Hannah Smikle is a professional voice coach and vocalist, working for over 15 years in the music industry. She has extensive experience both in live performance as a gigging musician and backing vocalist and in the studio as a session singer and recording artist. She joins Alexa this week on Singing Teachers’ Talk to discuss how you can boost a singer’s self-confidence.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The lack of live shows over Covid has impacted singers emotionally, financially, physically, and vocally. We’ve all been wondering “do I still have it” or “am I still going to be able to deliver”.
- The root of low confidence can often go back as far as childhood and those feelings of anxiety or nerves are programmed into our heads if things don’t go well early on.
- There is also a fear of judgement that people can develop, someone might not want to sing in front of an audience, or maybe not even want you, the teacher, to be watching them while they sing.
- Never be afraid to change our session to suit the mood of your student. If they’re not in a good way or have had a really tough day, we can alter what we do for them.
- CBT is based on the concept that your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and actions are interconnected, and that negative thoughts and feelings can trap you in a vicious cycle. CBT aims to help you deal with overwhelming problems in a more positive way by breaking them down into smaller parts.
- Preparation is so much more than we think it is. There are so many tiny things that can make us feel more prepared. For example if you’re performing at a new venue, you can prepare your voice, but you can also prepare where you’re going to park, if there is a phone charger in the dressing room, if you’ve made a connection with any of the staff there. It’s all preparation.
BEST MOMENTS
‘I never thought that I’d anticipate the sweet spray of a lip trill from someone else quite as much’
‘We need to understand the difference between being a listener and being a counsellor’
‘Make that performance a positive experience’
‘We have a choice of how we can react’
EPISODE RESOURCES
Guest Website:
Social Media:
@vocalperformancecoaching
Relevant Links & Mentions:
‘Empowering The Vocalist’ Event (2nd April 2022; Manchester):
Accent Method
BAPAM (British Association for Performing Arts Medicine)
CBT Therapy (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy)
ABOUT THE GUEST
Hannah Smikle is a professional voice coach and vocalist, working for over 15 years in the music industry. She has extensive experience both in live performance as a gigging musician and backing vocalist and in the studio as a session singer and recording artist.
Hannah has an impressive multi-disciplinary approach to vocal training – using her advanced technical knowledge alongside her industry experience, she is passionate about equipping a singer for optimum performance, be that on stage or in the studio. Hannah frequently works with vocalists to engineer and coach a recording session, enabling the singer to capture their best, most authentic vocal delivery. She has a holistic approach to working with performers, highly regarding whole-person wellbeing in the coaching process.
Hannah is dedicated to continuing her professional development; she regularly attends specialist courses, is a qualified Vocal Health First Aider, has a level 3 certificate in Counselling Skills, and is currently training as a Vocal Health Practitioner with Vocal Health England. She is a recommended Sing Space Coach and a member of the Musician’s Union.
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