Kaya Herstad-Carney joins Alexa to tackle the subject of how to measure a singer. That doesn’t mean marking their height on the wall in pencil; it’s about understanding someone’s limitations and exceptions. Kaya is creative with a wide skill set, ranging from powerful performances of her original music to vocal coaching, singing teacher training, and artist development. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• There are two things that come into play when looking at a singer: their nature; and their nurture. When we, as singing teachers, look at their nature, there are things we can change and things we can’t. We’re not going to change their size and shape, but we can change how things are coordinated and how their body is positioned. 
• The lamina propria is a thin layer of connective tissue that forms part of the moist linings known as mucous membranes or mucosae, which line various tubes in the body, such as the respiratory tract. It is part of the vibrating filament of the vocal fold. 
• If someone has problematic large tonsils, it will influence their sound because the biggest bass will boost the lower frequencies, and the smallest bass will boost the higher ones. Kaya has had students who have had them removed and liked their new sound, while others have found it harder to adjust. 
• We have moved away from the idea of that very rigid head-up posture. Not everyone’s ideal posture is the same. We need to work with the student to find the ideal posture for them as an individual. 

BEST MOMENTS
‘Measure but don’t mention the physical appearance of someone and what we can expect from their sound’
‘People’s ideal posture is individual’
‘If in doubt, go and check it out’
‘Breathing out literally lowers your heart rate'

EPISODE RESOURCES
Guest Website:

• kayamusic.com

Social Media: 

• @kayamusic

Relevant Links & Mentions: 

• BAST Blog - The Vocal Fold Layers: https://www.basttraining.com/the-vocal-fold-layers/e vocal folds article 
• Singing Teachers Talk Podcast - Ep. 40 Integrated Skills: Teaching Singing to Dancers with Jennie Morton
• Singing Teachers Talk Podcast - Ep. 97 Elevate Your Performance Through Anatomical Efficiency with Jennie Morton 
• Spotlight: https://www.spotlight.com/
• Chris Johnson & Teach Voice: https://www.teachvoice.com/
• Kerrie Obert: https://obertvoicestudios.com/
• Voce Vista: https://www.vocevista.com/
• The Work of: Ken Bozeman; Ian Howell; Ingo Titze; Johan Sundberg 
• Singing Teachers Talk Podcast - Ep. 101 How to Belt with John Henny
• Voice Science Works: https://www.voicescienceworks.org/
• Pitch Analyser App
• Vocal Pitch Monitor App 
• Waterbear: https://waterbear.org.uk/

ABOUT THE GUEST
Kaya is a creative with a wide skill set, ranging from powerful performances of her original music, vocal coaching and singing teacher training, artist development and co-writing, artistic direction for Threshold Festival and gig promotion, band and choir direction/arranging, mentoring and community workshops, in addition to her lecturing career across the popular music subjects including voice, songwriting, band skill and music industry studies. Originally from Norway, she made the UK her home in 1999. She is an established artist with a track record of performances at The Royal Variety Show, to the BBC Songwriting Showcase, touring UK and Europe.
Kaya has a varied portfolio career and is a passionate singer, songwriter, performer and a harmony/vocal fanatic, vocal arranger and producer, festival director, mentor, musical/choir director, vocal geek and senior lecturer with a wide range of experiences and interests on and off the stage. She has a particular love for vocal habilitation and artist development in the Contemporary Commercial field of music, including popular music, musical theatre and extreme vocals.

ABOUT THE PODCAST
BAST Training is here to help singers gain the knowledge, skills and understanding required to be a great singing teacher. We can help you whether you are getting started or just have some knowledge gaps to fill through our courses and educational events.
Website: basttraining.com
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Link to presenter’s bios: basttraining.com/singing-teachers-talk-podcast-bios