Yap Sesh S2 E4: The Beach Episode
Anna: Welcome to Yap Sesh. We're your hosts. I'm Anna Diemer.
Maurice: And I am Maurice Goodwin.
Anna: And we are fresh off a successful run of our course about vocal fold lesions called Building Balance: Addressing Vocal Fold Lesions in Singers. I think it went fantastically. What do you think, Maurice?
Maurice: We built the balance. The balance was built.
Anna: You built the balance with us.
Maurice: You built—actually, y'all built the balance. Yeah, it was great.
Anna: Yeah, we had such a great group of folks join us live, ask amazing questions. And guess what? If you're having FOMO, FOMO no more because the replay is available. You can get that on our website, the recording of the live course, and you can still earn ASHA CEUs by watching the replay. This was a really fantastic one. You don't want to miss out. And also, we have announced our next course, which will be happening in October, called Under Pressure: Customizing SOVTs for Professional Voice Users. And it has a theme song. Maurice, tell us about this course.
Maurice: So this course, Under Pressure, is going to dive a little bit into the science of why SOVTs work. But that’s not it, because that’s often where things stop, right? We say, like, “Oh, why do you use straw phonation? Because of back pressure, and it helps us not push as much.” Yes, that is very true. And SOVTs are so incredibly customizable for the person and the purpose. There is so much that we can do to adjust how an SOVT impacts voice function. And then those impacts potentially allow our students to learn something new or explore something new or try something new, which then kind of builds in some of the motor learning that we’re trying to do with them on a regular basis. So this is going to be fantastic. It’s going to be a ton—a ton, a ton—of exploration and do-it-yourself. That’s probably going to be the entire course: you doing these SOVT tasks, trying them with us, and seeing how they feel in your body so you can take those tools and do them with your clients.
Anna: Excellent. It is going to be Tuesday, October 21st at 8 p.m. Eastern. We’re trying a weeknight. So for those of y’all who are busy on the weekends, maybe you will be able to join us live. It is a one-hour course. It is introductory level. So if you’ve always wanted to take a course with us, but you didn’t want to commit to two hours or our five-hour flagship SVSLP—you just want to dip your toe in a little bit—this would be a great course to join us for. So you can sign up for Under Pressure right now on our website at VoiceProEd.com/courses. You can find all of our asynchronous and live course replays there. We’re kind of getting a little library going.
Maurice: The VoiceProEd library—on top of some of the other resources that we have, including this podcast. So thanks for listening. Thanks for joining us on this very day for Yap Sesh. Today is going to be a true Yap Sesh. We have nothing left to offer. We have built the balance. We are purely Yappers at this point.
Anna: We are under pressure, and so it is time for us. Yeah, so we were like, “What are we going to talk about in the podcast today?” And we decided we needed a beach episode. For those of you who play D&D or watch anime, the beach episode is where you take a break from all the really intense stuff that’s happening. You know, we’ve been planning these courses, bringing them to you, getting the website all set up—all that stuff. So Yap Sesh needed a beach episode so that we can hang out, just vibe. And we haven’t done an episode like this since our first episode where we did the Brené Brown back-and-forth questions, which I also love. But I think this is going to be a little more vibey than that.
Maurice: Sure. And you all are going to learn some new, maybe surprising things about the two of us. I feel like I’m going to learn things about you as well, based on the questions.
Anna: Really? I don’t know. We’ve known each other for a very long time.
Maurice: We have spent a pretty significant amount of time communicating with each other over the last few years, yes.
Anna: Yeah. Well, inspired by “beach episode,” do you like going to the beach? You live kind of close to the beach now. Like, I went to the beach all the time when I was in Houston. Like, tell me about the beach.
Maurice: You went to Galveston a lot.
Anna: Surfside, actually, because you can tailgate right on the beach.
Maurice: I do not like the beach, but I do enjoy what the beach stands for.
Anna: Wait, what do you like about the beach?
Maurice: The sand.
Anna: Oh, yeah. I mean, I don’t like sand either, but I love the beach.
Maurice: Yeah, I just can’t do it. Something—I just can’t. As a kid, we were at the beach all the time because it was like a free vacation, right? Public beaches were accessible. At worst, you paid for parking. And then we would pack sandwiches and snacks. And if things were great, we would get something from the boardwalk. But yeah, they were like free vacations. And so I went a lot as a kid, but then as a young adult, could not stand sand. And now as an adult, I’m swinging back around to just like—it’s okay. Things don’t have to be perfect to be good. Just lay down and chill.
Anna: So that’s your beach MO.
Maurice: That’s my beach MO. How about you?
Anna: Yeah, I did not love the beach as a kid. My parents own a timeshare in Myrtle Beach, so every summer for one to two weeks we were down there and I just wanted to stay inside and read. And now as an adult, I just go outside and read. So one of those activities is still the same. But I think I really didn’t like the sand. I don’t know why I like the beach so much. I don’t like getting all slathered up in sunscreen. I don’t like sand. I don’t like being wet. However, like—the vibe. The vibe is too good. Like, I will also put on headphones and just listen to music and watch the waves and watch the clouds and just kind of vibe with nature. Like that’s a thing that is coming back—or sort of new, I guess—as an adult. Like I went hiking really for the first time as an adult in 2020 and was like, I actually like being outside and looking at pretty things in nature. And so the beach represents that for me, as well as like pack your sandwiches and your snacks and put a fun drink in your bag and—
Maurice: Apparently nature is good for us.
Anna: Nature is good for us.
Maurice: Science says nature is good for us. I, as an adult, have gone on vacations where I’ve gone to like beach parties. And so not like ragers, but either clubs on the beach or like restaurants that have beach seating. And it’s very like islandy, even if it’s not on an island. And I like that. I like dancing. I like having a little drink on the beach. It’s cute. That I enjoy.
Anna: You like being beach adjacent?
Maurice: Yeah, I like being beached, but I don’t necessarily like—
Anna: A beached Maurice.
Maurice: But I don’t know that I prefer beach water. As a kid, we used to wave-jump a lot. And I don’t know why I felt so confident and comfortable going out into the waves, like jumping over huge waves. But I am grateful because now as an adult, water doesn’t scare me. We recently went on a vacation for a wedding and they were like, “All right, we’re gonna jump off this boat in the middle of the ocean.” And I was like, “Okay, sounds good.” I don’t really have to think twice about swimming, which is nice. So I think that’s the positive about growing up going to the water: it doesn’t scare me.
Anna: Yeah, totally agree. And also—this might be a thing you’re learning about me—I did swim team for a couple of summers. And my sister was a competitive swimmer through college. So swimming, like being in the water—usually in the pool, but—
Maurice: Swimming is life.
Anna: Swimming is life. I was not very good. You think about Michael Phelps. I’m not very Michael Phelps-shaped. But yeah, always been a strong swimmer. Compared to your average person, not compared to Olympic athletes.
Maurice: Our next question: do you have a current comfort food or most-often food cooked at the moment?
Anna: So when I can’t decide what to eat, they have gluten-free dino nuggies. And I—
Maurice: Who has gluten-free dino nuggies?
Anna: The company that makes dino nuggies. It’s like the regular dino nuggets are in an orange box and the gluten-free ones are in a teal box. I don’t know what company it is, but the universe makes gluten-free dino nuggets. And so that is my “I need to eat and I don’t really feel like cooking anything, so I could put these in the air fryer and have a snack that has some amount of protein in it.” But I’ve also rediscovered this recipe that I used to make all the time back in my more glutinous and dairy-filled days, because it’s a pasta recipe that usually has cream in it. But I didn’t realize how easy it was to just sub out gluten-free pasta and literally coconut milk. And because I haven’t had heavy cream in almost six years, it doesn’t taste any different to me. Like it still tastes how I remember it. So I’ll link it in the show notes. The recipe is called Creamy Braised Chicken and Pappardelle from the blog The Kitchen. And so you sear off chicken thighs, do your onions, garlic, white wine, chicken stock, put the chicken back in, cover it, and stick it in the oven for an hour. And then your house smells heavenly. Then you take it out, shred the chicken, add your cream or coconut milk and lemon zest and your pasta, and it’s so— I made it again last night. It was like the second week in a row that I’ve made it, and I never repeat recipes. So this is on the brain.
Maurice: Yeah, I’ve been super, super duper into grilling. I like grilling. I am a griller. And that is something as an adult, I’m like, yeah, I’m an adult that likes to grill. Like I’m the grilling dad.
Anna: Thanks, dad.
Maurice: But I don’t have kids.
Anna: You have two cat children.
Maurice: I have two cats. You know what, you’re right. I’m a dad to two cats. So those are my moments where I have my slides on and I’m standing by the grill, sweating—you know, typical dad, stressed.
Anna: Yeah.
Maurice: That’s perfect.
Anna: Yeah. I also love grilling, and I’m a dad to a dog. So it’s the dad vibes.
Maurice: Dads unite.
Anna: What do you usually grill? Like, I’ll marinate chicken—that’s usually the thing that’s on my grill. What about you?
Maurice: Burgers, steaks, like red meat. I like grilling wings. I feel like I’ve learned the art of grilling a wing. And so I do those really well.
Anna: Yeah. I never think to do burgers or steak outside because we don’t have a charcoal grill. It’s just a little, tiny gas grill because we don’t have a lot of space, which is fine. And that makes it easy. Most of the time I don’t have to like build up the charcoal—if you’ve watched Alton Brown do it in the little canister thing that you’re supposed to get your coals started in and all that. I’m like, I just want to be able to turn it on and go. So I usually make burgers and steak in the cast iron inside, kind of like diner style.
Maurice: Yeah. Yeah. You know, I’m going to eat it anyway. It comes, actually. I know.
Anna: I’m like, I have some burgers in the fridge. And I might have that for lunch, like today.
Maurice: Is burger day.
Anna: Yeah, we both like cooking. Yeah, that’s pretty accurate to say.
Maurice: And Javier’s a good cook as well. So it’s like a house of people who cook, which is nice.
Anna: Oh, that’s nice. I’m like the only person who cooks out of my immediate people who are here, which is fine. And also, I would love to be cooked for.
Maurice: Yeah, it sounds fine. It sounds absolutely fine.
Anna: I mean, I love cooking. It’s like, you know, I am as interested in cooking as I am in voice, right? It’s up there for me. And I’m always the dietary restriction person—because I am that person. So when someone has additional dietary restrictions, I’m like, challenge accepted. But it is nice to be cooked for.
Maurice: It’s nice to be cooked for. When you had initially asked to do this episode, one of the first things you asked me was to see if I could connect my Spotify account to see what I was listening to most. So I’m actually going to bounce this to you first, though. Who’s your current top artist, and what are you liking right now? What are the stats telling you?
Anna: Yeah, so apparently Spotify only does this in Spotify Wrapped, but I plugged it into like Volt FM or some stats website thing. And I am not surprised by this because literally most of the walks that I have taken, I have put on the radio—the Spotify radio—for this artist. They’re called NOTD, but it’s spelled N-O-T-D because it’s like their initials, but apparently you pronounce it “noted.” I’ve never tried to pronounce it before. I’m glad I Googled them. It’s like Swedish music producers, and so it’s kind of like house electro pop. Again, no one is surprised that it’s like, here’s some like boots-and-cats, twinkly kind of. Usually they have like a treble singer, and so it’s just like all the bops. So I put that in my headphones, I go for my little walk up the hill, and that’s just been the vibe.
Maurice: Have you ever listened to Magdalena Bay?
Anna: I don’t think so.
Maurice: Okay, so it was like one of the top albums of 2024. It’s a group. It’s interesting because it’s got this electro euro-pop, synthy new experimental sound to it. But it’s a good album. It’s got some good vibes. It’s odd at points, but it’s a really great album. I think it’s called Liminal Disc—is the name of the album for anybody else who’s listening.
Anna: Liminal Disc. I’m going to look them up.
Maurice: Anything else that you’re currently liking? Any recommendations that you have?
Anna: I know we already talked about Kesha’s new album, which I really enjoyed over the summer and have already performed one of those songs in drag.
Maurice: Hello—it’s Imaginal Disc. Ignore me. Imaginal Disc.
Anna: Imaginal Disc.
Maurice: Yeah.
Anna: Is that a word? How do you spell that?
Maurice: It is for them.
Anna: Imagine all—okay, great. I mean, that’s how I would have spelled it. But okay, not imaginary. Okay, I’m not going to get hung up on it, I’m just going to listen to the album.
Maurice: It’s synth pop, dance pop, and electronic rock.
Anna: Ooh, yeah, that does sound like what I listen to. I just switched over to my fall playlist from the summer playlist. What’s on here? There’s a remix of the “but I’m so messy and I’m so clean,” which I censored myself for you fabulous people. That’s one I’ve been enjoying. There’s an artist named Blusher that had a new EP come out. I’ve, again, never heard of this person. The algorithm gives me all of this stuff, and I just am in there listening to my Discover Weekly and listening to the radio and just in the daylist thing where it gives you some kind of title where it reads you for filth, right? That’s like, yes, that’s like synth pop, e-girl, Tuesday lunch, you know. But I love those. And so I find all of these artists through that mostly. And there is a song by The Naked and Famous, which is a band that I enjoyed, I don’t know, 15 years ago. But they’ve made a lot of music since then, and so that’s been fun to rediscover them. There’s more guitars. It’s less electro-y, but still a vibe.
Maurice: More guitars.
Anna: More guitars.
Maurice: I’ve been, like, over the last probably year or two, really getting into DJ sets. I know, similar to you, I’m like—so I’ve been listening, and I’m gonna say the most obvious one—a pretty significant amount of John Summit. But then I also bleed pop music. I am a pop music—beep. You know, like, it’s the only thing I think in, is pop music. So I was looking over the last year, and Beyoncé and Ariana—the main pop girls—are at the top of the list. But there were some standouts that I’ve really enjoyed getting into. So John Bellion was an artist that I listened to, I don’t know, maybe like 10 years ago, maybe more than that, just released a new album that is fantastic. I really, really enjoy it. Production quality is really high. And then another album that I’ve been really getting into—you know Mitch from Pentatonix, the high tenor treble voice? They released a new project under the name Messer, M-E-S-S-E-R. It’s fantastic. Great songwriting, great production, obviously a great freaking voice. So I’ve been really into that too.
Anna: Ooh, I’m gonna have to check that out. That sounds fantastic.
Maurice: Yeah, it’s like a favorite of mine, for sure, for sure, for sure.
Anna: This is a lore drop for the both of us, but playlist exchange is high on our love languages for each other.
Maurice: Yes. Before we did our first SVSLP as officially VoiceProEd, we had that SLP blast-off—or was it the SVSLP blast-off—playlist?
Anna: Yeah, to get us hyped. I will—let’s link that in the show notes.
Maurice: It’s like a Kylie Minogue song.
Anna: And it had that one cover of—
Maurice: Yes, this is by Charli XCX and someone else.
Anna: Yeah, I think it’s just called Spicy is the name. Okay, we’ll share our SVSLP blast-off playlist. And granted, this was like a couple of years ago, but still.
Maurice: Yeah, it’s a throwback. It’s a nice culture catch-up. What are you enjoying in the gym right now? What do you have going on?
Anna: Okay, so big shoutout here to Abby of Forte—Forte Performance, Forte. I am so sorry. We will again look that up and put it in the show notes. Abby is my coach. I’ve been wanting to coach with her for a while, but she started an asynchronous program, which turns out to be the exact level that I need. Because I was like, I don’t know if I need a whole personalized routine. I’ve worked with a personal trainer before back in Houston, and that was fun also to go in person. And so she could put me in the positions I needed and poke me around. But I was looking for something that I could do at home, but also needed some accountability because I had kind of fallen off the wagon a little bit. So I had been on Abby’s newsletter for a while because we know each other. And when she announced this program, I signed up for the free trial immediately. No discovery call booked, no questions asked. I was just like, oh, this sounds great. And it was great. And so I’ve been doing that since June. And so I get sent my workouts in this app, and then I record what I do, and I can ask her questions and send her videos of like, “Hey, this is a new exercise for me. Am I doing this right?” And she can send me a video back that’s like, “Hey, if you modify it to this, then that might be easier for your mobility level right now.” So I’m doing—it’s called Solo. So plug, major plug to Abby, loving this asynchronous coaching program. And yesterday was deadlift day. So it was like real many deadlifts and some other—you know, there’s always core because there always is—but.
Maurice: There’s always core.
Anna: Yeah. What about you?
Maurice: I’ve recently gotten back into running. So it has been years since I stepped away from running. I half-marathon trained during my clinical fellowship—that was eight years ago. And I recently got back into it. Two days ago, I ran 5 miles for the first time in probably the last eight years. And it felt good, like it was a great 5 miles. It’s not the fastest I’ve run, but I think I’m going to try and go for more distance. So if I can land around six or seven and then start speed training, I think I’ll be good. I’m enjoying it. I feel great.
Anna: Do you think you’ll run another half?
Maurice: I don’t know that I desire that.
Anna: I don’t know.
Maurice: What is that, 13? My problem with training is it becomes like a neurotic obsession, and then that becomes unhealthy. So I have to keep it in fun land. If I just so happen to run in a marathon, I think that would be the best possible outcome—like I show up to run at a park and there just so happens to be a marathon day. And then I run the marathon. But me planning for it doesn’t work well.
Anna: Yeah, that’s fair. I think I need the plan. I need the goal. Again, maybe this is something you don’t know about me because this is before we met. I was a runner at one time, but I’m not built for distance. Like, I could have been a gymnast or a sprinter. My sister was a sprinter when she swam. So I did a couple of 5Ks. The longest distance I ever ran was the Rodeo Run. I did the 10K.
Maurice: Yeah. Maybe you could do a 10K.
Anna: Yeah. 10K was cute. But then my knees didn’t like it. And I’m way more of a gym rat. I want to pick up heavy stuff and put it back down.
Maurice: Yeah, lift bro.
Anna: Lift bro. And I prefer doing stationary bike for cardio. My body just likes it better than running. And also, there are so many hills here. I like the idea of running. I’m like, oh, because it’s the training thing, right? I’m like, I could do a 5K. I bet I could get back up to 10K. And then I’m like, do I need to put my body through that and my brain through that?
Maurice: Yeah, I have a little bit of the “oh, my hips are getting used to this again,” especially as I increase in distance. But now it also makes me want a new pair of running shoes. So, it’s this thing. We’ll see, we’ll see, we’ll see. Maybe my next update is going to be I got a great new pair of running shoes.
Anna: Treat yourself.
Maurice: Treat myself.
Anna: Let us know.
Maurice: I love that. Oh—we talked about this before we recorded—VoiceProEd is going to be at the ASHA National Convention in DC in November. So we are planning on being there live, in person. We’re doing two courses: one on singing voice for the non-singing SLP, and we are also doing gender-affirming voice.
Anna: Right, it’s on using gender-affirming voice for all voices.
Maurice: Yes. The principles of gender-affirming voice are great for everyone’s voice because it’s affirming care. Imagine that. So we’re really excited about those two opportunities. One is on Thursday, one is on Friday. So if you’re attending the convention in DC or attending live virtually, see if you can catch one of our lectures. But because of that, both you and I are traveling to DC. So I wanted to ask you—is there anywhere that you want to travel or things you want to see or experience over the next year?
Anna: That’s a good question. Currently the only trip I have planned is to DC, and I’m looking forward to seeing some friends. Pardon me—morning flim. Looking forward to seeing some friends nearby as a part of that, because I am close enough to drive. Although I’m close enough to drive in like a Texas way—I’m like 7 or 8 hours, you know. Like I can do it in one day, but I’m going to be tired. We’ve been thinking about taking a trip to the Pacific Northwest because I have never been, and I also have some friends and clients in that area. So we’ll see if that materializes. Haven’t been back to Houston. That’s the hard thing about having your people be far away—you end up going to the same places. So I’m sure I’ll be in Houston again over the next year. And we are also kind of floating going to Iceland.
Maurice: Cool.
Anna: And either seeing like the—it’s summer and the sun is out all the time—or trying to catch the Northern Lights, which will be when it’s very cold. And I do not like the cold. I am a lizard. I like to bake in the sun.
Maurice: Lay me on a rock in the sun.
Anna: Right, but no sand, no sand, no rocks. What about you?
Maurice: I think I need to finally commit to doing a national park or state parks, especially being in Texas. Like, we have gigantic state parks here and I haven’t really been to them. I have not been to them is really the statement. So doing Big Bend or one of the other parks here is totally reasonable. Like you just get in your car, go enjoy, maybe get a cabin for a night or two. Hiking, doing a little bit of walking, and seeing nice things. And in Texas, as the weather gets cooler, it’s the perfect time to do that. So either sometime in October, November, or looking into January or February would be great.
Anna: Yeah, I love Big Bend. I’ve been twice. We can chat about times to go. You want to go as close to the new moon as possible so you can see all the stars. And I’ll tell you the good hikes and the must-sees because that’s just—it was so unlike anything I had ever seen before. Because I grew up out here with the Blue Ridge Mountains, and they are older mountains and so less, more rolling. And it’s very green here. It’s technically a temperate rainforest out here. And—we’ve discovered another special interest of mine apparently. I know more about this than I thought. But Big Bend being like a high desert is so cool. And there are so many different ecological layers. You can do these hikes—like I did Guadalupe Peak, Guadalupe National Park in the farthest sort of end of Texas out there in the West. And that hike was so cool because you can literally see the different tree lines. And you’re like, am I still in Texas anymore? As you get up to the pines at the top of the peak. So yeah, big nerd about this apparently.
Maurice: That’s awesome. I’ve not been a person that’s traditionally spent a lot of time outside in parks and forests and things. I did go to Joshua Tree National Park in California recently, which was really, really beautiful. Very pretty. Great experience. So more of that. Something about, again, swinging back to “nature is supposed to be good for us as humans.” But we’ll see, we’ll see, we’ll see.
Anna: Swinging back around to stuff in front of our computer. Are you doing any kind of professional development and continuing education coming up? You go on your hike, you get your nature, you are revitalized to come back to work. What are you learning about?
Maurice: I am excited—well, I guess I’m interested. I told you just briefly about potentially doing a course through the Voice Study Centre and learning a little more from Heidi Moss, whose specialization is being a voice person who’s super into neuro and voice science and neuroscience-y things and the relationship between all of them. So that sounds interesting to me. What else am I interested in learning? I’m teaching a new adjunct course at a university, and the course is voice and fluency. So learning more about fluency and co-teaching that and putting that content together has been good and exciting—and something that’s actually really interesting to me. How about you?
Anna: I don’t have any courses that I’ve got my eye on, but I am doing a very casual book club with a friend of mine who was thinking about going to get a doctorate and then they were like, nah. So we were like, what if we read pedagogy books together? And that gives me a sense of accountability. So I’m not just reading romance novels or fantasy novels, which is usually what I’m reading. Our next book is going to be The Vaccai Project by Bel Canto Boot Camp, which is actually like an interactive journal. You get to sing all of the Vaccai and you get to do all of the exercises in there. So I’m really excited to dive into that as a sort of self-study singing thing for my own voice as well as learning more about these old Italian techniques.
Maurice: Yeah, fun. Cool. I think we’re wrapping up towards the end. And that means—you know what that means? You know what it’s time for.
Both: TOOL TIME!
Anna: You want to go first? We’re making room for the sound effect. And then—what’s your tool, Maurice?
Maurice: My tool has been more consideration. I’ve been working with a lot of singers, actors, folks who do character work. And as performers, we often think a lot about the exhale, right? Because that’s where singing happens, that’s where speech happens, that’s where the words we’re communicating happen. It happens on the exhale. But recently with a few folks that I’ve been working with, it’s been really helpful to consider the inhale. And I know that sounds basic, but this character you are either placing yourself in or trying to communicate to me has spent almost as much of their life inhaling as they have exhaling. And so how would that character breathe to convey the message they’re communicating? Have you really considered that that’s also a part of communication and storytelling? How can you include the inhale as part of the whole cycle to really support and give direction to the exhale?
Anna: That’s so cool. I’m like a little mind-blown by that right now.
Maurice: Yeah, and where it kind of came up—I was working with someone who had a natural tendency to breath-hold a little bit, especially as there was increased tension in the monologue or in the song. They would hold their breath. And I said, is that something your character would do? Or would your character breathe? Because your character has spent 30 years breathing in to breathe out, right? And so can you make that decision for the character—that before this line, they actually need the breath to support the thing they’re finally saying? Does that feel helpful?
Anna: So cool.
Maurice: It was super fun. It’s been very fun to think about. And I’ve brought it up with a few clients now, and it’s felt very helpful to just be like, yeah, this person also breathes just like I need to. I can make the support that I need part of the character.
Anna: Wow, I’m like brain empty, so focused on this. That is so cool. I’m not doing a lot of folks who are at that performance level. I’m not doing as much musical coaching anymore, and that’s making me want to.
Maurice: Yeah, so good.
Anna: So good. I was just thinking about one of my favorite warm-up exercises. One of the questions we get all the time is, how do you pick exercises that do this or that? And when I have folks come to my studio, I am like, there is a reason behind everything that we do. You don’t have to know all of those. If you’re curious, you can ask. And sometimes a warm-up is just a warm-up. But this is one of my faves. It is from Janwin Overstreet-Goode, who taught for a long time at Friendswood High School and now conducts Casulana Women’s Choir of Houston. I had the pleasure of singing with her for several years. But it’s ooey gooey chewy, which I love because of our favorite closed vowel combo. I like to have a little portamento or slide in there. The combo of the closed vowels for focus, getting that slide going—it’s just a really good warm-up. And sometimes in exercise, we have to warm up the voice, right? Sometimes we just sing stuff because it feels good and it gets our voice going. It doesn’t always have to be like our SOVT course where, “I’m using this SOVT because it creates this kind of effect.” Sometimes it’s like, I need to warm up and this feels good. And this is a top hit with a lot of my clients as well.
Maurice: Nice. Yeah. Voicing that feels good should probably be primary. And then the science and the other stuff comes secondary.
Anna: Yeah. Well, thanks for truly having a Yap Sesh. Thank you for listening. Thanks for coming along to our beach episode. Get in the comments, send us a DM. Let us know what your beach episode looks like. Let us know what non-voice things you’re up to, because I think that’s the coolest part about working with singers and voice users—that they are people too.
Maurice: Imagine that.
Anna: And we know, especially our electropop house music fans.
Maurice: Your electro synth pop house boots and cats.
Anna: Let us know what boots and cats you’re listening to, because clearly we want to listen to more of that.
Maurice: We want to listen to it as well. And if you are interested in joining us for either Under Pressure—we have to do that every time—or the replay of Building Balance or any other VoiceProEd course, you can head over to VoiceProEd.com/courses.
Anna: We’ll see you soon. Bye.
