Nat is a classically trained Mezzo Soprano singer, who, yes, was once that 6 year old, dressed in the tights and the onesey, attempting to hustle her family into the lounge to watch her perform. When she kept getting lead roles in high school musicals and (growing up in the country,) started getting phone calls back from strangers administering magazine singing competitions that she'd rung into and recorded herself on, to tell her that she'd won and offer some words of encouragement, and also had her Literature, Media Arts and Sunday School Teacher telling her she had the best high range he'd heard come through the school in decades, Nat started to figure that she mustn't be totally crap at it. And continued into University student musical theatre performances, while studying towards a Bachelor of Contemporary Arts- Drama.
Having only had a grand total of 3 or 4 singing lessons (and 3 or 4 dance lessons) at that point, Nat soon hit though a few technical vocal sustainability issues on longer theatre runs, that knocked her confidence then as to whether her voice was really good enough to use it professionally as a Singer. So that, for a atime, she then leaned into the power of channelling character's voices in acting to entertain. As well as the power of her authentic voice as a Counsellor, Coach, Facilitator and Speaker, to facilitate awareness, healing, growth and create positive impact in the world.
That is, until one particularly day, not long before the pandemic, standing in a lounge room party in Sydney, she found herself coaching an amazing professional Singer. Who'd just blown the room away with her performance in the best possible way. But she later confessed to me that she was thinking of quitting, after having just been publicly chewed out in front of millions, over her marketability, by the judges on a well known American talent show for Singers.
As a Coach, i found myself compelled to both reflect back the positive impact that her performance had just had upon all of us in the room. Plus found myself sharing my own story of why i'd pulled my own singing voice back to only the car and lounge rooms, decades prior, based on "marketability concerns." Plus shared with her my maternal Grandpa's story of his regrets about only taking up singing concerts in nursing homes later in life, as evidence that i think she'll come to regret, if she lets the outside opinions of certain other so-called "experts," override her core inner knowing that she was born to do this. For the record, she went on to produce a killer album that was more "HER" than EVER and get back out there on tour. Nat then made a decision to take her own advice.
She then hired an awesome classically trained Vocal Coach and got back to working on the basic mechanics of proper vocal singing technique. Plus got assessed by an ENT and referred to working with a Speech Therapist on correcting some of the mechanical and stress related voice changes and overuse patterns she'd habitually fallen into also as a Speaker and when speaking under stress. Nat also worked with different trauma-informed Therapists to help overcome some past trauma imprints, outside influences and limiting beliefs that she'd also let override her self belief in the purpose, quality and value of her own singing voice.
Like the Singer Nat coached, Nat too had to take her own advice on understanding that implementing valid technical feedback is one thing. But you can't let your value be totally defined by the reactive projections, or the opinions of people who just don't like like the messenger, don't like what you've got to say, or the way you're here to say it, because they aren't really your target audience. But to paraphrase Jackson Maine in "A Star Is Born," you DO need to dig deep into your soul to STAY connected to that part of you that KNOWS you've got something worth saying, and you've got to show up and SAY it, for the benefit of the people who DO NEED, WANT and will deeply value hearing how you specifically are going to sing, or say it.
So now Nat's back on working on that. Plus places to say it and who wants to say it WITH her.
Sometimes that's in the form of covers; sometimes its rock, sometimes it's Indie, sometimes it's dance dj's and pop ballads. She also loves ambient, devotional/new age pieces, as well as (in line with her ancestry) traditional folk music of the Celtic nations. Other times she's playing again with musical theatre. Other days, she'll wake up with a new song idea in her head, and it's a race out of bed to get to the keyboard and pull out the voice memo app on her phone and a notebook to capture it.
Whatever it is, her passion is for music that MOVES you. That whether through the magic of lyrics, or art and science of music and frequency, not just entertains, uplifts and shifts our state. But also helps us heal and reveal new parts of ourselves. And catalyses new perspectives.
Having only had a grand total of 3 or 4 singing lessons (and 3 or 4 dance lessons) at that point, Nat soon hit though a few technical vocal sustainability issues on longer theatre runs, that knocked her confidence then as to whether her voice was really good enough to use it professionally as a Singer. So that, for a atime, she then leaned into the power of channelling character's voices in acting to entertain. As well as the power of her authentic voice as a Counsellor, Coach, Facilitator and Speaker, to facilitate awareness, healing, growth and create positive impact in the world.
That is, until one particularly day, not long before the pandemic, standing in a lounge room party in Sydney, she found herself coaching an amazing professional Singer. Who'd just blown the room away with her performance in the best possible way. But she later confessed to me that she was thinking of quitting, after having just been publicly chewed out in front of millions, over her marketability, by the judges on a well known American talent show for Singers.
As a Coach, i found myself compelled to both reflect back the positive impact that her performance had just had upon all of us in the room. Plus found myself sharing my own story of why i'd pulled my own singing voice back to only the car and lounge rooms, decades prior, based on "marketability concerns." Plus shared with her my maternal Grandpa's story of his regrets about only taking up singing concerts in nursing homes later in life, as evidence that i think she'll come to regret, if she lets the outside opinions of certain other so-called "experts," override her core inner knowing that she was born to do this. For the record, she went on to produce a killer album that was more "HER" than EVER and get back out there on tour. Nat then made a decision to take her own advice.
She then hired an awesome classically trained Vocal Coach and got back to working on the basic mechanics of proper vocal singing technique. Plus got assessed by an ENT and referred to working with a Speech Therapist on correcting some of the mechanical and stress related voice changes and overuse patterns she'd habitually fallen into also as a Speaker and when speaking under stress. Nat also worked with different trauma-informed Therapists to help overcome some past trauma imprints, outside influences and limiting beliefs that she'd also let override her self belief in the purpose, quality and value of her own singing voice.
Like the Singer Nat coached, Nat too had to take her own advice on understanding that implementing valid technical feedback is one thing. But you can't let your value be totally defined by the reactive projections, or the opinions of people who just don't like like the messenger, don't like what you've got to say, or the way you're here to say it, because they aren't really your target audience. But to paraphrase Jackson Maine in "A Star Is Born," you DO need to dig deep into your soul to STAY connected to that part of you that KNOWS you've got something worth saying, and you've got to show up and SAY it, for the benefit of the people who DO NEED, WANT and will deeply value hearing how you specifically are going to sing, or say it.
So now Nat's back on working on that. Plus places to say it and who wants to say it WITH her.
Sometimes that's in the form of covers; sometimes its rock, sometimes it's Indie, sometimes it's dance dj's and pop ballads. She also loves ambient, devotional/new age pieces, as well as (in line with her ancestry) traditional folk music of the Celtic nations. Other times she's playing again with musical theatre. Other days, she'll wake up with a new song idea in her head, and it's a race out of bed to get to the keyboard and pull out the voice memo app on her phone and a notebook to capture it.
Whatever it is, her passion is for music that MOVES you. That whether through the magic of lyrics, or art and science of music and frequency, not just entertains, uplifts and shifts our state. But also helps us heal and reveal new parts of ourselves. And catalyses new perspectives.