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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

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Burnout can creep up quietly - until one day you realise you’ve got nothing left to give.

In this honest, wide-ranging conversation, Dr Gillyanne Kayes, Jeremy Fisher and guest Dr Marisa Lee Naismith (host of A Voice and Beyond) talk about burnout in the performing arts: how it happens, what it feels like, and what recovery really takes.

We explore:

The link between trauma, stress, and burnout

Boundaries and learning to say “I don’t have the capacity”

Why people-pleasing drives exhaustion

The real brain changes in burnout and how to reset

What it means to honour yourself as a creative

This episode includes insights from Stress Burnout Reset by Kerry Norton, reflections on somatic recovery, and practical tools for singers and teachers finding their way back to balance.

00:00 Intro and Phlegm Alert
02:10 When Burnout Creeps Up On You
03:23 Losing Everything and Working Harder
05:39 Adversity vs Trauma
07:53 Burnout in the Performing Arts
08:41 Self-Worth and People-Pleasing
11:11 Learning To Say No And Setting Boundaries
15:19 The 24-7 Access Problem
19:28 The Power Of Saying "I Don't Have The Capacity"
22:07 What Burnout Does To The Brain
25:25 Recovery Tools and Somatic Practices
33:45 Maria's Final Reflections - Honouring Yourself

Watch, reflect, and share your experience of burnout in the comments.


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

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If you’ve ever felt exhausted, cynical or “not good enough,” this episode will help you spot the signs, set boundaries and start recovering - without guilt.

What really causes burnout in musicians, singers, teachers, and students?
In this second episode of This Is A Voice on burnout, Dr. Gillyanne Kayes and Jeremy Fisher discuss the physical, emotional, and systemic roots of burnout - with two special guests offering different perspectives.

Dr Ayan Panja (NHS GP, Saving Lives In Slow Motion podcast) explains why burnout isn’t just “being tired” - and what really happens when empathy and perfectionism collide.

Richard Delaney (Programme Leader, BA Hons Acting: Contemporary and Devised at Royal Central School of Speech & Drama) reveals how time poverty and constant assessment are burning out a generation of creative students.

Plus, Gillyanne and Jeremy share their own stories of freelance burnout, people-pleasing and finding balance as performers and coaches.

Listen now and share it with a friend who might need it.
Featuring clips from Saving Lives In Slow Motion (used with permission).

You can find out about Ayan's work and join his podcast on https://drayan.co.uk/

You can find out about Richard's work on https://www.richardddelaney.com/

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