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Well, hello and welcome back to Find Your Voice Rock Your Confidence. I am so excited for today. I'm going to be giving you eight. Not one, not three, not five, but eight different ways for you to rekindle your passion for singing and embrace your inner diva friends. Yes, it is time. This is the time of year right now.

You've been taking care of. Everybody else running kids here and there, perhaps all of their activities, you're, you might be a little exhausted. You might be asking yourself, when is it my turn? When do I get to do something that I love just for myself? This is the time. [00:01:00] This is the time. Friends, this is a great time of year and, and what I'm finding, we get lost.

I, I remember, you know, when the kids were younger, elementary school particularly, the dishes and the laundry and. Running my business and back then my husband used to travel a lot out of the country for weeks at a time and I, I remember, you know that Sandra Bernhardt song, I think it was, is this all there is and feeling so discouraged and exhausted and, and I mean, days on end.

When is it my turn to just. Do something that I love and , the first part of this today is if singing is something that you used to love to do, there is no better time than to jump back into it right now if it is something that you've always wanted to do. But you're like, eh, I don't really know if I'm doing it right.

I don't wanna hurt myself. [00:02:00] I don't want anybody to hear me. This is a big one, right? It's a form of holding back. This is the time and in this episode I'm going to cover a number of things, but the, the first thing is really just. Rekindling that interest, rekindling that desire. I'm not saying you need to be an emerging artist.

You do not need to be one of my LA clients that are recording and going on tour and preparing for big stages and performances. This is for your everyday person, although if you are an emerging artist or that's something you think you wanna do, this is also a great podcast for you as well. So number one, embrace.

That inner diva rockstar, you know, get ready to channel who, who are those artists or those musical groups that when you hear their music get you excited, they, [00:03:00] you know, life changes. I just recently went through this myself. I've been so busy being of service to my voice clients that I really forgot.

Why I started doing this in the first place. When I started out, I was, I was playing guitar, I was in guitar lessons, I was in a songwriting class. I was in a, I was taking piano. I was doing all of these things, and then I finally landed in the vocal aspect and I stayed there and I, I focused. But the whole reason I ever became a vocal coach, a music industry professional was because of my own love for music.

And singing, performing wasn't even part of my thing back then, but I've, I got so busy being of service to everybody else that I forgot how much I love playing my guitar, hanging out with myself if I need to be motivated for anything to give back to those dishes and laundry again, you know, anything [00:04:00] that I don't want to do, the instant game changer.

Is to go put on. I think I have a, a, a number of playlists. One of my favorite is my girl power. It's titled my Girl Power Playlist. I get an extra shot of energy. I'm reinvigorated. I can get that task or that job or whatever it is. I need to do that. I don't want to do music is my go-to. That's the way to get to it.

So really go turn on those favorite artists. Those songs, pull up those old playlists and just get yourself back in the groove. Just get yourself feeling that in your body, in your brain, in your cells, and get out there and play with that again. Number two, sing like nobody's listening. People. We have forgotten how to play.

We've gotten so serious about all of those things that we think. We need to do all of the [00:05:00] need to do, need to get done that we've forgotten how to play. So I, I work with a lot of shower singers, car singers. I have a, a huge amount in recent months, I've had a number of karaoke singers, not just one-offs, but couples.

That started out doing karaoke in their, their home or we now have started what I call the karaoke club here in the area where I live. And it is a way for my. Vocal clients to practice what they've been doing in private study or at karaoke at home and get that out in the community and just get comfortable being in front of a live audience.

And it has really paid off in spades. I mean, we, we recently had a client showcase. I don't do recitals, rec, I, and no shade on my friends, colleagues, peers out there that do recitals. [00:06:00] We all have our, our different thing that we like to do a recital for me, recitals for me are very constricting.

I, I, I cannot, for me, a recital means. Sitting quietly with my hands folded in my lap and not making any sound until the singer or the performer is done. And then we give our kudos and, and yay. And then we're quiet again for the next person. Showcases with my clients, they are working with a live professional band on a stage in a public venue.

And we are celebrating, we are inviting friends and family and, and fans and, and we recently, the greatest compliment. I think as a singer, as a performer, is for people to get up and dance while you're singing. And we had that in spades just a couple of weeks ago. And, and the singers, these were just amateur, not professional just for fun, just for hobby [00:07:00] rekindling that, that, that thing that they used to do, and just setting that on fire and to see everybody grow the way they did.

I'm so incredibly proud and moving that forward. So get back to playing. Sing out loud in the car. Let it rip in the shower. Come out and join us at a a karaoke club night. And get back to playing and just have a good time. Right. Number three, rediscover your musical roots. So I mentioned this a little bit earlier, you know, just reem, immersing yourself in those old songs.

Artists you know, That's, that's the beauty of music. That's why we hear music, you know, in movies and in film, they are created for a purpose. These, the, the songs, the keys that they're written and the time signatures that they're done in is to invoke huge emotions, right? There's actually. A formula [00:08:00] for writing music for certain purposes.

A for example, and I'm not sure if these are exactly correct, but if you want to write a Hit Pop song, for example, you would do it in the key of G. Perhaps one, and you would do it at the you know, 154 beats a minute. That is, you know, and there's some other criteria in there that you would add, but that is the formula for writing a hit song.

You wanna write a song for a film or movie with a A scene where you want your audience to cry, you're going to be writing that in a slower tempo, you know, maybe 70 or 80 beats a minute or less, and it's gonna be in a minor chord minors, cause that, that, that's. Opposite of your major, major is very happy and light.

And one, one of these future podcasts. I'm gonna bring the guitar, I'm gonna bring the piano in. I'm gonna demonstrate some of these things I'm sharing with you today. But if [00:09:00] you want to invoke sadness, And that heartfelt connection, you're gonna slow all of that down and write it in a minor chord.

There is that. Go back and immerse yourself, reignite that spark that used to get you excited about singing and playing and moving and dancing. Anything to do with music, the, you know, drumming. These are all wonderful ways to reignite that I have picked up. Spinning, riding a bike and not going anywhere.

Amazing how many miles I can go and how many calories I can burn. So suddenly, but what really drives that spin class, this, this teacher, or any spin class, is the music she puts incredible. Shout out to Laura Mack. I don't know if she'll ever hear this, but Laura, you do such a great job. Of curating the perfect playlist.

And every single class she comes in and it's very specific. [00:10:00] She plays with themes and the holidays, and there's that buildup as we're building up our speed and our strength. And there's the cool down another one at the place that I hang out. Amber she loves that old school blues rock. I just, you.

These music for me. Is motivation to do any number of things. And sometimes it's to do nothing. You know, my, my quiet daily meditation practice there are no drums. There's no speed going in there. This is calming. It's all about my breath work. It's about slowing things down. That is a very different genre of music.

Number four, join a singing community. I mentioned. The karaoke club. We meet once a month at a local venue. A wonderful place where we show up as a community, but then you have public members who aren't really part of [00:11:00] our group. There's something about that that. It brings you together. You know, music crosses all lines.

You know, there's, there's no, it crosses cultures, it crosses faith beliefs systems. It, it's, it's all inclusive. And whether you're singing at your church or you're part of a worship team in your place of worship or I mentioned karaoke already. Local, quieter community theater. There are so many ways to plug in.

You know, if you're, if you're really wanting to up your game, go be part of a community. Don't be shy. Don't think you know, oh, I'm, I'm the only one. You know, what if I'm not good enough? Oh, that just, hmm, what if I'm not good enough? What if you are, you know, there there's no such thing as not being good enough to sing.

Right. My, my old tagline used to be, if you can talk, [00:12:00] you can sing. If you can walk, you can dance. And that's not mine. I'm sure I borrowed that from somewhere along the road. But plug into a community, it's so much more motivating. The support that I see even in my group programs and classes. You know, we get to a point where I, I'm, I actually.

I kind of feel left out a little bit when I, I bring these communities of people together, which is really, that, that's the goal, right? To bring you together in a community like-minded people, working on a similar goal or task, and to see the friendships that form and the support and love for one another.

What, what? What creates organically comes together. I'm, I'm just like a bridge person. I bring everybody together, I hook you, connect you together, but then you all take off on your own and you start meeting outside of your private studies and group classes and. [00:13:00] You know, I'm lucky to even be invited anymore.

I don't take that personally. My job is done. I've done what I set out to accomplish, but it is really a beautiful thing just to go plug in. You find out you're not alone. The creativity and collaboration that comes out of these groups sometimes, it just, it warms my heart. I feel so good. I'm so fulfilled, and I, I just.

It's such a beautiful thing. You don't have to do this alone. And there are a ton of free things. If you're not in a position, you don't have it in your budget to work with a professional coach or mentor go check out what's available for free online in meetups. You know, meeting at the part. We have a thing down here.

I dunno if they're still meeting, but. It was the ukulele club would meet down at the waterfront. It was like every Sunday. And this group, I watched it go from, you know, five people to [00:14:00] 15 people. Last time I saw it was like a huge circle of ukulele playing. We used to have a drum circle, did the same thing that got up to like, 50 people out on the beach once a weekend.

And I don't know if these things still exist, but go see what's available in your community and go get yourself plugged in. Number four, no, that was number four. Join experiment with different styles. Number five, different genres. Now this is a wonderful exercise so I do work with. Different. All different genres, all different styles, blues, rock, jazz, musical theater opera even this, this you know, not classic rock the, the screaming Rock.

And there's a correct way to do that. If you happen to be listening to this and you are doing this metal screaming style of singing, please, please. I beg you if that is your [00:15:00] thing, work with a professional coach. That is the quickest way to ruin your vocal chords. You don't, if you're in this for the long haul, you wanna be taking good care of your vocal chords.

And I've talked a lot of in the past podcasts about healthcare and how to take care of your voice. It is critical if you're doing that style of singing, that you do it correctly. I love. One of the exercises that I do, I've done with, with emerging artists, and I should do this with all of my singers, is taking a genre, taking a song, for example, a country song, and.

Same, same lyric and turning it into a totally different song. So you could turn, well, pretty easy to turn a country song into a ballad or a ballad into a country song. Lots of those already on the market. But to take a musical theater song, for example, And turn that into a country song or a country song into a [00:16:00] musical theater song.

It is beneficial to do those types of exercises. This again, is where you tap into a creative source that you might not have realized was there until you, until you start playing with it. I wanna encourage, you know, broaden. This is a great way to broaden. Your vocal range to broaden your vocal chops and again, keep it about playing.

Right. Forget about doing any of this perfectly. You know, I, I, I'm very clear when I'm working with clients that it is never about, Perfection. It's about practice and playing. Playing first, and then practicing seeing what works, what sticks, what resonates with you, letting go of what doesn't, and just having a good time, right?

Just, just have, have fun. Embracing diversity, playing with different genres of music. I recently discovered [00:17:00] quite by accident. I think it landed in the genre of alt rock and it happened. I'm, I'm a Spotify user and I, they don't sponsor me for anything. I just, I like, I've got a family plan there. I play make a lot of playlists from there and they have that That little app where you can put it on repeat or random.

And so when I hear a fun song, something I've never heard before, I'll click the random button. And so the next thing that follows will be in alignment with what just played I, that I don't listen to the radio. I don't really, I don't really watch any television, but this has been a great way to discover new music and my clients too.

There's a lot of. Music that I would not otherwise be familiar with unless the clients brought it into me. But that random introduced me to a whole mother genre and feel like I said, I think it was, it was alt rock is [00:18:00] what it was identified as, but it was just kind of some really sweet. Mellow great music if you wanna unwind, but not so much so that it was in, you know, the meditation genre, you know, really getting me super grounded, but kind of keeping me alert and very pleasant.

So great way, you know, explore your options again, check out all of the things that are available for free. There's so much available to us. Just it takes a little poking around and once you find something you like, You know, play with that. Stay with it, hang out with it for a little while. Number six, setting goals.

So again, if this is just something that you are exploring for fun, you need to do something that brings you joy. Goals can be as simple as. Just what I shared with you, you know, I, this weekend I am going to go explore songs that used to make me [00:19:00] really happy and fulfilled. And if you have played an instrument in the past, maybe go pull that out, dust that off, start plucking away on that guitar or on your keyboard or your piano and, and that.

That's a goal. Just start. Right? I know a lot of professional women, if you are, have been in, you know, intense. I know this, this first couple of quarters of this year have been a little rough for many of us, myself included. And one of the things that really helped me to get out of my funk was reconnecting.

With music that I used to love to listen to and to play along with. That was my goal. And then from there I built, I'm, I'm trying to get back in the practice for myself of just getting a regular practice of playing and singing for no other purpose, not to perform, not to teach, not to do anything else other than just to reconnect my head, my heart, my soul, with [00:20:00] something that brings me great joy and is the reason.

I started this business in the first place. So go play, set goals. Now those goals could also be as lofty as clients who just performed in my showcase. Half of that group were not planning on doing a showcase. They were just checking this thing out. They showed up for the group class. We moved from private study to the group to next thing we know, I have musicians showing up for live rehearsals and next thing you know, whoa.

I'm getting on a stage. You know, that's, those are, those are very succinct. They were measurable. They were within a very specific timeframe and I was able to take a number of singers from one-on-one private study through the entire process of actually getting on that stage. And I'm gonna be sharing more on some of their stories in future podcasts.

But again, incredibly proud. You know, for my emerging artist, a lot of you [00:21:00] that are coming in right now I know are just trying to get your vocal chops in place. You're just trying to build strength, flexibility, endurance, to get back into the recording studio to maybe do some live shows. And if you are a working professional musician listening to this, you know, if you've done a show yet, you know the energy and the endurance.

That it takes to do that night, after night after night. And performance preparation for touring is a total different animal. But you know, again, wonderful measurable goals. Start small. Make sure that you're singing correctly in a way that is healthy and safe. For your voice, and then we build on that.

It's a constant layering of all of that. Super fun. Seven. Embrace the power of practice. Make it a habit, a consistent habit. I know it's not glamorous, I don't like doing it [00:22:00] either. In fact, the motivation for me for live anything. Is what gets me into practicing. If I don't have something on the calendar I'm preparing for, it ain't happening friends, but you've got something on the calendar you're getting ready for.

Again, wonderful motivation, but you can't go from five miles an hour, not practice. You've got something on the calendar. You're gonna perform, you're gonna show up, you're doing an event, you're gonna sing at a birthday party, whatever it is, and then show up at the party and do your thing. Right. If you're, if you're working professional musicians, you know, and, and I'm, I am in my work all the time, it's a little bit easier because we're doing it every day consistently.

But if you are just starting out, you're just trying to, you know, get back on the, the horse and get some sort of a rhythm going, practice is key. The other part of that is, Remember that these are muscles, the vocal cords are muscles. Your [00:23:00] solar plexus, that breathing muscle connected to the diaphragm is a muscle.

It's just like going to the gym. Friends. You've got to exercise it regularly, consistently to build that strength, flexibility, endurance. So make it a habit, just like brushing your teeth, right. Taking care of yourself, hygiene, doing the dishes and laundry. You can tell that made an impact on me all those years.

So make it a habit. I can't say enough practicing, you know, it's, it's something that what I do when I'm preparing is exactly what I have my clients do, and I create audio. Vocal exercises and all my set lists and all my songs, and that's what I've got going in my ears when I'm doing things I don't have to think too much about.

It's just a constant that download, connecting my mental brain to my physical body and you consistency is definitely key. Okay. I just have one more here. [00:24:00] Number eight, share your voice with the world. Okay. Recording. Well, I don't even wanna talk about recording right now. What I do wanna say is I'm a big believer that we all have natural gifts and talents.

I believe that our gifts are not for us to keep, they're for us to give away and share with the rest of the world if we are. Keeping it. Holding it to ourselves. We are not being of service to the rest of the world. And I'm all about love and service, right? Service over self. So share whatever you're doing with others, whether it's family members, friends, the community that you are plugging into.

Have fun and. Share it with the rest of us. You never know who you are going to inspire as you are on your own journey. So a quick recap, my friends. [00:25:00] Eight things. One. Embrace your inner diva or rockstar. Two, sing like nobody's listening. Get back to playing. Three. Rediscover your musical roots. Go back to those songs, those things that used to bring you great joy.

Join a singing community. Plug into a karaoke club or ukulele club. Five. Experiment with different styles, genres. Play, play, play. Number six. Set goals. Keep yourself motivated through your goals. Seven. Embrace the power of practice. Embrace it, love it. Eight, share your voice with the rest of the world. If you got any value out of this at all, please share it with someone else that you care about.

Go over to the website, please download, go pick up my free gift, 26 Ways to Access Your Voice. Instantly from A to Z. Go pick that up. And if you're a woman listening, please head over to the Facebook group, find your voice, rock your [00:26:00] confidence. Go get signed up in there. Lots of fun things coming. And keep singing, keep calm, share your voice with the rest of the world.