VocalFri Podcast

This week Dr. Del Simone and soon to be Prof. South were back with Prof. Pigott and Dr. P to share with the #VocalFam the first annual Berton Coffin Voice Lab report. Here all about our technology journey of the past two years and our velopharyngeal opening project from this year as well as a preview of next year!

This week VocalFri was joined by regular guests Kayla Gautereaux, Ian Howell, and Theodora Nestorova for a discussion of the current state of AI models and the voice practitioner. Even over the past year AI models have progressed in many ways that are making it more inevitable that you will likely somehow interact with them. We share some insights into how we are using the models, the ethical use of the models, impacts on society, and other topics. We also share a bit about the new Journal of Singing AI policy, co-authored by Howell and Nestorova. 

So terrific to have our friend Noel Smith back on the pod! She shared with us about 2 new books! The Path to Broadway: Tools, Training, and Tactics for the Musical Theater Journey has been receiving rave reviews in its first few months of availability. Noel has launced many pro MT careers, so this is one to have for yourself as an aspiring singer or as a voice teacher. She also just released the follow up to her first book under a completely new title The Sustainable Voice Studio. She has been a highly successful independent teacher, now of a multi-teacher studio and she shares insights including building your studio, business incorporation, and many other critical areas for independent voice teachers of all levels of experience. Come join the #VocalFam!

VocalFam, come join us in San Antonio in July! This year the NATS National Conference is in beautiful San Antonio, TX July 4-7. Joining us today to share all the highlights of the conference were NATS President Alexis Davis-Hazell, NATS President Elect Randall Umstead, and our new NATS Executive Director Melissa Greenblatt. So many great offerings are in store for us from concerts to presentations and all the tremendous networking opportunities. Register on the NATS website, and be sure to book your accommodations at the conference hotel. A great time to see each other, connect, learn, and celebrate the teaching of singing!

#VocalFam today Prof. Pigott and Dr. P were joined by Kathy and Jonathan Price to tell us about the 2026 Westminster Choir College Vocal Pedagogy Institute. Along with the Price's as directors, this year's guest faculty includes Jared Trudeau, Wendy LeBorgne, and Dr. P! Here all about the history and proceedings of this year's institute. Another terrific continuing education opportunity for this summer! Come join the #VocalFam in New Jersey this summer, July 20-24.

#VocalFam you've waited 9 years for an episode dedicated to vocal distortions, well here it is! Toni Linke, @toni_linke_music (IG), @ToniLinke (YouTube) joins us to share his work on vocal distortions, which has become one of his international identities. Toni has shared his work throughout the world with a robust online following thanks to his work on Rough Vocal Effects and distortions. We walk through various types of sounds and how you might start a student navigating into this world. If you're interested in more, definitely check out one of Toni's workshops or his YouTube channel for more!

This week Prof. Pigott and Dr. P were joined by Dr. Mark Tempesta. Mark is Assistant Professor of Voice and Vocal Pedagogy at the University of North Texas. We learned about Mark's singing journey and dual art and science background. He shared how he got started collaborating and interested in CVT, which you could hear more about from this season's earlier episode with Mathias Aaen. Dr. Tempesta shared some of his research he presented at ICVT last summer and updated us on work they have going on in their lab at UNT. This is definitely one for you voice science and pedagogy nerds!

#VocalFam! We had an exciting and informative episode this week as Prof. Pigott, Benjamin, and Dr. P were joined by Dr. Marita Stryker and Joanne Bozeman to discuss their research into singing and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes (EDS), and hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD). Joining Dr. Stryker were her students Hailey Guptail, Wilson Lindberg, Emma Mach, and Ava Messinger to share their Chronically Singing project, https://www.chronicallysinging.com/ which is bringing awareness for singers and voice teachers regarding all of these conditions. 

This week Prof. Pigott and Dr. P hosted Lynn Helding, John Nix, and Allen Henderson, the directors of the NATS Science Informed Voice Pedagogy Institute. Now in the 4th year of the institute, our guests updated on many aspects for one of this summer's great continuing education opportunities. https://www.nats.org/Science-Informed_Pedagogy_Institute.html  

Prof. Pigott and Dr. P were joined for their annual chat with Embodied Music Lab's Dr. Ian Howell. EML is in the process of launching several courses ranging from the online version of their Acoustic Vocal Pedagogy Workshop to a new Optimizing Online Music Lessons and a third course on The Reflective Studio Music Teacher which will launch later this spring. If you enjoyed Dr. Kelly's episode from last fall on the makeup of a voice lesson, that will be a course you'll want to explore. All info is on the EML website. Check it out!

This week Prof. Pigott and Dr. P hosted Zipporah Peddle an Paul Patinka, the new associate editors of the Journal of Singing "Diverse Voices" column. As a pair they have authored several papers analyzing the composers that our repertoire represents and how we can be more inclusive in our repertoire selection as teachers. A fantastic conversation as you explore repertoire for your spring semester.

#VocalFam, Happy 2026! To kick off the new year Prof. Pigott, Alice, and Dr. P hosted Matt Edwards, Aaron Johnson, and Denis Michael Rudisch to discuss their article "Investigating Vocal Tract Configurations Across Different Belting Qualities in Female and Male Musical Theater Singers Using Real-Time Dynamic MRI," which was published in Journal of Voice last April. This episode is a great example of interdisciplinary voice science work that generated from the voice studio, into the lab, and has now returned wonderful insights back to voice teachers. A perfect episode to kickoff this semester!

The 9th annual VocalFri Christmas episode, our sequel to last year's Wicked Part 1 review, our Wicked: For Good review. This was also a special reunion episode. Dr. P and Prof. Pigott were joined again by Dr. P's kids, Charlie and Olivia, but also a surprise visit by original podcast co-host Michael, who joined us for the first time since VocalFri Christmas VI. We gave our overall impressions, covered the Act structure, the new original songs, John M. Chu's directorial vision, our performers, possible award nominations, and the 2 film structure. Everything you've been waiting for, with no worries about spoilers since this film was released over a month ago. 

#VocalFam, what an incredible conversation to start your December! This week Prof. Pigott and Dr. P were joined by the author Dave Maass and illustrator Patrick Lay of the Graphic Novel Death Strikes, along with CU grad students Alice Del Simone (as a guest), Andrew Konopak. This summer Alice and Andy had the chance to perform the Viktor Ullmann opera Der Kaiser von Atlantis with the Colorado Mahler Fest, and then they were invited by Dave to join the Death Strike panel at San Diego Comic Con!!!! Here about Dave and Patrick's process of creating the graphic novel with their team, which also included Ezra Rose, Richard Bruning, and Karen Berger. Learn about how they travelled to Terezin to create the visuals for the scenic settings and how the letterer created the atmosphere of the text from the original source material from the opera. This is arguably, the most VocalFri episode in history: a graphic novel about an opera! 

This week Alice and Dr. P were joined by Dr. Michaela Kelly to discuss her dissertation work and Journal of Singing article "The Composition of a Voice Lesson: How a Motor Learning Classification Framework Affects Teacher Effectiveness." This was a wonderful chat full of ideas of how to freshen up your teaching, continue towards student centeredness, and avoid burnout. Definitely check out the article and then read more in the full dissertation. 

This week Prof. Pigott and Dr. P were joined by Joanna Cazden, a noted Speech Language Pathologist and voice teacher to share about her new edition of Everyday Voice Care, (Amazon link). The book presents a holistic view for the reader on how to keep their voice healthy, what to look out for in terms of the need to see a doctor, and approaches all of its topics through a multi-faceted lens. This expanded edition was prepared for a post-pandemic world with considerations for today's modern voice user. Also check out one of Joanna's original songs here. 

Today Prof. Pigott and Dr. P were joined by Dr. Anne Slovin to discuss her dissertation work on disability informed practices in our teaching. It is vital that we all become more informed about best practices for how to be aware for our students in the classroom and voice studio. Creating an accommodating environment for all should be a goal that every teacher is striving to do. Please check out Anne's work on this important topic.

#VocalFam, this week Prof. Pigott, Alice, and Dr. P were joined by an esteemed group of colleagues including Devin Dolquist, Victoria Vargas, Shayna Isaacs, and André Chiang to discuss their Journal of Voice article "The Bound Breath: Transmasculine and Gender Nonconforming Singers' Perceived Effects of Chest Binding on Singing." This affirming episode shares the results of their survey on singers who wear chest binding and their observations of the impact of wearing binding material while singing. 

Professor Gautereaux joins the 5-timers club. Longtime #VocalFam Kayla Gautereaux joined us for an awesome chat about how she is using the framework of the scientific method in the applied voice studio both for current voice teachers and for training voice teachers. This episode demonstrates Prof. G's wonderful mastery of conceptualizing new models that enhance voice teaching beyond the mentor/apprentice model in a framework that allows the singer to be the investigator and voice teacher to be the co-investigator of a study into the student's voice. A fantastic conversation!

A Fall VocalFri in house. Dr. P catches us up on his upcoming Faculty Tuesday recital titled "Amok Time," and catches Sarah up on the ongoing tech upgrades and updates for the Berton Coffin Voice Lab at CU. A great chat to enjoy on Fall hike this weekend!

#VocalFam this is a must listen for those of you who are either interested in voice registration or who want to know more about Complete Vocal Technique (CVT). Today, Alice, Sarah, and Dr. P were joined by Dr. Mathias Aaen, a certified CVT voice teacher, but also the head of CVT's voice research efforts. Mathias has already put together quite the significant output of research articles, presentations, and other professional work. Along with Marek Frič they published a new study last June titled "Going Beyond the Register - Vocal Mode Categorization Across Four Octaves in Professional Male and Female Singing Using Voice Range Profile, EGG, Acoustic, and Vibroacoustic Measurements: Double-Case Study," in Journal of Voice. This paper is one we all should read. 

What a lovely chat with #VocalFam Dr. Brian Manternach discussing his new book Voices of Influence. The new book shares some of the wisdom he learned from one of his mentor's Robert J. Harrison, along with how Brian's teaching has evolved on its own journey. This wonderful new addition to our literature shares Brian's insight into the singer and voice teacher relationship in an honest, warm, and thoughtful manner that recognizes both legacy and generational growth. A great purchase for your pedagogy library!

#VocalFam, we have admired Jeremy Ryan Mossman's work from a far for many years now. Dr. P loves the way he discusses the integrated body. This is an episode for all practitioners to learn more about how to speak about the body as an wholistic system, learn about fascia, Jeremy's study of Feldenkreis, and how we incorporate these ideas with our students. If you want to work with Jeremy or learn more, check out https://www.bodybasedvoice.com/ 

#VocalFam we continue to try to promote diversity in our art song canon with a special guests Isabella Lamadriz and Jon Price from the Cuban Art Song Project. An awesome chat about Isabella's journey into this music, from her classical background. And while these are art songs, as you'll hear in the samples, this music goes way beyond traditional art song vibes. Definitely songs you will want to add to your repertoire and your studio teaching! The album is out now on all streaming platforms and the anthology is forthcoming.

David Sisco returns to share his new book Whole Hearted Voice Pedagogy. As voice teachers we all need to continue our paths towards student centered learning and empathy. David's book, podcast, and this episode should definitely be a part of your new school year journey! Come join the #VocalFam!

Welcome back #VocalFam!   Today we reviewed our summer's that were in lighting rounds.   On the docket and in order we covered: Upcoming season 9 guests. Voice Foundation, ICVT, the Renee Fleming escapade   Then we wrapped up with summer pop culture lighting rounds: Andor, Daredevil, Fallout, Mission Impossible 9, Doctor Who, and wrapped it up with reviews of the blockbuster duel of Superman and Fantasic 4! Let's have a great year VocalFam!

Season 8 concludes with a message of hope. During the first 20 minutes we encouraged the #VocalFam to give singers, voice teachers, and our entire community some grace and understanding after last week's Cynthia Erivo video situation. Then, Dr. P encouraged us, despite the times, to work to build student resilience by incorporating more hopefulness into our pedagogy. Prof. Pigott and Dr. P would like to thank you the VocalFam for 8 great years! See you in August.

#VocalFam, today we are joined by Dr. Emily Siar to discuss her dissertation research surveying and interviewing singers who have been through voice health issues. Removing the stigma around voice health has been a VocalFri mission for many years now. Please check out Emily's website, linked above, and the BoCo Vocal Pedagogy Professional Workshop, where Emily is on the faculty. 

We had our first in house episode in a few months with Prof. Pigott, Dr. P, and Alice. We finally got a report on Little Women from Sarah. We covered how Sarah and Nick's undergrad practicum are going this semester. Then we had a lively conversation about graduate practicum that led into the difference between knowledge curation and knowledge creation as it relates to graduate theses and dissertations. Come join the #VocalFam!

Today Dr. P and Alice were joined by Prof.s Theresa Brancaccio (Northwestern University) and Aaron Johnson (New York University - Langone) to share about their ongoing efforts developing a wearable, wireless vocal dosimeter. Their partnership with Dr. John Rogers has led to the development of a device that could provide active voice use data to a user with a wearable device through an app on their mobile device or watch. A very exciting development for researchers, clinicians, and professional voice users needing to track voice use and other biometrics. Check it out!

Today we were joined by longtime #VocalFam Ian Howell to preview his new book Hearing Singing: A Guide to Functional Listening and Voice Perception. Dr. P has already made a public endorsement of this book, but trust us that this book is both revolutionary and practical. Ian presents a functional framework that can open your ears to listen to all singing genres through a new lens. The book also contains Dr. Howell's first writing sharing some of his own pedagogic concepts of singing and voice teaching. A must have for your voice bookshelf. 

This week we are joined by Joanne Bozeman to share about Hypermobility. What it is, how do symptoms present, and what do singers and singing teachers need to know. Hypermobility is a brand new topic for the pod, and we are excited to share this important topic with the #VocalFam!

We are joined by longtime #VocalFam Dr. Chadley Ballantyne to tell us about his work with modular units for voice lessons. We've wanted to do this episode for a long time. Chadley's strategies and approaches could help you with burnout, fatigue, and give your teaching the much needed refresh you've been seeking.

It's a deep dive into everyone's favorite range: middle voice! C4-C5 can be a wonderful or gnarly journey depending on vowel, style, the weather, or the phase of the moon. Join Prof. Pigott and Dr. P for a serious in-depth, focused pedagogy episode on navigating the choppy waters of the treble staff!

It's our first old school VocalFri of the season. Prof. Pigott and Dr. P were going to discuss middle voice musings, but that is now pushed to Feb. 7. Instead, we got lost in a conversation about our respective pedagogy practicum courses. This led to our first very down to earth practical pedagogic conversation maybe all season. Enjoy your weekend #VocalFam!

Join us for a new year as season 8 rolls on! Today we were joined by Seth Killen from Anderson University to talk about new paradigms for voice lesson grading. Seth shared work that he presented last summer at NATS National. He has offered to share this model with the #VocalFam for reference. A perfect conversation as those of us in the academy are finishing spring semester preparations. Cheers for a prosperous 2025!

It's a Wicked VocalFri Christmas! VocalFri is joined by Dr. P's teenagers who are now musical theater nerds in the truest sense to review Wicked: Part 1. Come enjoy some holiday festivities as you travel to this season. May your holiday season be filled with love, light, and rest. Happy Holidays #VocalFam!

#VocalFam we are joined for our Fall Finale with the great Kerrie Obert! Please check out all her wonderful courses from GetVocal-Now.com, including her own course on Breathing. In Kerrie's return episode she shared incredible practical and useful ideas for helping your teaching navigate away from a "one size fits all" model for breathing towards helping your students navigate respiration as they need to for a specific style. 

Dr. P and Prof. Pigott are joined by #VocalFam Dana Lentini as we continue to try be more inclusive in our pedagogy with an episode about teaching kids! Dana is one of the worldwide leaders in teaching singing to children. Go check out her book Teaching the Child Singer, and her new songbook. These are must haves if your studio includes children. 

We are coming back to Dr. P's original research agenda! Our first in house episode in a few months. Prof. Pigott, Dr. P, and CU grad Benjamin break down some history, research, and the CU team's new directions on Musical Theater treble singing and nasality.

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  1: Bossa nova 2 - 13: MPB 14: Baião 15 - 19: Brazilian rock (even though it sometimes sounds like MPB...) 20 - 21: Vocal group 22 - 25: Sertanejo (Brazilian country music) 26: me singing the song cycle Amazon Legends, by W. Henrique   Link to Luciano's linktree.

#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.