Send a text

In this episode of This Is A Voice (S12 Ep6), Jeremy Fisher and Dr Gillyanne Kayes continue the story from “The Secret Singer” (Ep5) and go deeper into what happens when a singer’s path gets interrupted.

Gillyanne shares what came after stopping singing in her late 20s, how she rebuilt confidence (slowly and with care), and why her “happy ending” wasn’t about chasing the stage again. We talk identity, grief, agency and the surprisingly liberating idea that loving singing doesn’t require loving performance.

Then we zoom out into the bigger picture, how singing skills transfer into teaching, leadership, presenting, training and research. Plus, we unpack the difference between rehearsal and performance as totally different nervous system tasks, and why connection with the audience can change everything.

If you’re a singer, teacher, vocal coach, choir leader, or anyone who’s ever felt like you need to “prove” your voice, this one’s for you.

Chapters

00:00 “Singer Interrupted”
01:14 The happy ending (and the grief)
02:45 Returning to singing, rebuilding confidence, technique + agility
05:12 Seven years off singing, and why that can still lead somewhere good
06:15 “Performing spoils my day/week”, permission to redefine success
08:22 Singing identity vs public performance
10:45 What would your happy ending be if you didn’t have to prove anything?
12:19 Teaching, training, presenting, research, performance changes shape
16:47 Connection with the audience, social engagement, polyvagal lens
18:24 Transferable skills singers forget they have
20:04 Rehearsal vs performance, what the audience changes
24:09 Starting from your real emotion, plus “it’s OK to be crap for 10 minutes”
28:37 Nervous system expectations in performance, what helps

Mentioned:
Melissa Forbes, Stop Chasing Perfection, Start Singing for Connection (This Is A Voice Season 11, Ep13 https://youtu.be/r5-Lq4ithDc

Safe Space 2 - Polyvagal Theory for Performance - our new online course with Franka van Essen
https://vocal-process-hub.teachable.com/p/safe-space-2-polyvagal-theory-for-performance-with-franka-van-essen

The Master-Apprentice survey - please fill in this survey (10-20 mins)
https://www.cognitoforms.com/VocalProcess1/Master-Apprentice-Model-In-Singing-Teaching


If this episode resonates, drop a comment, what part hit home for you? And tell us, where do you “perform” even when you’re not on a stage?

Remember to like, subscribe, and hit the bell icon for more insightful episodes. Leave a comment below on what inspired you the most! 👇

You can find out about our Teacher Accreditation for singing teachers, vocal coaches and choir leaders and start your own journey here
https://vocalprocess.co.uk/teacher-accreditation/

We've also got this ↓

For the best self-guided learning, check out the Vocal Process Learning Lounge - 22 years of vocal coaching resources (over 600 videos) for less than the price of one private singing lesson.
Click on the link https://vocalprocess.co.uk/learning-lounge/learning-lounge-level-2-deep-dive/

If you want to discover if our singing teacher training programme works for YOU, message us - we can share the process for joining Cohort26. https://www.cognitoforms.com/VocalProcess1/TheAccreditationProgramme

Get the One Minute Voice Warmup app here, it's got a 4.9star rating
Appstore https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/one-minute-voice-warmup/id1212802251
Google Play https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.speechtools.warmup&hl=en_GB

Check out our Voice Journal, written with Rayvox's Oren Boder https://www.rayvox.co.uk/products/voice-journal?ref=VOCALPROCESS

Find us - follow us on the socials!

Send us a text

In this episode of our This Is A Voice podcast, we do something we've never done before.

We have a “special guest”, not in the studio but on a recording, one that hasn't been played for more than 40 years. You'll have to listen to the first few minutes to discover who the special guest is!

This conversation goes straight into the stuff singers quietly carry:
The feeling that “good enough” is a place you never reach.
How training can install a deficit narrative.
Why the master-apprentice model can turn learning into permission-seeking.
How confidence regresses when the teacher-student dynamic isn’t handled with care.

There’s also a very practical tangent Gillyanne and I both care about.
If you never sing music with scales written in them, stop treating scales like the goal. Build exercises from the repertoire you actually perform. Stop singing scales, start practising riffs!

We close the episode with a second archival excerpt. Same “special guest”. Same question underneath it all.
What would change if you stopped auditioning for permission, and started making music from ownership?

***Apologies for the slightly variable sound quality, our microphones weren't working properly***

Credits
Archival excerpt 1, Handel (German aria excerpt “Meine Seele hört im Sehen”)

Archival excerpt 2, Mozart (Concert Aria K490, "Non temer, amato bene")

Special guest singer: ???
Violin: Penelope Wayne Shapiro
Piano: Jamie Clarke
Recorded 1983

Master-Apprentice Survey link: https://www.cognitoforms.com/VocalProcess1/Master-Apprentice-Model-In-Singing-Teaching

The Birmingham Vocal Coach blog on Rethinking Vocal Coaching https://www.thebirminghamvocalcoach.co.uk/blog


Remember to like, subscribe, and hit the bell icon for more insightful episodes. Leave a comment below on what inspired you the most! 👇

You can find out about our Teacher Accreditation for singing teachers, vocal coaches and choir leaders and start your own journey here
https://vocalprocess.co.uk/teacher-accreditation/

We've also got this ↓

For the best self-guided learning, check out the Vocal Process Learning Lounge - 22 years of vocal coaching resources (over 600 videos) for less than the price of one private singing lesson.
Click on the link https://vocalprocess.co.uk/learning-lounge/learning-lounge-level-2-deep-dive/

If you want to discover if our singing teacher training programme works for YOU, message us - we can share the process for joining Cohort26. https://www.cognitoforms.com/VocalProcess1/TheAccreditationProgramme

Get the One Minute Voice Warmup app here, it's got a 4.9star rating
Appstore https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/one-minute-voice-warmup/id1212802251
Google Play https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.speechtools.warmup&hl=en_GB

Check out our Voice Journal, written with Rayvox's Oren Boder https://www.rayvox.co.uk/products/voice-journal?ref=VOCALPROCESS

Find us - follow us on the socials!
🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/Vocalprocess
📸 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/vocalprocess
📖 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/vocalprocess

#vocalprocess #teacheraccreditation #voicetraining

Send us a text

Most singers can learn the notes and the words. That isn’t the part that gets in the way. The real block sits under the surface. It’s the moment where the song should land and somehow doesn’t. You can feel it. The audience can feel it. Something is missing.

In this episode, we dig into that missing piece
How singers learn songs too fast
How the ear follows the recording but not the key
How interpretation can be lovely but still empty
And how inhabiting a song changes everything

We talk through the internal logic sitting inside every piece of music
The logic of the harmony
The logic of the text
The tiny decision points singers often sail past without noticing
The moments of energy change, tempo change, key change, and emotional shift that carry the story

There are real examples from our masterclasses, including:
A classical song that suddenly locked into tune once the chords were stripped back.
A singer who delivered a perfect interpretation but didn’t sound like himself until we dug for his version of the truth.
A musical theatre song that revealed its turning point in the silence between phrases.

00:00 Why your song isn't landing
01:24 A shift in vocal technique
03:32 Being honest about your background
05:17 Helping a singer with tuning
08:39 Learning the song but not the key
10:15 Change points help you map the song
11:23 Do you memorise too quickly?
12:23 The Speed Run and other techniques
13:40 Acting without acting training
16:14 Green Finch and Linnet Bird
19:23 Not For The Life Of Me - Hidden in the text
21:47 Gimme Gimme - When ARE decisions made?
24:03 I Remember Sondheim
25:54 I Don't Sound Like Me!
30:30 Interpretation versus Inhabitation
35:06 The "studio-perfect" voice myth
37:44 This is our context, what's yours?

If you teach singers, this episode gives you tools to diagnose why a performance isn’t landing.
If you’re a singer, it shows you how to slow down, listen differently, and find the place where your voice actually sits inside the song.

Tell us how you approach learning or teaching songs.
What do you notice, break down, strip back, or question?
We’d love to hear it.

I Cain't Say No (Oklahoma) analysed by FlyNorthTheatricals https://www.tiktok.com/@flynorththeatricals/video/7566630322780081439

Remember to like and subscribe for more insightful episodes. Leave a comment below on what inspired you the most! 👇

You can find out about our Teacher Accreditation for singing teachers, vocal coaches and choir leaders and start your own journey here
https://vocalprocess.co.uk/teacher-accreditation/

We've also got this ↓

For the best self-guided learning, check out the Vocal Process Learning Lounge - 22 years of vocal coaching resources (over 600 videos) for less than the price of one private singing lesson.
Click on the link https://vocalprocess.co.uk/learning-lounge/learning-lounge-level-2-deep-dive/

If you want to discover if our singing teacher training programme works for YOU, message us - we can share the process for joining Cohort26. https://www.cognitoforms.com/VocalProcess1/TheAccreditationProgramme

Get the One Minute Voice Warmup app here, it's got a 4.9star rating
Appstore https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/one-minute-voice-warmup/id1212802251
Google Play https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.speechtools.warmup&hl=en_GB

Check out our Voice Journal, written with Rayvox's Oren Boder https://www.rayvox.co.uk/products/voice-journal?ref=VOCALPROCESS

Find us - follow us on the socials!
🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/Vocalprocess
📸 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/vocalprocess
📖 Facebook - h