Finding My Voice

This year has been such a journey for me. I feel that I have finally begun to find my voice. For so long I have felt that to have a good voice, I needed to sing loud and super high. I don't know where this theory came from, but I should have listened to one of my first voice teachers who said, "Stop singing so loud! Don't sing like you are better than me!", in a Russian accent!


Maybe it stemmed from being the youngest in my family and wanting everyone to pay attention to me or from hearing all the belters on Broadway. Wherever it was from, I felt it was the best and only way to sing.

Upon graduating from Westminster Choir College, I discovered that musical theater was not in my heart and my ultimate passion. I had another voice inside wanting to come out to the world, a voice that was more me. Someone really helped me to discover that and I will always be thankful for how he helped me on this journey of becoming a singer/songwriter.

I realized that I could collaborate really well with other people, and started working on hip hop hooks for guys, acoustic sounds, etc. Then as fate would have it, I met an amazing drummer and bass guitarist who tried me out as a singer on some of their songs. They had me do a few covers and told me I had a great voice and so much confidence. The weird part about it all was that I really didn't have confidence before with my singing, but with them my voice was free and felt so right. I started working with them more and more and writing lyrics and melodies to their songs. They noticed that my voice sounded much better, the softer it was. We soon added another guitarist and now we are a band.

Recently, I started taking voice lessons from such an amazing person. I feel that he is not only my voice teacher, but a mentor as well. His name is Steven Judkins (http://www.stevejudkins.com/site/index.html) and he is currently in Sleeping Beauty Wakes at the McCarter Theater in Princeton, NJ. He is originally from Australia and has performed in London, as well as in the U.S., on Broadway tours, in a band, as a session singer, and on television. He has really helped me to find my little voice and I notice each day all of the tips he has told me and how to apply them now to everything I am doing, whether it is singing to infants or performing with my band. He is so talented, yet so humble. It is amazing how people can help you to see things you never could have realized on your own.

I feel thankful for all of the people that have come into my life recently and the journey my voice is on. It is a hard journey, but I am ready for the challenge to be true to the voice within me and am excited to see where my voice will lead in my life.

"Take what you want

Steal my pride

Build me up

Or cut me down to size

Shut me out

But i'll just scream

Im only one voice in a million

But you aint taking that from me

Oh oh no you aint taking that from me x 4

'cuz when it all boils down

At the end of the day

It's what you do and say

That makes you who you are

Makes you think about it

Think about it

Doesn't it

Sometimes all it takes is one voice"

-Natasha Bedingfield