singers gain the confidence, knowledge, skills & understanding required to be a successful singing teacher.

"The course was everything I hoped it would be and so much more. It's an investment with so much return. I would recommend this course to any teacher wanting to up-skill, refresh or start up." Kelly Taylor, NZ ...more

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Joining us today is the founder of the Singing for Health Network who has worked in music for wellbeing and music education for over 20 years. She is the director of the charity Music for Good and holds a masters degree in vocal pedagogy through the Voice Study Centre, where she is now a senior lecturer. Emily Foulkes joins Alexa this week on Singing Teachers Talk about singing for trauma and the Singing for Health Network.

KEY MOMENTS

‘We’re hard wired to sing, we were singing before we were speaking’ 

‘We can see  the connectivity of singing together’

‘If I could do this every day, I think I could manage my pain so much better’  

RELEVANT LINKS & MENTIONS

• The British Lung Foundation
• Phoene Cave & The Musical Breath
• Dr Stephen Clift; Sidney De Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health at Canterbury Christ Church University 
• Bjorn Vickhoff et al; Choral Singing Has a Soothing Effect on Heart Rate
• (For trauma awareness) Peter Levine; The Body Holds the Score by Bessel van Der Kolk; Stephen Porges Polyvagal Theory 
• Singing for Health Network Partners: Sound Sense; Sing Up & Sing Up Foundation; Making Music; Natural Voice Network 
• Sing Up

ABOUT THE GUEST 

Emily has worked in Music for Well-being and Music Education for over 20 years, from national level at Youth Music, managing grant funding and networks to working as a practitioner. Since 2008, Emily has lived in Cornwall where she is the Director of Music for Good, a charity providing and supporting music for well-being in a range of settings.
After receiving a bursary to complete MA studies, Emily gained a Distinction in her MA in Voice Pedagogy with a specialism in Singing for Health and Well-being. Her research and specialist work has led to winning commissions from the NHS and being awarded funding. Her research into Online Mindfulness and Singing for people with Anxiety and/or Depression is published in the International Journal for Community Music. Emily is a Trauma and Mental Health Practitioner and Trainer and is working with the Sing Up Foundation to further develop and roll out training for Singing Practitioners.
Emily has presented her research at numerous conferences and has trained more than 100 singing practitioners in Trauma and Mental Health informed practice. She set up the Singing for Health Network in 2021 with the vision to bridge research and practice and support the singing for health movement. The aspiration is to bring together researchers, practitioners, healthcare professionals and to provide a useful platform for sharing and supporting the field. Emily is a Senior Lecturer with the Voice Study Centre supporting students on the MA in Voice Pedagogy.

EPISODE RESOURCES 

BAST Training 

Guest Website:

• singingforhealthnetwork.co.uk

BAST Training helps singers gain the confidence, knowledge, skills & understanding required to be a successful singing teacher.

"The course was everything I hoped it would be and so much more. It's an investment with so much return. I would recommend this course to any teacher wanting to up-skill, refresh or start up." Kelly Taylor, NZ ...more

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This week's guest is Kim Chandler, a renowned contemporary vocal coach and session singer who teaches professional singers from her studio in Marbella. Her career as a performer has seen her provide vocals for TV and film and she often presents workshops for teachers of voice. Kim has also created the Funky'n'Fun vocal exercise series and a curriculum poster used by fellow contemporary voice teachers in their studios. Kim joins Alexa on Singing Teachers Talk all the way from sunny Spain. 

KEY MOMENTS

‘The more you do it, the better you get, the more exposure you get’ 

‘I like the challenge of not knowing what I need to do next’

‘We’re like the decathletes of the singing world as session singers’

RELEVANT LINKS & MENTIONS

• Michael McDonald Top of the Pops: YouTube.com/watch?v=DapM2CSVdUg
• Humidiflyer
• Curriculum Poster
• The Ultimate Vocal Voyage by Daniel Zangger Borch 
• Funky Fundamentals Online Course
• Training Contemporary Commercial Singers by Elizabeth Ann Benson 
• (YouTube) Breaking Down the Riffs by Natalie Weiss.
• Fun Vocal Exercises for Improvisation by John Fluker

ABOUT THE GUEST 

Kim Chandler is a renowned contemporary vocal coach/session singer. She runs a busy studio in Marbella, Spain, coaching arena-level band singers, charting artists & professional vocalists. Kim also helps singers rebuild their voices after surgery & rehabilitation and has worked with HMUK for years in this capacity.

Kim has decades of high-end performing experience. Her voice is heard on TV series, films, albums, cruise ship shows, thousands of jingles worldwide and has backed & supported many international artists. Kim has performed at some of London's most iconic locations such as the Royal Albert Hall and Buckingham Palace.

Kim is regularly invited to lead workshops, teacher training events and present at voice conferences. She spent more than a decade in leadership positions for the British Voice Association, as President & Director and Head of Communications, and as a Principal/Senior Lecturer at Leeds Conservatoire & London College of Music.

Her pedagogical output features in academic compendiums such as "Training Contemporary Commercial Singers" and "Teaching Singing in the 21st Century". Kim is the creator of the popular "Funky 'n Fun" vocal exercise series used by singers, teachers and institutions alike and a new curriculum poster for CCM teaching studios.

EPISODE RESOURCES 

BAST Training helps singers gain the confidence, knowledge, skills & understanding required to be a successful singing teacher.

"The course was everything I hoped it would be and so much more. It's an investment with so much return. I would recommend this course to any teacher wanting to up-skill, refresh or start up." Kelly Taylor, NZ ...more

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Something a bit different this week as Alexa is joined by two guests. Cat Ogden is a singer and vocal coach who specialises in singing for mental health and wellbeing, and she is alongside founder of Sing Now, Sarah Joyce. As you’ll see from the episode title, congratulations are in order as both guests on Singing Teachers Talk are expecting, so the topic of conversation today is all around understanding pregnancy for the singer and the self-employed.

KEY MOMENTS

‘I was literally vomiting either side of lessons’ 

‘Acid reflux through trimesters 1, 2, and 3 was a really big one for me’ 

‘When it comes to performing I’m more relaxed than I ever have been’

RELEVANT LINKS & MENTIONS

• Singing Teachers Talk Podcast: Ep.55 - Teaching Singing for Mental Health and Wellbeing with Cat Ogden
• Dr Catherine Gardner
• Vocal Health Education
• Pregnancy Sickness Support: https://www.pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk/; @pregnancysicknesssupport
• Medication List
• Happy Mum Happy Baby Podcast

ABOUT THE GUEST
Sarah Joyce
On graduating from Guildford School of Acting in 2008, Sarah made her West End debut in Zorro at the Garrick Theatre, covering and playing the lead female role, Luisa. This was followed by a world tour as principal singer on board Cunard’s renowned Queen Victoria. Sarah then toured the UK with the 25th anniversary production of Phantom of the Opera, covering and playing Madame Giry, and appeared in the London Palladium production of Scrooge starring Tommy Steele, where she played Mrs Cratchit.
As well as running her own choir in Surbiton, Sarah gigs with the London Contemporary Voices and is lead singer for the Soultanas, funk & soul band. In addition, Sarah enjoys working as a vocal coach at her studio in Guildford as well as teaching at Italia Conti and the University of Creative Arts. She holds a certificate in vocal health first aid from Vocal Health Education, and is now a Vocal Habilitation Professional.
Cat Ogden
Cat Ogden trained at UCLan in Music Theatre and is currently studying for a Master’s in Voice Pedagogy with the Voice Study Centre. She specialises in teaching children and young adults, and in singing for mental health and wellbeing. Cat has a certificate in mental health first aid, vocal health first aid and has completed the BAST 20 hour course. She lives in Cheshire.

EPISODE RESOURCES 

BAST Training

Guest Website:

• sarah-joyce.co.uk
• sing-now.co.uk
• catogdensinging.com

Social Media:

• @sarahjoycesing
• @catogdensinging

BAST Training helps singers gain the confidence, knowledge, skills & understanding required to be a successful singing teacher.

"The course was everything I hoped it would be and so much more. It's an investment with so much return. I would recommend this course to any teacher wanting to up-skill, refresh or start up." Kelly Taylor, NZ ...more

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