No audio on this one today!
Can you guess the song from this oddly scribed lyric?
Singers will often modify their vowels as they sing. Some do this intuitively and others need to play with the possibilities before choosing what's right for them
Vowel modification is used for several reasons including (but not limited to)
✨️ pitch accuracy
✨️ flow of phrasing
✨️ acoustic properties of the sound
✨️ changing timbres
✨️ resonant space in the vocal tract
✨️ individuality / authenticity
✨️ accent or dialect
✨️ register transitions / choice
✨️ characterisation
✨️ fun 😁
Sometimes it's useful to write down the lyrics like this (especially so for neurodivergent singers!) to really get a feel for how to shape the sound in a different way- bypassing some accent features (darker vowel shaping or back vowels, up north) and minimising diphthongs where they're not needed.
Can you figure out today's song / lyric? I'll add some clues on the comments as the day rolls on if you need them 😉
Success looks different to us all
Sometimes we have a set back
Sometimes an audition goes wrong
Sometimes life doesn't go to plan
Sometimes the universe has other ideas
And sometimes other people make things difficult
You know how it goes
✨️ What I want you to remember is that no one else is YOU ✨️
No one has your voice
No one has your exact dream
And no one can steal your creativity
Yes - people can get the job you wanted
Yes - people can steal your work / ideas and IP
Yes - life can throw us some curve balls
And that can be a huge setback, undermine morale, feel unfair and cause sadness or frustration
But remember that you get to respond
And how you respond is the beauty of this....
Do you grow, do you expand, do you take up more space, rebuild and recreate
Do you channel your energy into something positive
Do you find another way
Do you try again
Do you get better?
Or do you shrink and shy away wondering if you're not good enough?
This is your life.
Choose success. Choose YOUR version of success 🫶
Choose to overcome the obstacles. Choose to be the best version of you.
Go get 'em ⚡️
Three scenarios- all entirely real interactions I have had in the past month - and a valuable lesson to share with you...
You have heard it before, but why does it matter?
Cause at the start of any new business you need to hustle to get known
Because to create success, good old fashioned hard work (with intention) wins every time
Cause people who are not living your life are going to tell you you wont succeed (even though they don't have a clue - cause they haven't walked this path!)
Cause people who get a paycheck every month - whether they turn up or not - don't get what it means to work for yourself
Cause when you do succeed on your own - people are still not going to believe in you
Cause most musicians I know are self employed
Cause sometimes we believe people when they tell us we can't (even though thats their own fear not ours)
And because sometimes to be successful you need to be a SALMON and swim against the current for a while until you start to reap the rewards
Success is a choice
✨️ YOU have got to believe in YOURSELF! ✨️
Be intentional. Get clear on your dream. Then go out and make it happen, with every core of your being
You might feel like an imposter
You might feel scared, worried or slightly de-lulu
But if you have a passion that you want to build into a business - YOU can do it!
When no one else really knows what you're up to
Go and find yourself someone who can back you - who can be your cheerleader and help you through some of the trickier days
Find a coach - or a mentor - someone who actually walks the walk
Start today by writing down your own idea of success - be honest, and be really clear. Then you know exactly what you're building, and why
Also - this is a key opportunity to shout out to some of my own best coaches over the years including...
@voicestudycentredebbie@beccyhurrell@em.foulkes and Teresa Shaw
@theauthenticgirlsclub@singingpedro@meribethdayme@jenevorawilliams
👏🌟⚡️
Speaking publicly isn't about filling every moment with sound or proving yourself
(Although sometimes it can feel like that when you get asked to give a keynote, or speak somewhere new, or career defining 🙃)
Instead, being in the spotlight is about sharing value - knowing that your story is important and holding the space that you deserve, from a place of empowerment
If you hold space for yourself - you will be able to hold space for others in that room too
Moments of silence, a breather moment or a gentle pause allow your audience to digest what you have said
Pause adds strength to the words you want to add power and meaning to
Pause allows time for reflection
And pause gives you a breather...
You can use these moments to tap into your breath, play with your ANS - either to boost your energy or calm your nerves - depending what you need in that moment
By asking your audience to reflect on your words, or on their thoughts, you provide them valuable time to sort and process the important elements of what you're sharing
Whilst simultaneously providing yourself with a moment of dedicated silence and vocal rest
I often meet professionals, teachers, lecturers, call centre teams, whose voices are tired
They are tired from over use, working hard, stress and shallow breathing. From not connecting the body, the breath and the voice
From not recognising the power of a moment of pause
So let this be your moment to expand daringly into your space and confidently place intentional silence into your spotlight moment
Snaps for @lilija_bekisa for the beautiful reel 🤩 I am so grateful 🙏
Big thanks to @thesingersclinicuk for sharing multiple packs of their adaptogenic VitaVoice Optimise Capsules for our World Voice Day event goody bags too - so happy to collaborate!
(Link in bio to shop - use KATE at checkout for a discount too!)
This is your reminder that our next charity concert is on 10th July 2026
Tickets will be available to purchase this week... the programme is being curated as I type 👏🤗🎉 We cannot wait to get out there and push a few more boundaries, think outside a few more boxes and have full permission to make mistakes, in public, on stage as we perform LIVE and in person
This is real life 🙏 this is real music and this is how we learn best!
So excited for this one 🫶
🌍 Happy Earth Day 🌎
Join me today for my webinar about how to look after your voice this spring - or join The Tala Club and access all the webinars and all the playback too! Woohoo!
Love this planet we all live on 🌏💙💚
Links in bio 🫶
Most singers think vocal health is about warming up properly…
But what if the real issue is that you’re not fully showing up?
On World Voice Day, I hosted a vocal wellness experience exploring:
🤍 body alignment
🤍 breath
🤍 intention
And an important feature that has been SO prevalent in the studio this year...
🤍 taking up space
And the biggest shift?
Voices changed instantly when people allowed themselves to be seen and heard physically, not just vocally
Your voice is not separate from your body
If you feel stuck, strained, or inconsistent…
don’t start with trying to fix your voice
Start with how you’re standing, breathing, and allowing sound to move (freeeely!)
It is all part of the bigger picture of vocal care 🫶
#WorldVoiceDay #VocalHealth #SingersOfInstagram #VoiceCoach #SingingTips
Had the best day humming with a room full of vocalists to celebrate World Voice Day 🥳
Today I hosted my first Voice & Vitality event for women (and one man!)
We learned about how to hold the room, bring resonance and power into our voices effortlessly, how to care for our voices and to hack our breath for calmness or for presence. We spoke about anxiety, and giving ourselves the permission to take up space and learned how to reset our body, breath and voice.
Everyone indulged in lunch, everyone played, laughed and shared so openly.
The theme of WVD 2026 is "Caring for the Voice" and we did just that
A huge shout out and thanks to everyone who came along, the team @thebroughtonarms for looking after us and keeping us well fed and hydrated, @lilija_bekisa
for photographing everyone and to @vitavoicehealth who donated some of their optimise supplements for everyone to take away and try in their goody bags 💫
I have loved every minute of today and remain so grateful that this is my work ♥️
Huge congratulations @samyuktavocalarts for the wonderful (and highly deserved!) recognition of having your article chosen as one of the VSR Spotlight articles ✨️
This spotlight means everyone can read if for FREE until the end of the year. Woohoo!
There is so much in the article that every voice teacher can learn from... shame, stress, regulation and compassion - it is well worth a read
Plus Samyukta writes so beautifully you will learn a whole lot about her extensive expertise in Indian Classical Music too
Popping the direct link into my Linktree until the end of the month for you to easy access 😊
Vocal warm ups should never be boring 😴
Though sometimes for adults, boring feels safe, accessible and 'proper'...
It can be difficult for many adults to release inhibition and really settle into making playful sounds - particularly any which could be construed as 'wrong' or embarrassing 🙉
(Cue example of Easter play at local playing farm - adults had to join in singing 'doo dah, doo dah🎵' and you could see the embarrassed laughter as parents didn't want to let their kids down but felt proper awks 😜 - I happened to be there with 2 other singers and our families so let's just say we sang out loudly and without fear, therefore inadvertently giving permission for everyone else to sing wholly too!)
Did you know that all vocal sounds you can make have value? Sometimes I will pull up songs for students in their sessions to provide examples of where a sound could be used effectively in song (even if it isnt the one they are working on!), so we can keep that sound in the toolkit for later.
Playing with pitch is an easy and effective strategy for warming up the voice, and using a hum gives us lots of internal feedback (as well as some other useful warming up benefits)
Try this out and let me know how you find it 🫡
I trust that you will also enjoy some real yummy eggs too!
(I hope I don't need to tell you - but please don't actually eat and sing simultaneously 🫣)
Had the best day working with talented V and Dan today, laying down vox for 2 of her own songs🎙
We had fun playing with ad libs, harmonies to boost the final mix, and enjoyed some of my fave articulation exercises (IYKYK) to really get the teeth and tongue around the lyrics without over working 😜
At just 14 years old - V is definitely a singer songwriter to watch out for 👀
I ALLLLWAYYYS love coaching a recording session. If you ever feel like you could use some wild gestures and many snacks do get in touch 😆 (...am also useful for actual helpful coaching tips too haha)
🎧 @foxbarnstudios
