How a Manhattan Vocal Coach Grew a Global Voice Studio During the Pandemic
This week I had the pleasure of being joined by Vielka Kelly-Weiss, a vocal coach based in Manhattan. In this episode, we discuss her journey through the pandemic, finding what worked best for her, and continuing to grow even now. Listen in to hear what worked for her and what helped her to keep pushing forward!
Resources from this episode:
Websites
https://www.facebook.com/Young-Singers-Academy-2112679785723474
https://www.instagram.com/youngsingersacademy/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/young-singers-academy
Enjoy the transcript from this episode!
Carly
Vielka is a Juilliard Global K through Twelve music specialist and lead teaching artist at Carnegie Hall. She was formerly on the faculties of New York University, Village Community School, City and country, the Metropolitan Montessori School and the Metropolitan Opera Guild. Vielka is an experienced music teacher, musical director, choral director, voice teacher, piano teacher, workshop presenter, curriculum and assessment writer and arts administrator. Today she's sharing her journey as a vocal performer and educator in New York City, her experience starting a global music school, and the culmination of her efforts into her current project “Creating the Vielka Method”. I know that her story is going to resonate with you as you hear how she worked hard to connect with students and make a difference in the world through music education. So get excited. Here is my discussion with Vielka Kelly-Weiss.
Vielka
I am so excited to be here. Thank you so much, Carly. This is really meaningful and I'm just thrilled to be here.
Carly
I want to dive in to first. How did you hear and learn about Teach Music Online? You have been a member for several months, maybe even a year now. So tell us about how you found it, if you can even remember back to that.
Vielka
I do remember. It was through a Tonara virtual conference where you were giving a couple of different lectures and workshops. And when I saw you, Carly, I immediately knew that you were top-notch, first-rate. I absolutely wanted to jump in and be part of the community and learn what you had to offer. Although I had been teaching online for a while, I'm one of those people that believes that there's always more to learn. It's just endless for me. Learning is an endless art. So I wanted to see from your perspective and you put everything together so beautifully. So that's how I came to know you. Yes.
Carly
Well, thank you. And now that you say that, I remember. That was December of last year, and I remember seeing you in the chat and calls and remember you reaching out to me. And so that's really fun for me to remember back to when you joined. Tell me about this year that you've had inside our Teach Music Online course and community. What are some of the aspects of the program that have helped you? I know you're a lover of ongoing education and learning and community. So what are some things that have been beneficial for your business?
Vielka
Well, initially, I signed up because, as I mentioned, I wanted to see if there were some other thoughts around online teaching that hadn't occurred to me. And even if I can learn one thing, I feel like it's totally worth it because you collect those ideas over the years and they add up. And of course, your program is meta, and I knew I wanted to develop my own online course, and it just was really obvious to me that you were so polished and that it was so beautifully done. So I wanted to study you and model you in what I create. It was so elegantly done. It seems so simple and modern. And I know from my work history how much work it takes to make something look simple, clean, and clear. So there was that.
Then in terms of going through the coursework, there were things that may seem obvious to others like, for example, upgrading my camera. My computer has a camera. I could just use that. And then once I did upgrade and followed directions, it was a world of difference. I felt like I was a whole new screen. And it's so much easier for my students. And whenever I'm speaking with families, they’re able to see me. And now I'm wishing they would upgrade theirs, too. It makes such a difference when the computer webcams are high quality. Of course, it’s difficult, since everything changes so quickly. But it helped me to see that even very simple, practical things like that, as well as your system of organization, make all the difference.
I think the real unexpected benefit that I didn't anticipate was the members and the membership itself. I went into it with a determination to do my work, check my boxes, and learn a lot. I didn't really think about the other teachers in there, who are just as committed as me, reflecting on their work all the time. I think that was the hidden joy that came out of it, realizing that there was a community that gathers frequently, and that the topics are extremely relevant and current. Everyone has this sort of unspoken code of ethics and that they speak in a very conscientious way and helpful way. And I've met some other really lovely members in the community, so I can't recommend it enough. I think it's a great community of people and a great way to engender ongoing education for any music teacher, and especially if you are transferring online.
Carly
Thank you so much. So many things you said are exactly what I wanted it to become. I wanted it to look professional and be this place that was easy to understand and simple and concise. But then the community has been such an unexpected, amazing gift to all of our members because as you said, everybody just contributes and supports each other. I think the feature where teachers can message one another and collaborate and connect is amazing because I am outside of that. That's a benefit that I have nothing to do with. That’s just a magical thing that happens when you get professionals together in this place. I'm so glad that you've found that a benefit as well.
Vielka
Yeah, I absolutely love it. It feels like a private Facebook world without all the noise of Facebook. It's just a really quiet, focused place. And I've met with other teachers individually, zoomed with them outside of the work that goes on within it. So it's been a very special community.
Carly
For teachers listening or watching this, you should know that Vielka is a voice teacher. A lot of people come to me and say, I'm teaching voice. I don't know if your program or method is for me, and I try to explain to them it is not just for piano teachers. There is a lot of benefit for piano teachers, as many of our members are pianists, but the bulk of the membership is on the business methods, setting things up, your camera, your technology, and all of the automation and marketing and social media, which definitely has overlap across every instrument.
Vielka
Just to add on, it absolutely is for any instrument. It doesn't matter what your instrument is. If you're interested in teaching music online and just being in conversations that are pushing you to reflect on your practice, it's a great space to be in.
Carly
I want to hear about where you got your passion for singing. You have had a life of performing, singing, studying lots of studying at different schools. You just really sound like you’re passionate. So tell us about your upbringing and what brought you into the world of performing and singing.
Vielka
Oh, thank you for the question. It's one of those things where I can't remember life without it. I think I owe that mostly to my mom. My mom sings, and she wanted to sing professionally and she dabbled a bit and then became a mom and made motherhood her focus, which is what she wanted. And for me, that meant that I was able to have my mom sing lullabies to me before bed. And then as I was growing, where my parents were divorced, my stepdad was a composer. So I would hear him composing at night every night. And of course, the house was always filled with music. Paul Anka and Barbara Streisand and Karen Carpenter and Julie Andrews, all these singers that my mom loved and had playing. That's what I really grew up with.
I have video footage that my dad shared with me recently. I must have been around three with a microphone in my hand, singing. And I had no memory of it, especially because I was a very sensitive, shy child, and I never felt like I fit in. I grew up in the Los Angeles area, this really cool beach surfer town, which I'm not. But it was a beautiful place to grow up. I went to Catholic school and music was a big part of Church and Church life. And that was my life for the first ten years of school.
Then in fifth grade, they started a choir. And that first choir teacher was the first teacher that really spoke to me in that way and gave me the opportunity to make friends and have a social life that revolved around music. Then I had my first solo. And Carly, I mean, that first solo, I don't know if you remember your first moment, but for me, it was huge. I was only in fifth grade, and the microphone was live, and I could feel my voice being pulled into it. There were probably 100 people or something in the audience. It was quite a big performance for my first solo. And I sang and it was in the context of Church music, too. So I sang, and I just felt this silence fall over the audience and everything else was blinded out by the light. So you don't see anybody, which is kind of nice. But it was just a special kind of silent moment in a way. And I just felt like there was a connection within myself with the audience through something greater than me.
That was one of those magical moments when I realized music was incredible. And to be able to express yourself in this way, it’s an amazing feeling. So that was my first moment where it was a powerful moment. And it was an “aha” moment. Other people reacted, and I found my place and a little bit of identity, finding something unique that I could do, even though I knew other people could do it, too. If you can talk, you can sing. So for me, it meant that I felt like I could do something, and I just went for it. I got into musicals and shows and much more from there.
Carly
Thank you for sharing that story. As you were talking, I was thinking to myself that all of us have had moments like that where we went, ‘Wow. This is a gift that I think I might have.’ Or ‘This is something I really enjoy.’ Like you said, maybe it wasn't a gift to begin with, but it was something people saw a lot of excitement around. And you said something that I want to talk about for a second. You just said, ‘If you can talk, you can sing.’ I've seen that on your website and plastered on your brand. Tell me about that. Do you have to convince people of that sometimes? Is that a part of your marketing? Because maybe you have a student who doesn’t agree with that, or a parent of a student who wants lessons, but the parents don't know if they're cut out for this.
Vielka
Absolutely. Voice is so interesting, and maybe this applies to other instruments as well, but I find with voice especially, there is this segment of people who really believe that either you're born with it or you're not. I can't even tell you how many times I've heard people say, ‘I'm tone-deaf. I wish I could sing, but I'm tone-deaf. I can't.’ And really, it was through my journey of becoming a music educator and my studies with Kodi, that taught me that you can learn and change, even if you’re ‘tone-deaf’. I was learning a sequential way to teach music and music literacy, but applying it to voice and centering it around voice. Then in my work with little ones, I heard and saw firsthand, kids who were completely out of tune, and then they learned to sing in tune. Now I have my theories of why that is and how long it takes to fix and what you have to do to achieve it. But it's a learned skill.
I always think of it in comparison to math, because people have strong reactions to math. You either feel like you can do math or you're not good at math. It's a similar thing with singing, I find. But everyone learns math, right? Everyone goes to school and is expected to learn a certain level of math. Now, not everyone's going to be the world's greatest mathematician and do whatever career with it. However, everyone has that capability. And it's just about learning. And so I put it out there because I have parents who will kind of whisper to me, telling me their kid really isn’t good at singing. And I just get to smile to myself, because I know that I can change that, and they don’t know that yet.
Carly
Tell us about the Young Singers Academy, the music school you own and run. When did you create the school? I just want to know everything about it. When did you start it? What have been some of the best parts of having the school for young singers?
Vielka
That's a great question. So really, this was a very organic growth for me. So I moved from LA to New York to go to music school. I studied classical voice and high school music with NYU for music education. I got into teaching, taught in all different kinds of capacities, and got into private voice teaching. That was when I was graduating from NYU, so in about 2000. Then one of my voice teachers mentioned to me that she had a student that needed a teacher and asked if I could do it.
I didn’t know if I was qualified. I didn't know if I knew how to teach this person. Even after degrees and years of study. So that kind of tells you, even with experience, you still doubt yourself. And after talking to other singers, I know I’m not alone in that mindset. So I did take on that first student.
For me when I think about when Young Singers Academy started, I think it started that day when I started teaching, in a sense. Then that began my personal journey of looking at how to teach different people how to sing, and wondering what that looked like? And at the time, Carly, I was in New York City, right in Manhattan, in the Village. There were no other voice teachers. I was part of NATS, which is the National Association of Teachers of Singing and NYSTA, which is the New York Singing Teachers Association, all these acronyms. I had all these voice teachers around me that I was meeting with, and nobody was teaching kids at that time.
The student I got was a 6th grader. And she wanted to audition for La Guardia, which is the main performing arts school here. And it's a serious audition. It's very competitive to get in. So that's how it started. And after getting into it and carving my own way, I got to the point where I had gotten married and had kids of my own, and I started to decide that I could handle more students.
It was all just word of mouth, and I only taught in non-profits. I didn't know anything about business, I just followed my heart and my journey. But it got to a point where I had more than I could handle. And I didn't have anyone else to refer them to either, because I'm very picky. If I’m going to have my name on it, recommending someone, I want to see their practice and make sure it's of a certain quality and standard.
So rather than letting these families down who are looking, I decided I was just going to start hiring other people and teaching them my way. And that's when it started to grow and the name came out. Now, it's probably been three years. About three years since I gave it a name, because it was voice classes. I mean, I did not know what to call it. I remember a friend telling me that it didn’t matter what I called it, because it spoke for itself. But it does matter.
Carly
I have to say, I love how you mention that every teacher has a journey. And when it came time, you made it professional and gave it a name and built your website. You did those things and you stepped up. I think some teachers put that off much longer than you had, so congrats on stepping up and creating the Young Seniors Academy and building it into what it is now. How many students are you working within the school currently?
Vielka
It's fluctuating. We did get the name and the logo. We officially became an LLC as of March 2020. So right at the top of the pandemic, we went from being in-person locally to working 30-40 families to getting calls from all over the world. And at one point, we were working with 115 or 120 students. And, of course, that's after hundreds of phone calls that I took personally and meeting families from all over. It's interesting because this is all kind of new in terms of 100% online. We haven't gone back to in-person yet.
Carly
I was going to ask if it was hybrid. I can’t believe you’re all online.
Vielka
That was one of the surprises and questions I get the most, because parents are concerned that it's not going to be as effective online or that the quality is going to be different. And I have to say, I think teaching online is wonderful. I mean, myself and about half my team had taught all my lessons before the pandemic, but all these upgrades in technology have been made because of the pandemic, and it makes it much easier to reach more people, which is so convenient. You can be at home, you can be anywhere in the world, and just have that lesson on either end.
I think with voice, I broke traditions in many ways. I know for sure that a lot of voice teachers would just sort of look at me and wonder how I do it. There was a question posed in a Facebook group I’m a part of, where they had asked ‘What would you do if you had to teach a lesson without a piano?’ And I felt very lucky to be able to say that I already do. I usually do have a piano, but I tried to get away from that. And that plays into the online part. There's turn taking, you can't play piano for somebody to help them hear their part, and also accompany them. I wanted my singers to become independent online.
I’m starting to see and feel that my crowd is going to want in-person lessons. I get it. I think there's Zoom fatigue that's happening right now, especially in the city. And as a mom, I understand. But at the same time, it's so convenient and it’s a blessing to be able to have a global reach. Especially for health reasons. I mean, singers are notoriously hypochondriacs. Any little sickness will affect your voice first. So of course, with Covid and the fact that it propels three times as fast, there's no way I wanted to put anybody in a potentially harmful situation. So that was the main reason, and then the fact that it just works so well. So we'll see where I am a year from now.
Carly
I'm just thinking, gosh, you have so many options. You could have a hybrid where you have some teachers that teach in person, but maybe you stay online. You can build it out so that you have admin helping onboard students globally. I mean, there's so much opportunity when you finally made that shift to teaching online, which thankfully, in a weird way, Covid has taught us to do online lessons so that teachers have this as an option, because, like, you said your growth beyond your region. I don't think it probably would have happened. Maybe you wouldn't have explored that option if Covid hadn't played a role in that.
Vielka
I think the biggest shift is that other people became comfortable with the idea of online teaching, and, of course, strong reactions with that on both sides. But for me, I’m always comparing voice to exercise and being an athlete because that's what we really are. We're vocal athletes, and we train right? We train as athletes. I don't know about you, but if you've ever done some exercise videos, every coach has exercise videos because they work so well. And of course, it's a different experience that you're not feeling the energy in the room, somebody's not coming over and actually touching me. But I'm also a hands-off teacher when it comes to voice teaching. It helped, because years ago I had decided that I was not touching anyone and online has provided and reinforced some of the boundaries that I already like to have.
Carly
You've mentioned so many methods and that you believe in what you are teaching. And I know that that has fueled your desire to create a method for other music teachers, other voice teachers. And it's the Vielka method. Is that right?
Vielka
Yes. Which, thanks to the Teach Music Online community, they voted for that name and said that that sounded better than some other options. I feel a little self-conscious naming something after myself. However, people felt that it sounded professional and it definitely makes it distinct, right? So we're all on the same page of what it is we're talking about.
Carly
So what's the big vision for the Vielka Method? What do you want it to become? What are your hopes for that new, exciting road journey?
Vielka
I have big dreams. I'm just so excited about it. And really again, it just came out all very organically from my own journey. From the moment that I decided that I would never waitress again, even if I needed it, I have just pushed forward. Now kudos to all of those who feel good about waitressing and can do it. I get it 100%. I had nightmares from waitressing. It was stressful, and I think I'd be better at it now. I’ve learned a lot. And I'm really glad I had the experience. But I made that decision, I drew that line, and I decided to focus on teaching, because I came to this realization that the better I got at teaching other people, the better I would get at voice myself.
So when I think about the Vielka Method and the different ways I want it to play out, I go back to the Young Singers Academy and my journey of being a young singer wanting lessons and being told that I had to wait until I was 16. They wanted me to wait until I had hit puberty to start lessons. And I still run into that today. I talk to very well educated, top-school situations that still have that concept in mind, and there's no scientific proof to show that that's the case. And of course, the Young Singers Academy uses the Vielka Method in how we approach that journey and then I feel like I’m really giving back to that younger version of myself that came out of school with a performance degree.
There’s no real perfect method that I'm aware of, and it's a big world. I'm sure there's something brewing out there, but there's not one single answer. Mine is a tried and true method of teaching kids to sing. There used to be zero books on the topic. I've been in my own little space doing my thing and just watching over the years and some things have popped up. But what I'm offering is really very practical, simple tools that kids can own. Starting at age three and up, I have taken 30 years of vocal study and condensed it into four words that even these young singers can do.
And so I think that helps sort of demystify it all. And there is so much information with voice lessons, all this technical language you can get into and the science, and it's all wonderful. But I don't know how effective it is in the 30 minutes that you have with the student to actually make change and make it be more than the obvious question of ‘how do we produce amazing tone?’ Then we figure out how we can start that at a young age instead of having to wait until whenever and it really applies to all ages. So being able to give these young graduates or young teachers the tools right from the start, makes it so that they don't have to waste time trying things out. And it's so much wasted time. I want the whole field to just get catapulted into teaching.
There are so many things to learn when you start teaching kids that are younger. A lot of times people assume the breathy voice is just the way that a kid’s voice is, but that’s just what an unsupported voice sounds like, and we can teach them to have clearer tone if we give them the opportunity and training. It's all about technique. And I love the mechanics of it. But then I also hope to continue to train teachers of any age and really expand into music teachers because a lot of my work has been outside of my specialty of boys. I've actually just been working with all kinds of music educators, and I know that they are not getting what they need in terms of learning how to teach. Your voice is the one instrument you're guaranteed to have your whole life, addressing any choral directors, music educators, young performers who are interested in teachers and even expanding out into speakers because it applies to your whole voice, not just singing. So I've worked with people who are running for city Council, I’ve worked with entrepreneurs, and I’ve worked with public speakers because it's all about exercising your voice, expanding what your voice can do, and strengthening the tone. I think I've done enough work on my own where I'm confident in myself because I’ve not only had to prove myself to other people, but to myself.
I had a cancer survivor that came with her daughter and I gave the daughter the lesson. But she was interested in lessons as well, because she had been told that one of her vocal folds was paralyzed due to a necessary surgery. And when she showed up, she was talking very quietly. You could barely hear anything. And within the hour, she had a complete range high to low, several octaves with clear tone. It floored me. And I said to her, I don't know what I'm going to be able to do. I've never had a case like this, but I'm going to do my thing, and we're going to work it out. And that for me was another ‘aha’ moment. And of course, I have my own kids, but they’re not going to have anything to do with this, they each have journeys of their own, and I’m okay with that. I’m proud of them.
But it’s made me realize that I need to pass this on myself, because no one else will. I have been so privileged to be able to take the leaps of faith that I have in my career, and been able to leave everything behind. Everyone I knew, I left them behind and came to New York City. I had amazing mentors, and it's this combination of everything over the years between my music teachers, my voice teachers, choral stuff, marathon running, and being a yogi. And, like, all these different things that I've pieced together to really come up with this approach.
I'm just bursting with excitement to really help people, because I know how shocking it's been. And really, in the last few years, passing it on to other teachers has been the final push of really honing in on my craft. Figuring out how to drill down further and make it even more simple. And I know I have more work to do, but I feel like I've got to just start sharing out.
Carly
Yeah, you have enough experience that you just have to share it. There is so much value in somebody who has a life of experience in this area creating courses for other people to enjoy. Because what you're talking about is something that we cannot find in most universities or in an online program that exists. It's not out there. For me, it was the same thing with Teach Music Online. Teachers will go through music degrees. They’ll go through music schools. They’ll teach for 20 or 30 years, and they still don't know how to run a business or how to use technology, because how would they know without someone to teach them?
At some point, we hit a wall in our careers where we need mentorship and we need education. And so many people put their hands out and say they don’t want to put the time or money into learning and gaining more. And I sit and wonder what the outcome would be, if they were actively searching for that mentorship that they need, that they didn’t know they needed. Having a mentor is an amazing catalyst for growth, for more income, for doubling your income, tripling your income for impacting more students. The list is endless of what can happen when teachers take that leap and shift their thinking in their career. And so as you're talking, I'm thinking about the teachers who I've had that experience with and all of the voice teachers that need this in their lives as well. So I'm excited for you.
Vielka
I have so much that I want to just speak about with all the points that you brought up. I mean, I'm so crazy passionate about this. One of the main fires that got lit under me was the fact that I'm in New York City. It's the hustle and bustle, and I'm surrounded by people who are at the top of their fields in really prestigious organizations, especially outside of music where I live. I feel like I'm one of the few music people around, and I'm sure that's not true, but at this point, I'm in my ‘mom bubble’ a lot of the time and leading that life and I’ve gotten to the point where I realized I needed to share what I knew, because I know it took me a lot, and I felt like that could all be shared, without the years of experience and events necessary for me to get to this place.
And I learned so much. I don’t think I give that the weight that it rightly deserves. I think as a whole, as musicians, that we really dedicate our lives to this practice and to the benefits that come out of it. And for me, that's my ‘why’, right? I love singing and the art of singing. And I can take someone from anything and make you a singer that's easy for me. But the thing that really drives me is that inner journey of helping people become more of who they're meant to be, that inner confidence.
I mean, it's your voice. And that's how you express everything to the world. So for me, that's my reason why. I am done with the starving artist mentality and model. I'm so sick of it. And I am on a mission, not just for myself and for my own family, but for all my musician colleagues who are right there at my side, who have been there for decades, doing the hard work that we deserve to be compensated in a way that is comparable to anyone else who's the top of their field.
I want to create this circle where there's eventually a mentorship piece that comes out of it. There's the teacher training piece, and I see it as a circle. I'm looking over here on my board. Yeah. Young singers who then could become voice teachers and colleagues, public speakers, adults who need healing. And I see it as really a way to change the world, because when you think about singing, there's this unifying moment and community that comes together in a way that's different. And there are so many more applications that I could go into. But that's my vision.
Carly
I love it so much. I know teachers who will listen to this are going to resonate with this. And that's another thing, as music teachers, we're often isolated, and we don't have that camaraderie or that community of teachers that we have in the membership. But no, you're not the only one that's been frustrated with a student who doesn't show up or with a parent who thinks they shouldn't pay you as much as you're charging or all of the things. And that happens when we create community. It happens through the podcast, because we can hear teachers like you, who are going through it and realizing it and actually making change. So thank you so much for sharing your heart, for sharing your stories, for sharing your ideas with us. I just know that it will resonate with teachers everywhere.
Vielka
Thank you so much Carly for the opportunity and for providing the amazing platform that you do.
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