Working with the Gender Diverse Professional Voice User

THIS BLOG HAS BEEN UPDATED AND MOVED TO OUR NEW WEBSITE. GO READ IT HERE.

---

As voice teachers, it’s important to be inclusive of all minority populations in our vocal studios and communities. I’m so excited to introduce Gender Affirming Voice Specialist Heather Gross to you to help us do just that.

Heather Gross is a vocal therapist and singing voice specialist who specializes in helping gender diverse professional voice users find a speaking and/or singing voice that aligns with their true identity.

The voice is such a personal part of all of our identities. Working on it can be a very vulnerable experience for anyone, which is why we as voice teachers have a responsibility to create a safe space for our clients to experiment, fail, try again as they explore and develop their voices.

In this episode

2:35 - What is one tip you would give voice teachers when working with gender diverse students? 

4:05 - What is your process for helping someone find their authentic voice?

7:04 - How do you incorporate tools from your work as a mindfulness and life coach in vocal training?

10:35 - How do you support a students who desires a sound that may not work for their instrument?

12:05 - What practice tips do you give students?

14:10 - How do you support your students through the emotional aspects of vocal training?

15:05 - Do you use a lot of the tools from Speech Pathology as a vocal coach?  

17:20 - 10 question speed round

Shifting our culture

Does this subject make you uncomfortable? Do you feel unsure about how to talk about it? This is most likely a sign that you need to educate yourself more on this topic.

This is a time to question our ideas about what we think gender looks like. Let’s let go of stereotypes, and take the time to look deeply at our own limiting beliefs that prevent us from living in a world where people are seen and treated as equals.

Creating a safe space for gender diverse singers and speakers in our voice studios will not only benefit all singers, but our entire society. By educating ourselves and those around us to be inclusive of underrepresented communities, we are helping to create a more inclusive culture where there is space for everyone to be their authentic selves.

Working with Heather gross

Heather hosts a transgender voice group once a month where she hosts diverse guests who present on topics that are helpful in the transgender community.

Heather is the owner of Live Vocally, which is a virtual voice studio. She is based in Pasadena, CA.

You can learn more about Heather and follow her on all of her social media outlets here:

Heather Gross, M.S. CCC-SLP, Singing Voice Specialist

instagram: @live_vocally

website: livevocally.com

Further resources:

There are many wonderful resources out there. Here a few to get you started.

CREATING GENDER LIBERATORY SINGING SPACES: A TRANSGENDER VOICE TEACHER’S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WORKING WITH TRANSGENDER SINGERS by Eli Conley

TRAN 101.  There are 4 videos in this series (each about 4 minutes). Start HERE.

All Your Questions About Gender-Neutral Pronouns Answered From grammar to what to do if you mess it up. http://www.teenvogue.com/story/they-them-questions-answered

Allyship 101 Transvivor is the transgender resource for all, helping trans people go from surviving to thriving.

How to Sing More Powerful High Notes

THIS BLOG HAS BEEN MOVED TO OUR NEW WEBSITE. GO READ IT HERE.

Every singer wants more Powerful High notes.

But, they can be really challenging if you don’t know how to skillfully execute them.

Learn more in this episode of VoiceTalk!

Why are high notes easier for some people?

High notes always came pretty easily to me. 😮  Powerful high notes, on the other hand, did not. 😩

Let’s look at why this was the case.

I have a naturally higher voice.

Some people have naturally shorter vocal tracts that more easily resonates higher frequencies and smaller vocal folds, which take less tension to get up to pitch.  That’s why children have higher sounding voices.

Now, that being said, I had to learn how to sing high notes with power. I had a nice classical head voice, but I wanted a more contemporary sound, one that would translate to pop and musical theatre, and that took some time and training.

I had to learn to “mix” more of my chest voice into my head voice to get more power.

Some singers naturally accept the sensations of “mix” more easily, and yet some find it more challenging. I would say for me it was the latter.

What is mix?

If we are talking about the two extremes we can go to in the voice, we have this gentle, hootie, falsetto, head voice, like a whoop, or we have this more intense sounding yell or chest voice.  

The headier, whoop voice can go really high without too much effort, but there isn’t much power or intensity.  

The yell voice has intensity, but on it’s own, it can’t go up that high without causing a lot of strain and tension.

So we need to be in the middle of them and use a mix of both, so that we have the strength and intensity of the yell or chest voice and the flexibility of the whoop or head voice.

There are two sets of muscles that primarily control pitch

• Thyroarytenoid (TA) - These muscles are inside the vocal folds, and they shorten and thicken vocal folds. They are primarily associated with our lower register and are dominant in the production of chest voice.

• Cricothyroid (CT) - These muscles are outside the vocal folds, and they stretch and thin the vocal folds allowing us to go up in pitch. They are associated with our upper register and are dominant in the production of head voice.

The TA and the CT muscles don’t always want to play well together. 

Some singers (most of us) have to learn how to get them to coordinate and work together because one or the other wants to take over.

If you’re a singer who experiences that big flip in the middle of your voice where you go from a stronger sounding lower register to flipping into a lighter and weaker sounding higher register, then you know what I’m talking about here.

It’s more challenging to get a stronger more “leaned in” sound in your high notes than a more heady classical sound because you have to engage more TA muscle (the ones that shorten and thicken) to get that more intense sound.  

When you start activating more of that TA muscle, you can increase the amount of resistance to the air, and increase the closed quotient. As the vocal folds are vibrating, they are really just opening and closing really fast. So even if they are opening and closing the same amount of times per second, if you increase the closed quotient, it means they are staying closed longer than they are open, which is why you get more of that resistance to the air coming up from the lungs.

Because the TA muscle can tend to either want to either be on or off, as you start to employ more it, you will often overshoot. You end up with too much and you start to feel squeezed and all jammed up.

Do’s and don’ts:

The classical way is very helpful to begin to establish that part of our range. Rather than going for a really powerful sound, you can add a little at a time.

Do:

• Experiment with lip bubbles, straws, and other SOVTs

• Try exercises on more closed vowels Foo, or Boo, Whee

• Sing songs and substitute those same closed vowels for the word.

Once you can sing higher notes in your head voice, you can slowly add more TA muscle and get more depth in the vocal folds to start to get more power.

• Try a bratty Nay

• Use the speaking voice:  “Hey guys!”

• Use the concession guy’s voice “Get your hot dogs!”

• Use “one” or “no”

• Speak the line of the song up high in your speaking voice.

DON’T:

• Force it. If it’s uncomfortable and you are squeezing then stop.

• Use wide vowels like AH “father” or AE “bat” when you are going up to belt a note. Instead, narrow them by adding OU “book” to the AH “father”. And, add EH “bet” to the AE “bat”.

Have fun and let me know how it goes in the comments below or email me at annie@annielittle.com!

Want to explore your high notes and MIX voice with a skilled voice teacher?

Home Studio Recording for Singers with Guest Graham Cochrane

THIS BLOG HAS BEEN UPDATED AND MOVED TO OUR NEW WEBSITE. GO READ IT HERE.

---

I want to introduce you to Graham Cochrane of Recording Revolution.

It’s time to get on the path to recording success!

Do you want to record and release your own music, but you don't know where to start?

Do you have some recording equipment, but you’re not sure it’s right?

Have you tried recording your music, but you get stuck trying to make your songs sound good?

I’ve got answers to help get you started!

Here’s what you’ll learn on this episode of VoiceTalk:

3:20 Why is an interface helpful? Can we use a USB microphone?

6:15 What do you think that high pitched sound is with the USB microphone?

7:35 How do you get started learning the editing software?

10:45 What is the best way to add instrumentals to a song?

14:20 What are the names of the tutorials Graham created for free on how to create a song from scratch?

16:15 How do you get started with the mixing process?

17:15 Best tip! Learn E. Q. is the most helpful tool to start learning.

18:30 Should you use pre-sets?

20:10 Quick tip to get you started! (pull in a song you love to play with it)

21:20 What other projects and businesses are you creating?

25:00 Other ways for musicians to make money.

I know recording can feel really overwhelming.

Graham has some of the most helpful audio recording tutorials on the internet.

I highly suggest getting on his mailing list so you can make sure to be notified when he opens the doors to EP Blueprint course that gives musicians a roadmap to write, record, mix, release, and promote an EP of 4-6 songs independently.

Here’s where to find him:

IG @thegrahamcochrane | FB www.facebook.com/recordingrevolution | Website www.recordingrevolution.com

Where are you at with your recording? Leave me a comment and let’s get you on the path to recording success!

Meditation and Mindfulness to Improve Your Singing and Performing

THIS BLOG HAS BEEN MOVED TO OUR NEW WEBSITE. GO READ IT HERE.

---

When it comes to singing your best, your biggest obstacle might just be your mind.

The mind can be distracted by thoughts that are completely outside what we are doing.

These thoughts can be anything from your to-do list, thoughts of self-judgment, or wondering what you should have for lunch. Sound familiar? It happens to the best of us, and it doesn’t really benefit us when we are trying to learn a new skill or perform at our best.

This mind chatter can be especially unhelpful right before a performance. The more we try to control it, the more work it is and the more distracted we become.  

Sometimes, even if you are trying to think positively or self-coach with uplifting and encouraging thoughts, it can cause over-excitement and can even cause us to produce too much adrenaline, neither of which is that helpful right before a performance.

Mindfulness can help. Perhaps you’ve heard the term mindfulness, or your teacher has told you to practice mindfully. 

What is Mindfulness Exactly?

Mindfulness is being fully in the present moment.

There are a lot of benefits to this as singers and performers, and also just for life!

• We have more self-awareness and compassion.

• We feel calmer, have more clarity, and are less reactive to stress.

• We are fully engaged in what we are doing, free from distractions and judgment.

Sounds pretty good right? I think so, too! So, how do we do it?

In the same way, we exercise our bodies to stay physically fit, we have to train our minds to be mentally fit.  

How do I train my mind?

train your brain with meditation

Meditation has been a powerful tool for me in training my own mind. It’s something I have done for the better part of 20 years. It’s benefited me both as an artist and in my life in general. It’s helped me deal with anxiety (performance and other), stress, and depression.

I’ve tried many different kinds of meditation, and the beautiful thing is that there is no one right way to do it, so you can find what works best for you.

While meditation can be a part of someone’s spiritual or religious practice, it doesn’t have to be, if that’s not your thing. So, if you’ve always thought meditation was only for monks and yogis, it’s not. Anyone can meditate.

“In the same way we exercise our bodies to stay physically fit, we have to train our minds to be mentally fit.”

— Annie Little

How do I meditate?

Meditation doesn’t need to be complicated. In fact, It’s one of those things that, in it’s true essence, is very simple.

You can do guided or unguided meditations. Guided meditations may be a bit easier for people who are new to meditation, and I like guided meditations for myself, as I feel like I am more easily able to surrender to the experience.

Practicing meditation can be as simple as:

1. Choosing something to focus on, like your breath.

2. Noticing when the mind wonders.

3. Bringing your attention back to the breath.

The mind is going to wander, and that’s okay. It’s not about trying to push away your thoughts and feelings. It’s about allowing them to come and go without judgement, and not follow them as a train of thought.

When you do notice the mind wondering, just gently bring it back to your point of focus.

Some days this will feel easier than others. Sometimes a lot of thoughts and feelings will keep coming into the mind. That’s fine. We want to gently stay with that exercise of bringing the mind back to the point of focus, no matter how it feels. That’s the exercise. The act of bringing your focus back is what meditation is.

“We are training the mind to have the ability to be intensely focused on one object, yet be aware of everything else. This creates a state of mind that is focused on the one hand and relaxed on the other. This is a state of flow.”

- Excerpt from a Headspace meditation with Andy Puddicombe

Benefits for learning

Benefits like increased awareness and improved focus come in handy when it comes to learning or improving your singing skills.

I always take my students through a mini guided meditation at the beginning of each lesson, and I consistently notice an increase in focus, relaxation, and a willingness to learn.

Awareness is so important when learning to sing, especially on a physical level.  There are so many sensations that we feel when we use our voices.  It’s helpful to deepen your awareness of your body to be able to map these sensations, so you can recreate the ones that work.

Benefits for performing

When the body is stressed, it triggers the sympathetic nervous system to release stress hormones like epinephrine and cortisol into the blood stream, causing a fight or flight response.

This can result in the heart pounding, sweaty palms, and tunnel vision, which can be enough to make some people not even want to perform.

Meditation can help keep the mind and body relaxed, the parasympathetic nervous system kicks in and causes the body to stop releasing all those stress hormones.

Meditation can help us learn to condition the body to relax when we need it the most, allowing for a more optimal performance experience.

Think of a cheetah in the wild, still and relaxed, in no rush at all, yet ready to pounce at any moment.  This condition of being relaxed and focused at the same time allows us to be in a state of flow, present in our minds and bodies. We are able to more easily tap into our intuition, allowing the “magic” of the present moment into our experience, letting go and trusting ourselves.  

Just like singing, Meditation takes practice

daily practice

Like most skills, we get the most benefit from meditation when we do it as a regular practice.  The brain reacts just like our body does when we stop exercising.  It likes to go back to it’s old ways.  

So, to keep these benefits and continue to increase them takes regular practice on our parts, so we are continuing to train the brain. 

Creating a habit of it by doing it at the same time each day and attaching it to another habit like brushing your teach, can be really helpful.

Even 10 minutes a day can cause positive changes in the brain.

Science Can Motivate Us to practice

Proof that it works can keep us going on the days we just don’t feel like it

The science behind the benefits of meditation is growing rapidly, and it can really motivate us to keep a regular practice.

Functional MRIs have allowed us to actually observe what happens in the brain when people meditate. Meditation can literally change the brain.  Studies show that it can rewire neural pathways that improve both the mind and body by building new positive neural pathways and decreasing the negative ones.  This is called neuroplasticity. 

Studies showed an increase in gray-matter density in the hippocampus (where learning, memory, self-awareness, compassion, and introspection happen in the brain) and decreased density in the amygdala (otherwise known as the lizard brain, which processes fear, anxiety and stress).  The amygdala is also involved in the processing of emotions triggering the fight or flight response. 

Meditation also effects the medial pre-frontal cortex, the “me center” of the brain, from where we primarily interpret the world.  This part of the brain is involved in regulating feelings of fear and anxiety.  Meditation can decrease the neural connections to the “me center”, allowing the brain to less focused on yourself, so when bodily sensations of fear and anxiety come up, you have the ability to not respond as strongly to them.  

Your ability to assess momentary physical sensations for what they are increases, so you allow them to come and go without becoming caught up in a story about what they mean.  This allows you to be less reactive and feel more balanced.

Don’t forget to grab your free 3-minute body scan guided meditation

---

Further Resources

Headspace - Headspace is currently offering a year of Headspace Plus for anyone who is unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is an incredible resource for learning and maintaining a regular practice.

Deepak Chopra’s 21-Day Guided Meditations - Deepak Chopra regularly offers free 21-Day Meditation Challenges that are wonderfully insightful and another way to start the habit of meditating regularly.

Waking Up - Created by neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris, Waking Up is a guide to understanding the mind, for the purpose of living a more balanced and fulfilling life.

INLP Center - Mindfulness Training: Experience the Benefits in Your Life - More about mindfulness and training opportunities here.

Sources for this article:

https://www.headspace.com/blog/2015/01/30/which-parts-of-the-brain-are-most-resilient-to-change/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2017/05/15/the-effects-of-meditation-on-the-brain/#5e2c08272ddb

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3184843/

The 3 Essentials to Better Singing

THIS BLOG HAS BEEN MOVED TO OUR NEW WEBSITE. GO READ IT HERE.

---

Do you wish you knew what to do when your voice isn't behaving? 🤷🏼‍♀️⁠

My wish for you, as a singer OR a speaker, is for you to be smart about your voice, so that when it isn't working quite the way you want it to, you can figure out what to do for yourself.⁠

I want to help you do just that.

In this episode of VoiceTalk you'll learn:

1. What 3 systems need to be in balance.

2. Why this will improve your voice.

3. How to work on each. 

Understanding this will help you know what to adjust for your voice to sound and feel it’s best.

There are three systems that have to work together for the voice to sound its best, and if one or more isn’t functioning optimally, it will likely throw the rest of them off, too.

We have the RESPIRATION, PHONATION, and the RESONANCE.

Respiration is the breath. It’s like the gas in your car. It gives the energy needed to run the motor.

Phonation is the vibration of the vocal folds (fancy for vocal cords). This is what creates the sound wave. If we keep on with the car analogy, it’s the motor.

Resonance is the filtering that happens in the vocal tract, which is the space from your vocal cords to the tip of your lips. You can think of it almost as a resonating tube. In the car analogy, it is the type of car you drive. We all have unique sounding voices because no two resonating tracts are shaped exactly the same.

“When the breath, the vocal cords, and your resonators all work together, that’s what gives us a feeling of stability when we’re singing.”

— Annie Little

These systems are all interdependent on each other.

The Breath

When you breath you send air up to the vocal folds which are vibrating by opening and closing super fast. When you sing an A 440, which is the pitch a violin tunes to when you see an orchestra tuning, your vocal folds open and close 440 times a second. The higher you sing, the faster they vibrate. The lower you sing, the slower they vibrate.

When the vocal folds close they are compressing these air molecules which are like opposing ends of magnets. They like to be a certain distance from each other. These compressed air molecules build up energy and when they are released they create a sound wave.

The Vibration

Sound waves are actually made up of multiple pitches stacked on top of each other. Those pitches are called harmonics, and our ear blends them together so it sounds like one note. All of those different harmonics are what get formed and filtered when they pass through and resonate in the vocal tract.

We want the sound wave to be balanced, so that there is enough information to be filtered when it’s resonating.

If the vocal folds are too pressed together or aren’t coming together enough, that will cause the sound wave to be out of balance. If the sound wave is out of balance, and there is not enough energy in the high frequencies, then voice will sound dull. If the sound wave doesn’t have enough energy in the low frequencies, then it will sound shrill or steely.

The Resonance

This sound wave is filtered by your resonating tract, which is your throat, mouth, and occasionally the nasal cavity, if you are going for a more nasal sound. (Most of the time we don’t want a nasal sound!) We want the sound wave to be balanced because the resonating tract can only boost or reduce the different harmonics that are present.

The resonating tract is primarily controlled by vowels. When it’s all working together nicely, you get a really nice “ping” to your voice, and it sounds good because you are boosting or reducing the parts of the sound wave to get the color or tone you want.

When it all works well, there is then a feedback of energy to the vocal folds that creates a back pressure and this is when singing feels really good and easy!

That means the air needs to be the right amount and be flowing nice and evenly, and the vocal folds need to be working optimally so they create a balanced sound wave, and then the vowels need to be optimized to filter the sound wave.

Let me know if you found this helpful in the comments!