You’re a speaker. A coach or group facilitator. A singer. You love, love, love your work. Nothing is missing in your life. (Except perhaps social interaction during a verrrry long year of isolation thanks to a global pandemic.) Then…BAM! It hits. The idea that rocks your world.

Has anything like that happened to you?

It’s what happened to me when I met Abella.

It started out so innocently. I just wanted to pass along the basics of healthy and effective vocal technique, in an interesting and affordable manner, in a time when people couldn’t get together much in person.

Since vocal training became my primary passion and work in the world, I’ve gotten onto a bit of a soap box, I admit it. Far too many public speakers speak in vocal fry, without even knowing what it is (and it can be so easy to fix!) Children should be taught healthy and effective vocal technique in schools. Famous speakers don’t know why they’re hoarse at the end of the day. Excuse me, but this is ridiculous! And…I’ll step down off my soap box now.

I was on a mission to educate, to inspire, to inform. Oh, I was all ready. So pumped. Ready or not, here I come!

And then I spoke to some of my students. And my world was rocked.

It was Emmett who first suggested I use a story to illustrate the vocal technique principles. A fable. A myth. Anything but a “How to Vocalize for Dummies” type format. And that’s how it all it started.

Ideas started coming to me on my Godwalks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNSqwV7nBOI&t=15s before I put pen to paper. (Well, fingers to keyboard.) And when Abella came in, she came in like a flood of inspiration. I know this happens to other artists all the time, but – for me – it was the first time I’d experienced that kind of inspiration as a fiction writer.

As I wrote these 34 pages, I saw everything through Abella’s eyes, heard through her ears, and smelled through her nose. I experienced what she experienced. I knew she had curly brown hair and bright brown eyes. I knew her horse was her best friend when she was age nine, like mine was for me at the same age. And that she had been devastated and lost her voice. And that she would get it back at the end of the story. I saw her canopy bed with the yellow fabric draped above her when she woke up in the morning. She took me on the journey with her, and I will never forget it.

MANY VOICES: One World is a phrase running through me now, since following Abella through her journey to her authentic voice. To me, the phrase means everyone on this planet has a unique, authentic voice and something important to say. No matter where you were born or into what circumstances. Whatever your skin color, cultural background, belief system or orientation may be. Our many voices share the same world. Let’s celebrate them together.

One way you can help do that is to purchase your personal e-Book with accompanying vocal training videos https://laurahandke.com/product/how-abella-found-her-voice-e-book/ for the staggering price of what you would pay for a venti mocha frappuccino. If you like the book, write a positive review (all five star reviews so far!) and tell your friends about it.

That, my friends, is how we start a Many Voices: One World movement. Come join me on the journey!

Thank you for the article! I really enjoyed the lab today and also realized that my voice and confidence have improved since starting a few months ago! Thank you! – Sidra N.

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Love Your Voice & Voice Your Love,

Laura

Lake Oswego’s Transformational Voice® Teacher (Transformational Voice® is a registered trademark of Transformational Voice® Training Institute, LLC, and Linda Brice.)