Welcome to our first edition!

Welcome to the first ever edition of Golden Key Voices blog! Today I’d like to tell you the story and motivation behind starting our Find Your Voice Singing Workshop for Women in Glasgow and the same workshop in Edinburgh, with a different name only for Eventbrite purposes, Breathe well. Sing well. Live well.

 While out socially with a group of singing friends who are in different choirs, one started saying that she was frustrated with her voice, as she had moved from first soprano to the altos (highest voice part to a lower voice part). She said she couldn’t sing above an E flat, which is in the middle of where her vocal range was before, instead of the top. She had tried various exercises recommended by a voice practitioner, to no avail. I sat quietly, as I was there as a friend, not as a singing teacher. When my friend described what she had been trying to do and wondered why it didn’t work, I piped up. I could no longer hold my silence! I said, “That’s because of - - - and here’s what you can do about it - - -!” She said, “Could you run a workshop?” When I said yes, the other friends in the group said,” Can I come to that?” Clearly there was a need for women whose voices were not behaving as expected because of hormonal change of the menopause and bouts of covid, leaving them with persistent coughs, vocal dryness, vocal and physical tension, lack of range and loss of confidence. Not to mention losing friendships of singers in the same section of their choirs, with frequent absence and a feeling of hopelessness.

I set about looking for an uplifting venue in Glasgow’s City Centre or in the south side. I went to see or spoke to six venues before I found The Small Chapel in the Renfield Centre, Bath Street, Glasgow. It is full of light and has a lovely welcoming atmosphere. There are contemporary stained glass windows facing the street and at the back, preserved Pre-Raphaelite windows lit from behind.

The Edinburgh venue, The Salisbury Centre, very near the city centre, was suggested to me by two therapist friends who work there. The atmosphere is beautiful and on the door, as you enter the building it says, “We dedicate this space to the spiritual, psychological and creative growth of all who come here.”

The workshops have evolved over time, as I work out what is serving the needs of each group. Every creative endeavour involves a measure of uncertainty and faith that something will happen. Initially, at the taster workshops, I gave the same attention and care whether two women in Glasgow or eighteen women showed up in a fully sold out workshop in Edinburgh. The important thing was to nurture this seedling project while it grew in the dark. I have not wavered in my commitment to getting the word out on social media and at business networking events, because I know that women deserve this. I had studiously avoided social media when it came to speaking about my work but as the wonderful American motivational speaker and coach, Lisa Nichols says, “Social media ain’t social! Use it for your business!”. I had done courses about courses on how to approach social media but until I felt ready to show up on camera, on video and on social media with a purpose and commitment to serve with the decades of experience of helping others to recover their voices and confidence, I stayed quiet. How did I become ready? Well, I wasn’t! I just took the first step, then the next, then the next and I did not give up. My videos make me chuckle, because they are so raw and unpolished. I believe progress is better than perfection. If I’m prepared to show up on video  when I’m tired or without full makeup, maybe it can encourage women who need help to come and try something new or to keep developing their skills.

I look forward to the next chapter, built together.  

Find your next workshop!

Glasgow

Edinburgh

Next Glasgow workshop Monday 1st June 6-7pm