Aflevering #8 Paul Kirby - Being At Home With Your Voice

'If I had had the career that I initially wanted, I wouldn't be singing now because I would have left so much of the real me behind' Paul Kirby is a classically trained tenor who lives and works in Oslo. He performs both as a classical singer as a soloist and in ensembles and as a banjo player and (bluegrass) singer in several bands. He is part of the Norwegian company 'Stemmespesialisten' that combines voice lessons, voice massage and coaching. He also is a Timani teacher in training: an education that focuses on in-depth anatomical knowledge in order to enhance movement and playing for musicians. Growing up in Illinois (US), his musical roots lie in the genre of music now known as “Americana.” From there he moved to the city of Boston, and eventually France, Belgium and finally, Norway. He combines all of his experiences in his current profession, which is to help singers connect to their authentic voices, as well as performing regularly as a singer on stage. In this podcast we talk about the following things: - What Paul's work for stemmespecialisten is all about - How he combines vocal massage with voice lessons - Growing up on a chicken farm in Illinois and discovering music - Working for the Norwegian National Opera - Being trained as a classical tenor while having musical roots in Bluegrass - How you can find your way into your true voice and help the body to work in harmony with itself - The importance of treating yourself with love and respect as a singer - Impressive singing versus loving singing - How do you make a whole career out of a bunch of different puzzle pieces: finding the common thread among all your experiences and who you are in the middle of that - Harmonizing with Simon and Garfunkel - Discovering Bach's music - Having a profound experience picking up the banjo again after 20 years - How to tell a story as a singer and how to tell your own story - Understanding the functional and anatomical elements of how the body works - How to create a safe environment where you can learn - Learning to recognize if you're on the right track - The importance to learn playfully so new knowledge can be integrated naturally - Physical play increases a certain way of nerve growth - We grow old from not playing - Experiencing the energy that binds us all together Here you can find the company where Paul works: https://stemmespesialisten.no/ You can book sessions with him in Norway of online. You can find Paul on instagram by searching for 'Paul Kirby Stemmespecialisten'