Singing Teachers Talk

Want a more impressive belt? Before you search for another vocal exercise, you might want to question what you think makes great belting in the first place. In this episode, Alexa Terry shares eight thought-provoking ideas - some that might surprise you. 
 
About the presenter HERE
 
RELEVANT MENTIONS & LINKS 
Amanda Flynn 
Voice Study Centre 
Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.133 Mastering Belt in Musical Theatre  
Emily Kristen Morris 
Singing Teacher’s Talk - Ep.200 The Secret to Powerful Belting and Seamless Mixing  
Sing Like Never Before by Justin Stoney of New York Vocal Coaching  
Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell 
Kerrie Obert 
Singing Teacher’s Talk - Ep.151 How to Sing with Twang  
 
ABOUT THE GUEST 
Alexa is a singing teacher and vocal coach who runs her own singing tuition practice in the South of England. She is also a 1-1 singing tutor at one of the UK’s leading performing arts schools – Italia Conti, where she regularly panels auditions and assessments. Alexa is the host of BAST Training’s Singing Teachers Talk podcast, and is one of the mentors for their level 5 singing teaching qualification. [Text Wrapping Break][Text Wrapping Break]After graduating with a BA Musical Theatre degree, Alexa Terry donned her sailor’s cap and performed as a lead soloist on cruise ships travelling the Mediterranean, Caribbean and Baltic seas. She trod the boards in London’s West End as the protagonist in a new Musical Theatre project, studied as a librettist with Book, Music and Lyrics (BML), and has written for the likes of BritishTheatre.comas a reviewer. Alexa has also presented on topics of Musical Theatre repertoire, authentic Musical Theatre performance, and imposter syndrome for Vocology in Practice and The Sing Space; and at the BAST Intensive Weekend of Summer 2026, Alexa delivered talks in diagnosing and assessing voices and choosing repertoire to build technique.  
 
Website 
Instagram: @AlexaTerryVocalCoaching  
🎁 Free Resource: Get your copy of How to Assess the Singer’s Voice with Confidence — a practical guide to help you understand what’s going on in any singer’s voice.  >>> DOWNLOAD HERE
At BAST Training, we help singers turn their experience into a meaningful teaching career. Building the confidence, knowledge, and real-world skills to teach with confidence, clarity, and compassion.
“The BAST Advanced Foundation has given me more than the tools I need to teach — it’s given me confidence, a community, and a future.” Jess McGlinchey, UK
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In this episode, Alexa is joined once again by physiotherapist Emer Tully to explore the jaw. They unpack why jaw tension isn't always about the jaw itself, how posture, breathing, hypermobility and stress all play a role, and what singers and teachers can do to improve jaw health and function. Whether you struggle with clenching, clicking, or simply want to better understand the biomechanics behind a free and efficient voice, this conversation is packed with practical insights you'll be able to apply straight away. 
 
WHAT’S IN THIS PODCAST?  
2:11 How do we know when the jaw is functioning well? 
3:32 Hypermobility P1 
6:55 Assessing opening and closing of the jaw 
14:21 Release vs strengthening   
28:34 Biomechanics vs aesthetics  
31:52 Hypermobility P2  
33:41 Acupuncture and the jaw  
36:01 Jaw red flags  
36:54 Clicking jaw & TMJ 
42:39 Three things to look after your jaw health   
 
About the presenter HERE
 
RELEVANT MENTIONS & LINKS 
Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.241 Is Your Pelvic Floor Affecting Your Voice? A Deep Dive with Physiotherapist Emer Tully 
Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.110 Articulation and Singing: Assessing Jaw Behaviour With Chris Johnson 
Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.201 Working with Hypermobile Singers with Sarah Algoet 
Evolve  
Bone Prop 
 
ABOUT THE GUEST 
Emer Tully is a physiotherapist specialising in hypermobility, TMJ dysfunction, breathing mechanics, and vocal health. She works closely with singers, performers, and individuals with complex chronic symptoms, exploring how the jaw, airway, voice, and whole-body movement patterns influence health and performance. Her clinical approach focuses on connecting the dots between biomechanics, breathing, the nervous system, and long-term symptom management. Based in Blackheath, South East London.  
 
Website 
Instagram: @core_points 
🎁 Free Resource: Get your copy of How to Assess the Singer’s Voice with Confidence — a practical guide to help you understand what’s going on in any singer’s voice.  >>> DOWNLOAD HERE
At BAST Training, we help singers turn their experience into a meaningful teaching career. Building the confidence, knowledge, and real-world skills to teach with confidence, clarity, and compassion.
“The BAST Advanced Foundation has given me more than the tools I need to teach — it’s given me confidence, a community, and a future.” Jess McGlinchey, UK
Start with the foundations >>> ENROL NOW
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In this episode, Alexa is joined by researcher, musician and founder of The F-List, Vick Bain, for an important conversation about gender equality in the UK music industry. Drawing on her PhD research and years of experience, Vick explores the barriers that women and gender-diverse musicians continue to face, from pay gaps and career progression to representation, discrimination and the realities of building a sustainable career in music. It's a thought-provoking discussion that challenges assumptions, shares the evidence behind the headlines, and asks what role we can play in creating a more inclusive future for the artists we teach. Just to let you know some listeners may find some of the topics discussed distressing - take a pause, and we will be right there waiting when you’re ready.  
 
WHAT’S IN THIS PODCAST?  
1:28 About Vick’s PhD: Women's Careers in the UK Music Industry 
2:02 What are some of the biggest gender inequality issues currently?  
5:50 Age discrimination and pay gap statistics  
15:55 The ‘what about Adele’ question 
25:06 Where are women missing?  
27:13 What happens when women ‘over-represent’ in a field?  
29:44 Being a freelancer  
32:57 The red flags 
36:11 Political landscapes  
40:15 The F-List 
 
About the presenter HERE
 
RELEVANT MENTIONS & LINKS 
The UK Music Diversity Taskforce 
Musicians Union 
Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.263 The Creative Juggle: Singer, Songwriter and Teacher 
Musician Census of 2024 
Government pay gap reports  
Intellectual Property Office 
Gov Misogyny in Music 
PRS for music 
Independent Society of Musicians 
Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.117 The ISM: What Singers and Singing Teachers Need to Know 
Reform Our Contract With You 
 
ABOUT THE GUEST 
 
Vick Bain is an EDI and Research Consultant with nearly 30 years' experience in the music and creative industries. Formerly CEO of the Ivors Academy and Past President of the Independent Society of Musicians, she now leads a consultancy specialising in strategic research, impact evaluation, and diversity and inclusion. A Henley Business School MBA graduate, Vick is completing a PhD at Queen Mary University of London on women's careers in music. She is the Founder of The F-List for Music CIC, a not-for-profit supporting women and gender diverse musicians across the UK and serves as a board director of the ISM. Her clients include IMPALA, Counterculture, Beggars Group, UK Music, Beatport and Attitude is Everything. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and Companion of LIPA - appointed by Sir Paul McCartney - she is included in both the Music Week Women in Music Roll of Honour and the BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour Music Industry Powerlist. 
Vick trained as a classical singer in the early 1990s, holding Grade 8 singing, an HND in Classical Music (Voice) and a BA in Performing Arts. She recorded and performed with experimental artist Rapoon, sang for many years with the London Bulgarian Choir – during whose time they were runners-up in the BBC Choir of the Year and performed alongside numerous pop and rock acts. She recently joined a Cornish choir, continuing a lifelong relationship with singing.  
Website 
The F List 
Instagram 
LinkedIn 
🎁 Free Resource: Get your copy of How to Assess the Singer’s Voice with Confidence — a practical guide to help you understand what’s going on in any singer’s voice.  >>> DOWNLOAD HERE
At BAST Training, we help singers turn their experience into a meaningful teaching career. Building the confidence, knowledge, and real-world skills to teach with confidence, clarity, and compassion.
“The BAST Advanced Foundation has given me more than the tools I need to teach — it’s given me confidence, a community, and a future.” Jess McGlinchey, UK
Start with the foundations >>> ENROL NOW
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This week, Alexa chats with artist, songwriter, choir leader, and vocal coach India Bourne about life beyond the stage. From touring the world with Ben Howard to building a thriving teaching career, India shares how completing the BAST Foundation Course deepened her understanding of the voice, transformed her songwriting, and enriched her work with singers. She also opens up about balancing creativity, teaching, and motherhood, revealing how life as a mum has shaped her artistry, sharpened her instincts, and helped her to continue creating a sustainable, fulfilling career in music. 
 
WHAT’S IN THIS PODCAST?  
1:08 What venues are India’s favourite to play? 
3:38 What has India learnt through touring and being a human in the music industry? 
6:06 Does teaching ever feel in tension with being an artist?  
12:37 India’s experience with BAST 
14:50 How has being a classically trained cellist influenced artistry and teaching? 
18:10 Songwriting and creative ideas 
25:07 Singing and training emotion in music 
30:02 Being the creative juggler  
33:26 Protecting your own creativity  
35:35 India’s new music 
 
About the presenter HERE
 
RELEVANT MENTIONS & LINKS 
Ben Howard 
Man and Superman by George Bernard Shaw 
Why Doing Nothing Can Change Your Life by Joseph Jebelli 
Heidi Moss Erickson 
Singing in the Brain: Ep.2: The Spaces in Between - Part1 Rest 
Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.256 The Neuroscience of Singing: What the Singer’s Brain Needs 
Middle Farm Studios 
Outside venue 
 
ABOUT THE GUEST 
India Bourne is a classically trained musician, songwriter and vocal coach whose voice has travelled the world as a long-time member of Ben Howard's live band. Singing and playing cello, bass and percussion, she has spent years immersed in shared stages and shifting landscapes. Alongside this, she has released music as Tender Central, where electronica and folk intertwine in songs that echo the emotional depth of Massive Attack, Lamb and Joni Mitchell. 
 
Now, India returns to releasing music under her own name. This new collection is shaped by long-standing musical relationships, featuring collaborators Mickey Smith, Nat Wason and Rich Thomas alongside her all-female choir, The Big Skirts. Recorded live to tape at Middle Farm Studios with producer Peter Miles, these are songs of initiation and becoming - of motherhood, grief, nature, and new life - held together by the rare chemistry of old friends playing in the same room.  
 
At the heart of the record is the voice, or rather voices. India writes with her women vocalists in mind, weaving their lines together as a living fabric from which melodies emerge. The result is music that feels both grounded and expansive, rooted in collective breath, resonance and connection. 
 
Website 
Instagram 
The Big Skirts 
🎁 Free Resource: Get your copy of How to Assess the Singer’s Voice with Confidence — a practical guide to help you understand what’s going on in any singer’s voice.  >>> DOWNLOAD HERE
At BAST Training, we help singers turn their experience into a meaningful teaching career. Building the confidence, knowledge, and real-world skills to teach with confidence, clarity, and compassion.
“The BAST Advanced Foundation has given me more than the tools I need to teach — it’s given me confidence, a community, and a future.” Jess McGlinchey, UK
Start with the foundations >>> ENROL NOW
basttraining.com | Stay Updated

What happens when arts education becomes truly accessible? In this inspiring episode, Alexa speaks with Georgina from RABBLE Theatre about breaking down barriers to participation, building confidence through performance, and creating meaningful pathways for young people and adults in the arts. From nurturing performers to supporting wellbeing, creativity, and community engagement, this conversation is packed with insights for singing teachers, drama educators, arts leaders, and anyone passionate about the transformative power of creative education. 
 
WHAT’S IN THIS PODCAST?  
3:25 What is RABBLE Theatre?  
5:00 The RABBLE mission 
7:27 Education and Youth programmes at RABBLE 
12:07 RABBLE is looking for freelance singing teachers!  
13:31 The wellbeing benefits of the arts  
15:36 Getting financial support from RABBLE 
17:22 Nurturing Performers  
19:53 Fundraising tips 
23:21 Pushback and grants  
25:25 Make a donation 
 
About the presenter HERE
 
RELEVANT MENTIONS & LINKS 
Seamus Allen (Improvisation) 
Holiday Activities Fund 
Chris Mitchell  
Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.222 The Rise of AI: What it Means for Singers and Singing Teachers   
Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.226 The Rise of AI: Practical Tools and Strategies for the Singing Teacher  
Arts Council 
Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.162 Voices of the South West: Building Community with the Southwest Voice Hub  
Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.224 Your Brain on Art: The Science of Creativity and Healing 
 
ABOUT THE GUEST 
 
RABBLE Theatre is an education charity that tells local stories of national significance. They have a large education department, engaging over 2,000 young people and adults every year, 141 of whom access their work through the RABBLE access fund.  
 
Website 
@rabble_theatre on Instagram 
@rabbletheatre on Tik Tok 
Contact RABBLE to collaborate 
🎁 Free Resource: Get your copy of How to Assess the Singer’s Voice with Confidence — a practical guide to help you understand what’s going on in any singer’s voice.  >>> DOWNLOAD HERE
At BAST Training, we help singers turn their experience into a meaningful teaching career. Building the confidence, knowledge, and real-world skills to teach with confidence, clarity, and compassion.
“The BAST Advanced Foundation has given me more than the tools I need to teach — it’s given me confidence, a community, and a future.” Jess McGlinchey, UK
Start with the foundations >>> ENROL NOW
basttraining.com | Stay Updated