Teaching background
I am currently studying for a Masters in Vocal Pedagogy through the Voice Study Centre and the University of Wales in Cardiff. I have had a long-held interest in performance science and vocal mechanics and this Masters is giving me the opportunity to research these areas of my practice under the tutelage of an incredible array of world-renowned clinicians and academics. Additionally, following 40-hours of tutorials and practical assessments of my teaching, I am proud to say that I have recently achieved a distinction in the ITOL recognised Certificate of Vocal Pedagogy, delivered by voice scientist Kerrie Obert. So far in 2024, I have completed two short courses with Broadway coach and author, Amanda Flynn, on belting and ‘mixing’, with a specific application to teaching.
I began coaching young singers in 2009 when I founded a children’s recording business, BelleStars. The business pretty quickly extended to teaching adults in all styles and at all levels. As a singer and performer myself, I was naturally creative and could confidently draw out great performances from my clients but it became apparent that these skills alone were not enough to realise the individuals’ true potential. I set about learning as much as possible about vocal science and best teaching practices and now my clients reap the benefits of my geekery. I love sharing my knowledge and nothing gives me more pleasure than seeing it applied to positive effect. I have seen the miracle of individuals who really believed that they would never be able to sing, blossom into competent and self-confident singers. I have learned my craft from the best teachers in the world and it is their inspirational evidence-based work that underpins my own teaching practice.
In November 2022 I attended - Supporting Trans and Gender Expansive Voices in the The Music Classroom with Dr Bridget Sweet hosted by The Voice Study Centre. I have felt an increasing need to develop my teaching skills in this area and although I have a lot of work to do, this course and the dialogue it perpetuated, have been a revelation.
In July 2022, I attended Ron Morris’s excellent course on breathing in singing, particularly the Accent Method widely regarded as a healthy and effective method of breath control during phonation. This system has been used widely in clinical settings for many years before being adopted by the singing community.
In 2021 / 2022 I attended courses on the following: teaching the opposite gender, the use of images as teaching tools and a scientific approach to understanding registers. I have just enrolled on the legendary Natalie Weiss’s brand new course in contemporary commercial singing to gain a better understanding of the elements of riffing and improv.
In November 2020, I participated in a course on the use of straws in vocal rehabilitation and singing, facilitated by Oren Boder, regarded as one of the UK’s highest authorities on the subject. Using straws can help a singer through register changes and help identify appropriate air pressure and flow for a particular task. Invaluable.
Also in 2020, I completed another advanced Singing teaching course with Vocal Process covering vowel shaping, resonance, the pubescent voice and practical workshops with 3 young singers, I also attended further workshops with Vocal Process on head and chest registers and a detailed look at straw phonation. Dr Jenavora Williams’ course on musculature of the larynx and a course in ‘mindfulness in singing’ with Christina Shewell opened my eyes to some exciting new ways of teaching.
I have a particular interest in the Estill Model which looks closely at the bio-mechanics of voice production, allowing singers to sing across genres and to colour their voices in an incredible variety of ways. I completed my Estill levels 1 & 2 in October 2018. In June 2019 I attended a course on implementing Estill into teaching, facilitated by renowned expert, Ann Marie Speed and in March 2020 I attended another of her courses on implementing Estill into contemporary commercial singing.
In November 2019, the Advanced Teachers Retreat with Vocal Process proved to be a challenging opportunity to consolidate and update my knowledge base and hone my teaching skills. Excellent leadership from Dr Gillyanne Kayes and Jeremy Fisher was coupled with fantastic contributions from the other participants who were highly experienced teachers from all over the world specialising in different genres. Among the many topics we covered were vowel and consonant shaping, harmonics, new evidence based understanding of the soft palate, SOVT and straw phonation for developing good pressure and flow.
In September 2019, I attended a course run by the British Voice Association on voice, style and pedagogy in jazz singing with presentations and workshops from a very impressive panel of highly regarded professionals. In early 2019 I attended a 3-day course held in Gateshead run by Anne Leatherland of Vocal Intuition on vocal mechanics. A workshop masterclass on teaching musical theatre repertoire run by OB1 was insightful and useful and delivered some imaginative approaches to teaching performance and character development. I am also enrolled on an ongoing on-line course hosted by Kerrie Obert (SLP at Ohio State Univ) which includes modules on vibrato, vocal contributions to ring and twang and performance anxiety. I was lucky enough to have been professionally mentored in London by Maureen Scott (The Voice, Bjork, Delta Goodrum, Royal Academy of Music, Sony, Universal and lots more).
I am First Aid qualified, DBS checked, Child Protection in Education (level 2) Music, Professional Chaperone licence holder, Member of the Musicians’ Union (MU) and the British Voice Association (BVA). I have Public Liability Insurance through the Musicians’ Union. All certifications are kept up to date and available to view on request.