The Happy Singer

Hello, FINALLY! 

The last two weeks have been so busy but I am BACK with an episode on the beautiful (haha) Carole King! I saw "Beautiful: The Musical" on Broadway with two of my students two weeks ago starring Vanessa Carlton. I was very thrilled to see that Vanessa Carlton can act as well! She is so talented. I thought since there are probably a lot of people that can't afford to see Broadway shows all the time or even just for people that are too far away that MAYBE an episode like this would help! 

Sadly, they announced YESTERDAY that "Beautiful" will be closing on October 27th, 2019! So, if you are in the NYC area before then I really recommend you see this. It is such an amazing story of a kind, hopeful, driven, and talented woman and all the cool people in her life. I was very touched by the whole experience. GO SEE IT! 

In this episode I discuss the performance as well as Carole King's background and history. It is brief so if you want to know way more I recommend you watch her discussion at the JFK Library on YouTube or read/listen to her memoir: "Natural Woman." I have have a recording slipped into the middle of us at intermission talking about what happened thus far.  

Hope you have a beautiful day! :)

K

Hello, Singer! 

Glad you found us. This episode is a short one but packed with a few things that you NEED to hear. We can get really hard on ourselves and it can be so damaging to the learning process as a singer. This episode is just me telling you to shift your negative thoughts and turn them around. 

Stop saying: "I can't do this." "That is WAY too high." "I will never be able to sing this song." "My body doesn't do that." 

You guys know what I am talking about?! 

Be kind to yourself today and know that music is for YOU! It is for all of us. Don't give up on it and it won't give up on you. 

Be well! 

K

Welcome to The Happy Singer Podcast! Think this is one of my favorite episodes so far. Meet our guest for this week:

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Stephen Gritzan is the founder of Iris Records, a multi-faceted music business that has been serving up vinyl & compact discs to the New York area since the summer of 1996. Stephen attended American University in Washington DC, majoring in communications/economics and graduating in 1982. After briefly writing for NBC Radio, he joined the wild world of Wall Street, working for Merrill Lynch for 8 years in the turbulent late 80s. After being spit out of that profession with not much more than his records in tow, Gritzan started his retail vinyl shop, Iris Records on Brunswick Street in Jersey City, initially being open just one day a week (Friday, for the curious). Time flew by! 25 years later, he closed the original Iris Records on February 16th, 2019 to great fanfare. "Le Petit Iris" opened across the street from the original shop a few months later and is back to being open just one day a week (yes, Friday, 2-7 PM) Iris sells outdoors around 100 times a year: in Jersey City, at street fairs in Manhattan & Brooklyn, at the Upper West Side's Grand Bazaar NYC many Sundays during the year. His company Record Riots also hosts popular collectible record shows in 8 different markets several times a year, including New Haven CT, Albany NY, and Jersey City (of course). Gritzan hails from Roselle Park, NJ. His mother Tamara was one of New Jersey's Teachers Of The Year in 1985.  Stephen's other passions include writing, his girlfriend Genevieve in Montreal, swimming laps and rooting against the New York Mets on the radio. He turns 60 in January and can't wait. The Iris website is www.irisrecordsjc.com and features pertinent information about the company's doings all year long. Keep in touch!

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Make sure to follow Iris on Instagram as well! @irisrecords

Thank you so much for listening and I hope to hear from you on our "The Happy Singer Discussion Group" on FB! 

K :) 

Welcome back! 

Alison Hughey, MT-BC is a music therapist, music teacher and performer. Her private practice, Carolina Music Therapy, serves clients across the lifespan but focuses on older adults with dementia. She performs as a soloist (vocals and ukulele/guitar), freelance flutist, and as a member of the Afterschool Special. She, her husband, and their rescue dog live in the metropolis of Cowpens, SC (sarcastic joke- it’s a very small town, in between Greenville, SC and Charlotte, NC).

Follow her on Instagram:

@aliflute

@carolinamusictherapy 

And on Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/AlisonMTBC/

Happy Singing, Ya'll! :) Don't forget to follow us on Facebook and on Kristy's Instagram, @kristybissell 

Welcome back for another episode with The Happy Singer Podcast! 

This weeks guest, Kathleen Bell, is a total gem of a person, singer, and teacher. Listen to her musical journey as well as her expertise knowledge on Acid Reflux in singers and afterwards be sure to come join our "The Happy Singer Dicussion Group" on Facebook with all your questions! 

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Soprano Kathleen Bell has traveled extensively, performing voice recitals of classical voice and musical theatre repertoire in Denmark, Germany, Austria, Australia and Italy. Her stage performance credits include the La Contessa in “Le Nozze di Figaro,” Adele in “Die Fledermaus,” Miss Warbelwell in “The Impresario” and Mother Superior in “The Sound of Music.” Bell has been a featured soloist with the Miami Symphony, the Miami Civic Chorale, the Miami Oratorio Society, the Hispanic Lyric Theatre, the Middle Saxony Orchestra in Germany, the Amalfi Coast Music Festival in Maiori, Italy, and the Rome Festival Orchestra.

Bell has been teaching for over 25 years privately and at the high school and college level. While maintaining a private studio, Bell is currently a voice instructor at Shenandoah Conservatory Arts Academy, a visiting artist instructor in musical theatre at the Barbara Ingram School for the Arts and adjunct voice instructor at Mary Baldwin University.

Kathleen Bell holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in voice performance and is a certified teacher in levels I, II and III of Somatic Voicework™, the LoVetri Method and a National Center for Voice and Speech Certified Vocologist. She is currently a doctoral candidate in voice pedagogy at Shenandoah University with specializations in vocal health and contemporary commercial music styles.

Bell’s research interests include voice habilitation, collaboration with various body modalities and the effects of acid reflux on the voice. She has been a faculty and workshop presenter at Virginia National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), the Pan-American Vocology Association Conferences in Toronto and Seattle, Mary Baldwin University and at the International Symposium of the Voice Foundation in Philadelphia.

Her former students are currently singing in national musical tours, on Broadway and in A-level opera houses, as well as teaching in secondary and collegiate settings.

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Thank you so much for listening! If you feel so inclined, please, rate and review! Bless UP! 

Kristy :) 

Hey there, Singer! 

Today's episode is all on the lovely vocal register Head/Falsetto Voice! This can tend to be the vocal register that people "poo poo" on because it is "easy." I am a huge fan of head dominant singing. I find it very relaxing and reflective. What about you? 

We get into the anatomical/pedagogical stuff but also talk about how it can be used effectively! 

As a supplemental add on to this episode I have made playlists so that you can listen to successful artists sing in these registers! Please go to iTunes or Spotify and follow the playlists I made for Head Dominant Voices and Chest Dominant Voices! I'm having trouble adding the links here for some reason, but you can find them if you join our Facebook group: The Happy Singer Discussion Group!

Hope you are feeling blessed and well. Remember, you are worthy and belong here on this earth. It is a miracle that you are here. I listened to a song recently by John Craigie (a FANTASTIC songwriter) and his lyrics say:

"You're doing it wrong. Dissecting the bird. Trying to find the song... It's a miracle you're here at all."

He goes on to say:

"So when the candle flickers, when the days get dark

There is a reason you are here. Hugs. -Kristy

Welcome back for another episode of The Happy Singer Podcast!

I am so happy you are here!

This week we have my lovely new friend, Cassandra Claude, on to chat with us about performance tips, vocal technique, but most importantly - the heart of singing!  

Go ahead and check her out at:

http://cassandraclaude.com/#home

An accomplished and in-demand voice teacher, Cassandra has become a staple and representation of fine vocal technique to emerging singers today.

In addition to upholding a thriving vocal studio, she is currently a voice professor at the University of Miami, Frost School of Music and is a leader in promoting cultural and artistic awareness through vocal instruction. Her voice lessons remarkably not only educate, but also enrich and enlighten people of all ages therefore nourishing the appreciation of vocal performance. After she earned a Bachelor in Music Education and began teaching, her passion to enrich lives through a person’s individual voice coupled with her entrepreneurial spirit would soon lead her to create Cassandra Vocal Arts Studio and later Performing Artist Mastermind Inc.. She subsequently went back to school to earn a Master’s of Business Administration in Entrepreneurship to provide better leadership in this realm.

Cassandra is the author of soon-to-be-released book, “A Singer’s Compass” and along with performing and the degrees she holds, she continually studies the art of commercial singing, songwriting, and successful techniques for marketing musical artists. Through her work with record labels, managers, publishing houses, and sporting events, she knows what it takes to produce exciting, unique singers.  Under her leadership, Cassandra produces singers that mesmerize audiences through pure tonal ability and skill of the vocal instrument.  Yet beyond that, her goal with these vocalists is to produce a confident and “honest” singer with a timeless voice that stands out.

Thank you for listening to the podcast! If you are so inclined, please rate and review! It helps me to reach more people. :) 

Kristy Bissell 

Hello, there!

This week it's just me again talking about one of the most important components in getting good at what you do. Do you have the nerve to do this? The answer, I hope, is YES! It is in there somewhere but it is completely up to you. Let me know what you think! 

Don't forget to like the: The Happy Singer Podcast page and then you can be added into "The Happy Singer Discussion Group." This week I am asking everyone post themselves singing a song they long. Let's build up that strength to be vulnerable together! Remember, this is a completely safe zone. 

Thank you so much for listening! 

Kristy Bissell

Hi there! 

We have a fun episode for you this week. If you love Fleetwood Mac you have found the right episode to listen to! If you don't know who they are for some reason, no worries! You will now! I have three people come and talk with me for this one:

First, my lovely Mom, Carla Bissell. She is the woman who introduced them to me when I was just a wee thing. I am forever grateful to her. This episode is dedicated to her. 

Second, one of my students, Clark Yount. He is such a blast to work with and I see great things for him.

Last but not least, Kalene, another student of mine who just put out a single: "Silver Secret Lace." Go check it out! It is very Fleetwood Mac-ish. Me and her are big super-fan's    

Very grateful to all that participated. As always, thank you for dealing with the growing pains of this podcast. I definitely messed up the audio somehow at the very end. Sorry, friends! I will be working on cleaning it up for future episodes. I would love to know your thoughts - Do we like it more candid or more polished? Let me know here or on our Facebook discussion group: The Happy Singer Discussion Group. You can also find me on my Instagram at:

kristybissell 

Hugs to you all and happy singing! 

Hey there! 

Thanks for checking out another episode of The Happy Singer Podcast! This week's episode is all on my favorite vocal register: Chest voice! 

This is a really strong sound that a lot of singers idolize and sometimes they just give up on and say it is only for the stars. Nope, nope, NOPE! It is for the masses! Everyone should use this sound. Not only does it feel good (so so good) but really highlights lyrics of your songs. Sometimes you even find the benefits of it outside of your singing life!

If this helps you in anyway - let me know! Subscribe, rate, and review! Don't be afraid to join our Facebook group: The Happy Singer Discussion Group. You can also find me on Instagram:kristybissell 

Thanks so much, singers! Sending you love today!