Voice teachers today can build expertise in so many different fields — vocal anatomy, musical theory, acting, multiple singing techniques — that many teachers feel they need to have all the answers.

And that’s too much to ask of anyone. Because the more you learn, the more you realize how much you don’t know — and how developing a network of experts is essential to provide you and your students with the knowledge they need.

Our guest today, singing voice specialist Kari Ragan, knows a lot about the power of collaboration. While she’s been teaching singers for over forty years, Kari appreciates that she doesn’t know everything about vocal health and regularly collaborates with medical experts to help rehabilitate singers with injured voices or vocal pathology.

Join Tom and Heather as they learn more about how Kari has collaborated with doctors, teachers, and other experts in her decades-long career to help singers. Reflect on when it’s important to know when you need to refer out to provide students with the best teachers for their needs. And discover all the resources available today (including many provided by the IVA!) for developing a support network that helps everyone achieve their full potential.

In this episode, we cover:

1. How Kari’s teaching career led her to work with many music genres, age groups, and singers (5:12)
2. What a Singing Voice Specialist (SVS) is, and why they need to work in tandem with a medical team (9:47)
3. The major trends and changes Kari has witnessed in vocal pedagogy and research over her decades-long career (16:01)
4. Misconceptions surrounding evidence-based pedagogy, and how this form of pedagogy includes multiple areas of expertise (22:01)
5. The purpose of Kari’s book, “A Systematic Approach to Voice” (30:56)
6. The evolution of teaching classical and contemporary singing techniques (37:29)
7. Why being willing and able to refer to outside experts is important (41:45)
8. The necessity of staying current with vocal research for voice coaches (45:19)
9. All the opportunities for collaboration available to modern voice teachers (46:10)
10. The strength that comes from admitting what you don’t know (54:30)

Stay in touch with Kari at her website where you can find links to many of her articles. Check out Kari’s webinar “A Systematic Approach to Voice,” which covers the definition and application of Evidence-Based Voice Pedagogy (EBVP).

And make sure you hear from all our other guests by following us on the Vocal Advancement Podcast and subscribing to our YouTube channel! Is there a teacher, performer, or researcher you think would make a great guest on our show? Email us at hello@vocaladvancement.com and let us know!

About the Institute for Vocal Advancement

The Institute of Vocal Advancement (IVA) was created to provide voice teachers with a support network to provide you with the best teaching tools and strategies to advance your career. Our trainers teach from an empathic mindset, showing you how to improve your own teaching style. Learn how our Teacher Training Programs can help advance your career. Use the code “iva20percent” to get 20% off your first year’s course membership fee!

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