What a crew!!!! Today we were joined by #VocalFam Theodora Nestorova, Yvonne Redman, John Nix, and Joshua Glasner to drop some knowledge on Vibrato! They have a great NATS Chat last season on this topic and led a pre-conference workshop last summer at NATS that was terrific! If you are interested in that mysterious aspect of singing that is Vibrato - this is the episode for YOU!

VocalFam, Prof. Pigott was out today, but fret not, we had a great panel with International Congress of Voice Teachers' Program Chair Kari Ragan, NATS Executive Director Allen Henderson, and ICVT-Toronto site host Darryl Edwards. We got to hear previews of the many offerings Toronto has to offer as a city, the wonderful plenary sessions, and even got to hear more about some specifics of the concurrent session presentations. It will be a great conference, and we hope to see you next summer in Toronto. Early bird pricing is available until April 1, and there is a student price as well. Be sure to register early and set a flight tracker to save on airfare.

Our dear friend Ken Bozeman returns for his 3rd feature episode. Ken has been touring the world discussing pedagogic concepts that have transformed his teaching. Dr. P and Prof. Pigott are so thankful for Ken's mentorship and friendship because many of these concepts also transformed their own teaching. We cover emotive affect, acoustic registration, bright vs. dark somatosensory awareness, and Howell's contributions of auditory roughness and absolute spectral tone color. What an incredible, jam-packed hour. 

This week Dr. P and Prof. Pigott were joined by Dr. Luciano Simões in a great episode to bring some international awareness to the #VocalFam. We learn all about his background growing up as a rock singer in Brazil, and how he transitioned from classical baritone to vocal cross-trainer. Lots of wonderful insight into some lesser known (in the U. S. anyway) Brazilian music as well. Always terrific to have a nice sci-fi chat at the end of episode with a fellow pop-culture nerd. 

Playlist mentioned in episode: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtQTg3CsLSRkDC_Wj9BdUAXRO9HUUBnhX 

#VocalFam we are in for a treat this week! Prof. Pigott, Dr. P, and the CU TAs were joined by Dr. David Juncos and Dana Zenobi to discuss their research on Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) Administered by Singing Teachers as a Tool for Mananging Music Performance Anxiety. You can read more about this is Dave's book ACT for Musicians. Or for a more instructive deep dive you can attend his next Voice Study Centre Course with more info here. To learn more about Dana you can go back to her first episode. 

#VocalFam we have entered a new VocalFri era with not only our first great guest episode of season 8, but also our first ever episode with our first two CU grad students along for the ride. This week we were thrilled to have Dr. Kimberly Monzón from Baylor University on the pod to discuss her work on AFAB singers and singing through hormonal cycles. Such great advice and wisdom for any voice teacher. Read more about Dr. Monzón on her website. 

We meant to talk about nasality today, then Prof. Pigott saw Dr. P's white board in his office. We ended up discussing learning outcomes for a DMA degree in Vocal Ped./Perf. Oops. So, we ask you the #VocalFam: If YOU wanted to do a DMA, what would YOU want to be able to do by the end of it?

This week Prof. Pigott and Dr. P take a hypothetical journey as they dream what voice juries could look like, if they just started everything over. A really great discussion for those of you revising syllabi or program requirements. Dream the future, be kind, prepare students for success. Have a great weekend #VocalFam!

So much has changed in so little time. #VocalFam Season 8 is upon us, and WHAT A LINEUP we have planned for you this season. Prof. Pigott and Dr. P catch up on Prof. Pigott's teaching of Voice Pedagogy, Dr. P updates us on his transition to Director of Vocal Pedagogy at CU Boulder, and we preview our great guest list for Season 8! We also tossed in a quick Dr. P's quick Deadpool review for those who were waiting for it. This season is going to be spectacular!

Season 7 comes to a close! Today we started preparing Sarah for her TEACHING of Voice Pedagogy in the Fall Semester. More to come on that, but it led us to discuss the working chapter titles for Dr. P's book. Yes, he's finally making a the huge mistake of committing to writing a book. He really needs to reconsider his life choices. In the end a fun time was had by all. Come join the #VocalFam as we close out our seventh year together. 

Dr. P and Sarah address this week's controversial Ian Bostridge performance where he stopped mid song cycle to ask the audience to put down their phones and turn off the flash functions. It was a varied and weaving conversation with two sort of opposite perspectives. In the end, the take home point was, be courteous, consider others, and let's get audience members in seats. Join us.