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Jun 16
2 min

Musical Worship at Home

"We can't sing in church?!? But I miss it so much!" I know many church music directors have heard similar sentiments expressed to them la...

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Dr. Heather Nelson

May 29
3 min

Planning for the future: Choose Your Own Adventure

I am so very proud of the arts community in my city. Here in Springfield there is a small opera company that has done a brilliant job of ...

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Dr. Heather Nelson

May 22
3 min

Sometimes you have to sound terrible to sing well

It's true. Especially in your voice lesson. I've told my clients often that you have to get over the fear of sounding terrible in order t...

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Dr. Heather Nelson

May 8
3 min

Dear Church Musician...

What a week. The bad news just seemed to keep rolling in without stopping. With no time to breathe before the next hit. And not a lot of w...

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Dr. Heather Nelson

Mar 19
5 min

Songs in the Key of Coronavirus

Y'all. I'm feeling it. And I bet you are, too. You know, that low-level but constant stress over the last two and a half weeks that is qu...

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Dr. Heather Nelson

Mar 3
3 min

Celebrate!

Through the month of February we talked about setting goals, focusing mostly on how we think and believe about our goals. I believe stron...

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Dr. Heather Nelson

Feb 29
1 min

Take the Leap!

If you've been waiting for "the right time" to start on your vocal goals, that time will never come. I promise you, there will always be ...

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Dr. Heather Nelson

Feb 26
4 min

Need help prioritizing your goals? Try some JOMO

I am a hoarder of words. I love words. It doesn't matter what form they come in. Books, magazines, blogs, articles, podcasts, etc. If it'...

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Dr. Heather Nelson

Feb 20
3 min

The Yellow Brick Road Isn't For Everybody

Do you remember when Dorothy first made it to Oz, she met Glinda the Good Witch and was told she needed to make it to the Emerald City so...

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Dr. Heather Nelson

Feb 11
3 min

Starting with "Why"

Last week I challenged you to set vocal goals starting with how you want to feel about your voice. You can check out that post here. Goin...

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Dr. Heather Nelson

Feb 4
3 min

What's your BHAG?

Your Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal, that is. We tend to set goals or resolutions for ourselves at the beginning of the year, and I think tha...

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Dr. Heather Nelson

Jan 28
3 min

Setting my days up for success

As a creative person in a creative field, sometimes I can be exhilarated by spontaneity. But I cannot operate in that mode 24/7. In fact,...

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Dr. Heather Nelson

Jan 22
3 min

Why We Practice: The Discipline of Preparing to Fly

I love this video. Watch and see an extraordinary opportunity take shape for one young musician. David Tolley, after his spontaneous nati...

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Dr. Heather Nelson

Jan 14
5 min

In the trenches of the gig economy

I see you. The one struggling to fit everything into your schedule this week, while still trying to find things to fill next week. And th...

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Dr. Heather Nelson

Dec 31, 2019
6 min

On the twelfth day of vocal health, my true love gave to me...flexible scopes a-strobing

Have you been to the laryngologist this year for your annual voice check up yet? The last post in this series looks at twelve things to e...

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Dr. Heather Nelson

Dec 30, 2019
2 min

On the eleventh day of vocal health, my true love encouraged me...to keep huffing and puffing.

There are weird unicorn people who just LOVE to exercise. I'm admittedly not one of them. Well, I do really enjoy walking, especially out...

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Dr. Heather Nelson

Dec 29, 2019
5 min

On the tenth day of vocal health, my true love gave to me...ten tea bags steeping.

We all want quick fixes and miracle cures. I spend a lot of time on forums in the social media world filled with singers who get sick, ha...

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Dr. Heather Nelson

Dec 28, 2019
2 min

On the ninth day of vocal health, my true love gave to me...sugar plums a-dancing

SLEEP! We all need it, though science hasn't really explained why. We do know that sleep is required for long term learning, and that a g...

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Dr. Heather Nelson

Dec 27, 2019
4 min

On the eighth day of vocal health, my true love gave to me...eight signs of aging

We don't like to talk about getting older here in the United States. Entire industries, and quite a few charlatans peddling miracle cures...

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Dr. Heather Nelson

Dec 26, 2019
2 min

On the seventh day of vocal health, my true love gave to me...seven minutes steaming.

Hydration of your whole body by drinking water is best for keeping your vocal tract hydrated enough. But if you need a little extra, espe...

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