Traditional music education trains singers to follow directions well. They learn how to blend, how to fit, and how to make the “right” sounds—usually under the guidance of a director. What they rarely learn is how to choose their own songs, trust their own taste, or shape an artistic identity of their own.

As a result, many highly trained singers graduate feeling technically capable—but artistically unsure.

Since 2017, I’ve taught at the CCM Institute where voice teachers from around the world come to study non-classical singing styles. Again and again, I see singers arrive believing that making the “right” sounds will unlock success. But technique alone has never been the missing piece.

Technique without identity is empty. The voice doesn’t move us—the person inside it does.

I was fortunate to have teachers and parents who encouraged me to carve my own path early on. After college, I began creating my own work—arranging, writing, recording, and slowly building an artistic voice that actually felt like me. And I love helping others do the same.

My work as a voice coach—and the book I wrote—centers on helping singers reconnect with the self they want to express. Because when there’s a story behind the sound, the voice finally comes alive.