Jazz, Research & Bucket-List Turns: The Moment Melissa Forbes Quit Law for Music

Send us Fan MailDr Melissa Forbes worked in law for 10 years until the firm's partner told a story about a bucket of water. That speech sent her straight to a jazz conservatorium, then to the research lab, and finally into community halls where group singing is healing real-world isolation. In this episode of This Is A Voice, Jeremy Fisher & Dr Gillyanne Kayes chat with Melissa on -  the “flight-corrections” that reboot a creative life -  how positive psychology reframes practice, strength and burnout -  why participatory choirs can out-perform stadium shows in human impact -  tips for choir leaders & voice teachers who feel stuck in the “performance-only” loopWhether you belt for Britain, lead chamber choirs, or run a voice studio, the twists and turns in Melissa’s story will spark new ideas for you and your singers. Hit play, grab a cuppa, and let’s get vocal about making music that matters!00:00 – A Jazz Singer, A Lawyer & A Bucket of Water Walk Into a Bar...05:05 – Bringing the lawyer brain to music08:50 – Is singing research a dry subject?13:55 – Losing (& refinding) your joy in music17:45 – Turning points for different people22:09 – How singing helps with a crisis of social health 24:12 – Music for health and wellbeing#CommunityChoir #PositivePsychology #VoiceScienceRemember to like, subscribe, and hit the bell icon for more insightful episodes. Leave a comment below on what inspired you the most! 👇Here's the link to Melissa's article on pivoting from music performance to music on prescription (it's free to access):https://research.usq.edu.au/download/58f90447e97bc759d586fcb70ab91a7d3114d02bd6fdade8d31dbc0b1e02b81f/449105/forbes-et-al-2025-from-music-performance-to-prescription-a-guide-for-musicians-and-health-professionals.pdfYou 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 (now over 700 videos) for less than the price of one private singing lesson with us. 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! 📸 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/vocalprocess  📖 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/vocalprocess #vocalprocess #teacheraccreditation #voicetraining