Singing your way out of the pandemic- Ken's Story!

Ken runs a voice coaching business with his partner in New York City. A Broadway veteran and a faculty member at New York University, he has been in business for nine years. His business clients range from Broadway performers to Broadway wannabes and beginners and those who simply like singing. Some are as young as 15 years; others are older, taking voice lessons as hobbies in their sixties.

Ken loves what he does. He continues to be a learner himself, voraciously consuming books, podcasts, and having a coach for himself.

As the pandemic hit the business, Ken and his partner had a lot going on...they had seen a shift to online music lessons a few years ago and were thinking about creating their online course. Ken was getting married to his partner end of the month. He had painstakingly organized the wedding as a 'show' true to his background. Then came the lockdown, and everything changed.

From here on, here the story of how Ken navigated through the pandemic in his voice.

The pandemic hit our business early. As soon as Broadway shut down, our professional clientele vanished. The non-professional customers stayed- especially those who still had jobs. Realizing that the pandemic could get worse, we did a quick survey among those who were continuing to ask them if they would be willing to switch to online classes or still prefer face-to-face; we had half say no, and half say yes. We had always prided ourselves on our face-to-face, often group sessions, and in fact, that was in our mission. There is something about learning together. But that option died down since the very act of singing makes it a super spreader for the virus. Little wonder many Broadway shows took a hit early on as their cast members contracted the virus. And people want to be careful. The virus lingers for a long time, and if you end up with respiratory problems, it could affect your singing career for a long time or even a lifetime! So, there is a great risk in coming to singing classes face-to-face.

While many voice-coaches have gone online, it is not that simple for us- especially when we make you sing with accompaniments. On Zoom, you cannot sing with accompaniments performed by others simultaneously. It does not sync well. There is a delay between instruments. Even videos we see of people performing together are individually recorded beforehand and digitally mastered to come through in sync. Solo lessons are OK, but live-online group lessons, particularly choir singing and musical theater, are not OK.

But then, when things wholly locked down as the pandemic surged, and we had to reinvent our business model. We decided to offer online solo and group lessons, dropped our price, balancing out the fact that we were saving on rent, doubled down on our online advertising. We found the switch creative and exciting, and while we may not be making much money, it lit a spark in us!

Our move to online has gone incredibly well, especially for our beginners. Peel the layer underneath the demand, and we discovered a much deeper need in people. We are going through a difficult time; there is much uncertainty, with our emotions up and down. Taking an hour a week so that you can just connect with your voice, connect with your singing, is therapeutic- it creates this unique energy, and the creativity gets you to a better place. Singing brings out the essence of the person.

I keep saying that singing is like meditation. If you ever go to a meditation class, your most important lesson is learning to breathe. Singing is the same- you draw your breath, hold it, and exhale it through your voice in a rhythmic and calculated way so that it creates a musical tone, pleasant to the ear, and uniquely you! Not just that, when you are in the full singing mode, you are in 'flow,' and it feels good. You tap into your parasympathetic nervous system, and you feel connected with the world, with your fellow human beings, and with yourself deep within. Imagine singing your way through the pandemic! No wonder singing is a way to heal. One of the things we realized is that to downplay our coaching's technical elements to focus on the emotions. So, when we have our classes, we ask people to express what they are going through emotionally, what would be the most fun for them, what would allow them to express something they may want to communicate, etc. In doing so, we focus on what your soul needs right now and work the technical things along the way. In our own way, we move people forward through the pandemic.

I also see some exciting changes to my customers as they go online. I have a young teenager who, when in a face-to-face environment, seems to have ADHD. Online, he is far calmer- as though he must focus himself far more. Nobody else will do it for him. Another client of mine is a mature professional. He wanted a creative outlet, so he took up singing, though late in his career. But he was the kind who would dominate the room- a bit more demanding of what he wanted to be done. As a teacher, I tried to be as flexible as possible, but sometimes I had to put my foot down. But as we went online, something changed. He became more introspective, maybe even more self-aware about what he was feeling and experiencing. He became far more focused on expressing the feeling behind the song, as though previously he was singing for his personality, and now he was truly singing for his soul.

I see this more and more. As people go on Zoom, hierarchy evaporates...everybody is of the same size- they are more expressive- of who they are rather than whom they want to be. In turn, I have had to change my role- from being a director to a facilitator- as the students were doing the discovery themselves. I am far more reliant on the student's perceptions, the student's awareness, and the student's descriptions- I act as a guide- they lead the way. Singing in many ways has become a journey into themselves, for themselves. They are their own listeners. And I think that is powerful. Singing is opening one's soul, and people are learning to touch their souls through this journey.

Of course, the big thing for me was that my wedding plans needed altering. Now I plan to have the wedding on my roof. And broadcast it all virtually. I have been organizing Broadway kind of shows forever- but this is a different challenge. Everyone will need to be masked and socially distant. So, I requested a friend to make us masks that went with our attire. I now have someone who manages significant virtual corporate events managing the virtual production. He can switch camera angles, mute and unmute people, show video, and do all kinds of technical wizardry that we could never do. So, we have friends zooming in and singing, others zooming and speaking. I have some videos that I am currently editing and planning to put on. So, we are trying to use technology's benefits and not try and put the square pegs in a round hole! Since we will all be on zoom, we have even suggested the dress code to be "fancy dress, pants optional!" Everyone will order their Pizza...so we will have the virtual wedding, eat Pizza, drink champagne, sing and have a good time.

You know, the pandemic has been a life-changer for me. A new business model- but thank God that we can still survive- a virtual wedding.... we all must adapt and adjust! It has made me calmer, more at peace. The hustle that I am used to has slowed down. And as I reflect on the future- I question, do we need to fully return to the past? Or can we move forward? Figure out ways of reinventing yourself and find meaning, joy, and purpose in what you do. Let us create new music. Let us play the new tune in life.