The Singer’s Guide

Host Tessa welcomes singer, teacher, performer, and The Singer’s Path Podcast host Sarah Bishop, trained by the IVA, and asks what she wishes singers knew.

Sarah says singers can improve, but it takes time, focus, planning, and support, and she challenges the belief that people are either born able to sing or not, comparing vocal development to bodybuilding or Olympic training.

Tessa and Sarah discuss how singing work is often hidden (like warmups), how “natural talent” can become an identity, and how professionals and teachers still make mistakes.

They note the limits of short-form “one tip” content and Sarah’s move toward longer educational YouTube work.

Sarah adds that singing also reflects a singer’s internal emotional world, describing a “vocal dysmorphia” dynamic and the challenge of improving while accepting the voice you already have.

Sarah shares where to find her work and community.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

02:04 The Big Question

02:30 Singing Takes Time

04:55 Why We Hide the Work

06:27 Talent Myth and Identity

08:30 Pro Gig Reality Check

10:09 Showing the Process

12:19 One Tip Culture Trap

17:05 Emotions and Vocal Self Image

21:50 Where to Find Sarah

FIND SARAH:

Sarah Bishop is a professional singer, actor, songwriter, musician, and internationally recognised voice educator based in New York City.

A graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) with a BFA in Musical Theatre, Sarah has spent the past eight years working professionally across theatre, musical theatre, commercials, and new works. She has seen in various international productions including The Roundabout Theatre Company’s Tony Award-winning production of Cabaret and the new Broadway-bound work, including Griswold’s Broadway Vacation. Her career has taken her across the country and internationally, giving her a firsthand understanding of the technical and artistic demands placed on working professional singers.

Alongside her performance career, Sarah has spent more than a decade developing singers and artists. She is a fully certified teacher through the Institute for Vocal Advancement (IVA) and has trained extensively in contemporary vocal technique and pedagogy.

Since 2020, she has also served as an Associate Voice Teacher with EKM Studios before establishing her own business, Sarah Bishop Vocal Studio LLC. Sarah has coached and mentored Broadway performers, singers featured on NBC’s The Voice, recording artists, professional musicians, and emerging artists preparing for demanding creative projects. Her specialty lies in helping high-level singers develop the technical freedom, consistency, and stamina required for careers onstage and in the studio—without sacrificing the individuality of their sound.

Sarah is also the founder of The Singer’s PATH™, an education platform designed to make sophisticated vocal training accessible to singers around the world. She created and produced its signature technical programs, including Pitchin’ Musician™, The Pillars Series™, and Advanced Mix™, as well as sold-out live trainings including Belt Like a Baddie and Discover Mini Course.

Her programs and events have reached singers across the globe. Her Podcast, The Singer’s Path Podcast and her YouTube channel @singwithbish help to provide continued accessible and free education to singers all across the globe.

Throughout all her products and content, her mission remains the same: to help serious artists build extraordinary, sustainable instruments while maintaining the individuality, freedom, and love of music that made them artists in the first place.

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@singwithbish  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/singwithbish  

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@singwithbish

Podcast: Singer’s Path Podcast - YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/@SingersPATHPodcast.  

Apple pods: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/singers-path-podcast/id1778599804

Facebook: Sarah Bishop Vocal Studio https://www.facebook.com/singwithbish/

Website:  https://www.sarahbishopvocalstudio.com/

The Singer's Guide is hosted by Tessa Smith.

www.tessasmith.com

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🤫 THE QUIET PRACTICE TOOLKIT: 3 step-by-step exercises to improve your singing without making a sound https://subscribepage.io/quiet-practi...

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🤩 Tap here to learn more about the Singer's Practice Hub: www.singerspracticehub.com

🥳 Tap here to work with Tessa: www.thesingersguide.com

🎵 Music by Tessa Smith

🎙 Hosted by Tessa Smith, creator of The Self-Validated Voice and The Singer's Practice Hub.

Host Tessa welcomes singing teacher, swing band leader, and hypnotherapist Katie Crooks, who says singers’ technique may be strong but subconscious beliefs and unprocessed emotions can still block the voice, showing up as issues like jaw tension or difficulty accessing mix.

Katie explains she noticed students’ persistent fear of using their voice early in her teaching career and connects vocal function to emotional expression, including crying and suppression learned in childhood.

She offers a practical starting point: don’t feed the story of why you’re stuck; instead witness sensations and thoughts as a short “biochemical flush” that typically lasts about 90 seconds unless reinforced by rumination.

She discusses easing into believable affirmations, playing a positive “what if” game, and teaching by starting with what’s working rather than deficit-focused critique.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

02:05 The Big Question

02:15 Technique vs Subconscious Blocks

03:09 Katie’s Origin Story

07:33 Biochemical Flush Explained

10:15 Feel It Don’t Feed It

14:14 Affirmations That Stick

19:03 The What If Game

19:48 Teaching Without Deficit Focus

21:36 Hypnotherapist Questions for Lessons

22:59 Wrap Up and Where to Find Katie

FIND KATIE:

Katie Crooks - The Voice Witch - is an expert in helping artistic souls navigate their own subconscious minds to heal old patterns and limiting beliefs, so they can unlock their true creative voice, get boldly visible, and step into their full, majestic potential.

A certified hypnotherapist with 20 years experience teaching pro level singing & spoken voice to thousands of artists and performers, Katie also has years of experience being on stage myself in venues across London and Europe. 

She has a BA and two Masters degrees in music, performance and voice training, plus certifications in Hypnotherapy, Past Life Regression and Life Between Lives. 

Listeners can find her at katiecrooks.com for resources and hypnosis freebies.

The Singer's Guide is hosted by Tessa Smith. www.tessasmith.com

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🤫 THE QUIET PRACTICE TOOLKIT: 3 step-by-step exercises to improve your singing without making a sound https://subscribepage.io/quiet-practi...

----

🤩 Tap here to learn more about the Singer's Practice Hub: www.singerspracticehub.com

🥳 Tap here to work with Tessa: www.thesingersguide.com

🎵 Music by Tessa Smith

🎙 Hosted by Tessa Smith, creator of The Self-Validated Voice and The Singer's Practice Hub.

Host Tessa welcomes vocal coach Lucinda Allen of Voice Unlocked and ICMP to discuss one thing she wishes singers knew: approach vocal challenges with detailed curiosity and careful listening, treating the voice as information rather than a problem to fix.

Lucinda describes how singers often tie identity to vocal ability and self-gaslight by assuming issues are “all in my head,” and she advocates self-compassion, play, and removing moral judgment from technique.

She explains that quick fixes may help in urgent situations but don’t build transferable skills, emphasising learning the “why” so singers can reproduce solutions independently.

Lucinda highlights using multiple feedback modalities, including “listening with the hands” via MDH breathing coordination and educative touch, to form hypotheses and break unhelpful loops.

She shares where to find her online and through ICMP.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:59 The Big Question 

02:28 Curiosity Over Fixing

04:17 Identity and Confidence

06:10 Body Signals and Reframing

09:08 No Quick Fixes

12:17 Listening With Hands

15:17 Where to Find Lucinda

15:49 Final Thanks and Wrap Up

FIND LUCINDA:

Bodywork, MDH Breathing Co-ordination, & Creativity are the pillars of Lucinda's practice in delivering a bespoke & holistic approach for each client.

Lucinda is a strong believer that every person can have a free, dynamic voice, and has devoted her life to delivering practical techniques to support her clients.

Find her at https://www.voiceunlocked.com/ and on Facebook (@voiceunlocked), Instagram (@voiceunlocked) and TikTok (@voiceunlockeduk)

 Host Tessa welcomes U.S. singing teacher and podcaster Chelsea Wilson (Broadway Vocal Coach), whom she met through the Institute for Vocal Advancement, to answer one question: what she wishes singers knew.

Chelsea focuses her answer on women in their 30s–50s who have put singing or performing aside due to marriage, children, careers, or caretaking and now fear their voice has changed or it’s too late to return.

She shares a story from an IVA conference group sing of “You Will Be Found” where a student was moved to tears while reconnecting with singing in community.

Chelsea relates this to her own decade-long break from performing while coaching and raising two daughters, and describes returning to the stage in Raleigh, including Come From Away and a new musical workshop, emphasising that performing, teaching, and motherhood can coexist and that artistry can start with small, local opportunities.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

00:57 Meet Chelsea Wilson

02:21 The Big Question

03:11 It’s Never Too Late

04:04 IVACON Group Sing Story

05:50 Why Women Step Away

07:37 Chelsea Returns to Stage

11:37 All or Nothing Mindset

16:18 Find Community and Sing

19:29 Better With Age

21:29 Now Is the Perfect Time

21:51 Where to Find Chelsea

22:36 Final Thanks and Goodbye

FIND CHELSEA:

Chelsea Wilson is a Broadway vocal coach and voice teacher known for helping singers — and the teachers who train them — build healthy, sustainable contemporary musical theatre voices.

Since 2017, Chelsea has served on the music teams as the associate vocal coach for major productions including School of Rock (Broadway & National Tour), The Phantom of the Opera (Broadway and Int’l Tour), Jesus Christ Superstar (National Tour), and Rock of Ages (Off-Broadway). She is currently the associate vocal coach for Masquerade, the new immersive Phantom production Off-Broadway in New York City.

A graduate of the University of Michigan Musical Theatre BFA program, Chelsea is also a certified instructor and teacher trainer with the Institute for Vocal Advancement, where she now mentors and trains other voice teachers around the world in contemporary vocal pedagogy.

In 2021, she co-founded Broadway Vocal Coach, an online education platform and podcast serving professional and aspiring musical theatre performers worldwide.

In 2026, Chelsea returned to performing in Theatre Raleigh’s production of Come From Away — a reminder that she still loves being onstage just as much as helping other performers thrive there.

Chelsea now lives in Raleigh with her husband and two young daughters, where she balances coaching, performing, and family life — usually with a Diet Coke in hand and strict instructions from her kids “not to sing along!” 

https://www.tiktok.com/@singwithchelsea

https://www.instagram.com/chwils/

Host Tessa welcomes Jeremy Ryan Mossman to the Singer’s Guide podcast and asks what he wishes singers knew.

Jeremy says singers can “start at the end” by beginning lessons with the song and its specific challenges, then using exercises only as needed to serve that context, repeatedly checking changes in the repertoire.

He describes using acting-style given-circumstance games to clarify who the singer is addressing and why, noting that increased specificity often dissolves technical issues and reveals what truly needs technical attention.

He critiques traditional lesson structures and training sequences that delay students singing what they love, arguing for honouring the artist’s goals and building from where they already feel successful.

He encourages singers to count everyday singing as practice if they pay attention and get curious, and explains how simple body-based prompts can “hook” clients into experiential learning.

Jeremy shares where to find him online: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok (Body Based Voice with J Moss) and bodybasedvoice.com.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:33 The Big Question

02:22 Start With the Song

04:23 Storytelling Fixes Technique

07:13 Why Lessons Get Backwards

08:47 Honour the Artist First

11:36 Real World Singing Practice

13:37 Flexible Lesson Structures

16:12 Hooking Clients Fast

17:43 Where to Find Jeremy

18:58 Final Thanks and Wrap

Reel mentioned at 17:46: HERE! 

FIND JEREMY:

Jeremy Ryan Mossman is a teacher of voice, movement, and wholistic expression.  Jeremy has recently moved on from academic teaching after 15+ years in order to focus on teaching in more creative and integrative ways while sharing his passion for wholly embodied singing.

Jeremy has a unique way of reconciling long-held beliefs with new understandings about the body and singing which he teaches to performers on Broadway, on their way to Broadway, and to teachers around the world.  You can learn more about him at www.bodybasedvoice.com

Find Jeremy on Instagram: @bodybasedvoicewithjmoss Facebook: @bodybasedvoicewithjmoss and TikTok: @bodybasedvoicewithjmoss

Host Tessa welcomes singing teacher and performer Molly Marie Walsh, a California-born UK-based musical theatre artist, close-harmony singer (The Honeybirds), Urdang faculty member, and BAST mentor.

Asked what she wishes singers knew, Molly emphasises that “slow and steady wins the race”: vocal growth and mindset change come from little-and-often practice rather than quick fixes promoted by ever-present technology and online “magic” solutions.

She describes reducing overwhelm by setting small, achievable tasks (e.g., in theatre history, the first assignment is simply to get and bring a book) and in voice lessons focusing on one demonstrable, repeatable concept, then integrating it into warm-ups and songs over time.

They discuss the need for teacher confidence in repetition, the value of discernment on social media, and how too many choices can stop practice altogether.

Molly has left social media and is reachable via https://mollymariewalsh.co.uk/

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

02:04 The Big Question

02:30 Slow and Steady Growth

04:27 Teaching Small Wins

07:53 Repeating What Works

09:11 Social Media Quick Fixes

10:29 Good Content and Discernment

14:03 Too Much Choice to Practice

18:09 Finding Molly and Wrap Up

FIND MOLLY:

Born and raised in California, lived and worked in New York and Philadelphia, and now over 12 years a resident and raising a family in the UK, Molly has worn many hats.

As a professional Musical Theatre Performer in the US: the National Tour of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS, and productions of WHITE CHRISTMAS, 42nd STREET, FORBIDDEN BROADWAY, OKLAHOMA! and INTO THE WOODS, and in the UK: Alan Menken's A CHRISTMAS CAROL, JEWISH LEGENDS, and THE MIKADO.

She has been a Vocalist with a classical crossover group, ANCORA, and close-harmony Andrews Sisters trios THE MANHATTAN DOLLS (US), and THE HONEYBIRDS (UK).

She has also been a creative consultant with writing team KANSLEY & LIDERT on their original musicals, CONFESSIONS and AUTUMN RHYTHM.

Molly currently teaches Voice, Musical Theatre and Drama across Buckinghamshire where she lives with her fellow musician-husband, and her two children, as well as teaching Voice, vocal technique, and the History of dance and musical theatre at Urdang Academy in London.

She has also just completed her final module for the BAST Level 5 Extended Diploma in Singing Teaching Skills, for whom she is now a Mentor.

https://mollymariewalsh.co.uk/

In this Singer’s Guide podcast episode, Tessa interviews vocal coach Heather Baker (@thesingingteacher), founder member of the Institute of Vocal Advancement and a master’s-trained vocal pedagogy specialist, about the one thing she wishes singers knew.

Heather emphasises experimenting with vocal tract shaping - playing with vowels and adjustable elements like the tongue, larynx, pharynx, jaw and lips - to find the unique configurations that help each individual voice resonate best.

She explains that different shapes can make singing easier or harder and influence style choices.

Tessa and Heather discuss using recordings and teacher feedback to counter inaccurate self-perception, building trust between internal sensations and external sound, and how willingness to be vulnerable and try new coordinations speeds vocal progress.

00:00 Welcome to Season Two

00:58 Meet Heather Baker

02:40 The Big Question

03:36 Vocal Tract Shaping Basics

05:58 Playful Experiments With Vowels

07:04 Style Choices Classical vs Belt

08:31 Recordings and Feedback Loops

10:35 Familiar vs Comfortable Sounds

11:35 Confidence Vulnerability and Growth

14:06 Where to Find Heather

14:55 Final Thanks and Goodbye

FIND HEATHER:

Heather is a world-renowned singing teacher and vocal coach with over 25 years of experience working with contemporary singers.

Her clients range from Award Winning Recording Artists to West End and Broadway performers to Complete Beginners and everything in-between! She is a Founding Director of The Institute of Vocal Advancement and has amassed over 10,000 followers across her social media platforms.

Heather holds a Masters Degree in Vocal Pedagogy and has completed years of ongoing training and study on the voice. She is an expert in her field and has a passion for helping singers develop their true potential and achieve the results they deserve.

https://www.thesingingteacher.biz/

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