Coaching for Adult and Pro Singers
You’re an artist.
Music is your art form.
Your voice is your medium.
You need to express yourself. Your real self. You want your real singing... your real music... to just sail out of your mouth!
But sometimes that's not what happens.
Sometimes things get in your way. Something like vocal fatigue, a "break" in your voice, or not having the range you used to have. When stuff like that starts to steal your joy of singing, something has got to be done!
Can We Talk About Your "Sing File"?
You have a "Sing File" in your brain.
We all do. In that tiny moment before you sing, your "Sing File" opens, and your brain sets you up to sing the way you've always sung. Every time.
Meredith's unique method of vocal training has made a marked improvement in my singing. Her approach is simple to understand and implement. Private lessons with her have been a joy; she is encouraging, supportive and attentive in such a kind way. I can't overestimate the ease and effectiveness of training singers this way. Meredith Colby has created a brilliant way of teaching singing for commercial and musical theatre singers! Thank you Meredith!
- Mollye Otis
Singer/songwriter, coach, teacher
When it works for you...
...that's great. It means that you've associated certain things you like with your singing. Those things are part of your "Sing File," and that file loads before you sing. So that you can sing. In your really unique way. It makes you sound like you.
You didn't mean to create that file. It just happened. It happened as you sang in your bedroom as a teenager... with a group in high school... and as you fronted the band or sang in the musicals. You've been building and reinforcing that "Sing File" every time you sing. And now your brain sings before you do.
What's frustrating is the stuff that's happening that you don't want. Like, you're too quiet, or you get voice cracks. You might feel your range is too small, or you get vocal fatigue after you've sung for a while.
You CAN Hack Your Brain!
You can use your brain's ability to both guide the process and be shaped by the process. (Nice, right?) You can teach it to expect singing that feels divine, reaches high & low, and lasts as long as you need it to.
I've literally spent the last 20 years working out a systematic approach to singing based on brain science. It's amazing (seriously...read the quotes on this site + the socials) and works predictably. It gets singers the vocal strength & freedom they want without changing the way they sing.
Strength, freedom, and when you go to sing, it's you. It's the way you've always sung, but better. Easy. Healthy. Loud. High. Badass.
I got in the studio the other day and sang. It was night and day from my last attempt to record when I was working with my old teacher. Thank you for helping me have the voice I’ve always wanted. It was amazing to see how much more nuanced and versatile and solid I sound! Thank you!
Alice Limoges
Singer/songwriter, voice teacher, music teacher
It's a little strange. #notgonnalie
It can be emotionally uncomfortable. But Neuro-Vocal Method is some magical stuff. I've trained voice coaches from all over the world to teach this way. Cuz it's amazing.
Think...brain hack.
Think...going in the back door.
Think...the same but better.
When you get it, you're going to LOVE IT!
Meredith is wonderful! I've had an amazing experience working with her. She's helped me boost my confidence as a singer and in general just really transformed the way I sing. She's kind, encouraging, and extremely knowledgeable.
- Alessandro Ayala
instrumentalist, singer
Here's an explanation about how NVM works!
How To Coach With Me
Let's start with an introduction session.
This session is a little bit longer. If you're ready to share, I'll listen to your story, your voice, and your reasons for reaching out. I'll give you feedback based on what I hear, what you tell me you want, and how much you can put into the process. (All good. Pinky swear. And yes...I really do take all that into acount. 🙂) Then I'll pull out my magic wand. Based on what you shared, I'll show you something that you can take with you. A small and powerful thing you'll be able to use to make your voice do more of the thing you need it to do. I know it takes a leap of faith to trust someone else with your voice. I know it's really hard to imagine your voice behaving differently than it does right now. But I also know that Neuro-Vocal is some seriously magical stuff. I've been doing this voice coaching thing for a long time. I want to reassure you. You can trust me. (Check out all the quotes!) Let's keep all the AMAZING in your voice, and make it even more!
Have we already met?
Click here to schedule a single coaching session....
(...OR keep scrolling to see more!)
The Drop-In Session is all about you and your scheduling convenience. THIS IS FOR YOU IF you just want a session or two before an audition, a recording session, or some other goal. THIS IS FOR YOU IF we've worked together before, and you want to pop back in for a tune-up. THIS IS FOR YOU IF you know you want a voice that is higher, louder, longer, and free... AND you're the kind of person who prefers to take a test drive. (We met already, right?)
Want more from your voice & your singing?
Training your brain is an organic process.
It takes some time and attention.
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I know. It seems like change should be quick. You've learned a new song, a new app, or a new cooking technique in five minutes. So why should singing be any different?
It's a different kind of learning.
Think about a time you learned a skill you needed for a certain sport. Think about learning a new dance or playing an instrument. Think about when you had an injury that forced you to do things differently.
Those were experiences of you training your brain.
You can actually make your brain change in ways you want it to change. You can show your brain how to create the tiny, specific, exquisite behaviors that are the difference between:
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cracking and not cracking
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having to sing quietly, or singing loud (even on your high notes)
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Getting vocally tired or having amazing vocal stamina
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Singing in the moment or worrying about what's coming up
Neuro-Vocal is reliable. And kinda magical. But it doesn't let you off the hook. You have to be ready to pay attention to becoming a better singer. You have to be ready to take a little time every day. You have to commit.
Brain Training Subscriptions are for people who are ready to create change.
Eighth Note Subscription
This subscription includes:
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1 private, 60-minute online session per month with Meredith
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Free e-copy of my book, Money Notes: How to Sing High, Loud, Healthy, and Forever
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Free MP3 downloads (all voice types) of guide tracks for all the exercises in Money Notes
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Rescheduling privileges up to 24 hours
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Zoom recording to your device or the cloud
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Automatic monthly billings of $145
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Free support resources to help make the most of our time together. (They're down there ⬇️ under Make the Most of Your Time.)
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Quarter Note Subscription
This subscription includes:
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2 private, 60-minute online sessions per month with Meredith
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Response within 24 hours (weekdays) from me when you text, email, or video
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Free e-copy of my book, Money Notes: How to Sing High, Loud, Healthy, and Forever
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Free MP3 downloads (all voice types) of guide tracks for all the exercises in Money Notes
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Rescheduling privileges up to 24 hours
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Zoom recording to your device or the cloud
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Automatic monthly billings of $270
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Free support resources to help make the most of our time together. (They're down there ⬇️ under Make the Most of Your Time.)
Dotted Quarter Subscription
This subscription includes:
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3 private, 60-minute online sessions per month with Meredith
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Response within 24 hours (weekdays) from me when you text, email, or video
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Free e-copy of my book, Money Notes: How to Sing High, Loud, Healthy, and Forever
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Free MP3 downloads (all voice types) of guide tracks for all the exercises in Money Notes
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Rescheduling privileges up to 24 hours
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Zoom recording to your device or the cloud
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Automatic monthly billings of $375
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Free support resources to help make the most of our time together. (They're down there ⬇️ under Make the Most of Your Time.)
Make the Most of Your Time
I have a LOT of support material available to you for free. If you want to make the most of our time together, you are welcome to dive in!
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My book Money Notes: How to Sing High, Loud, Healthy, and Forever. New students get a code to download my book for free. (If you prefer paper, Amazon is selling it.) Reading the first 90 pages on your own time will help us be efficient with our face time.
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Like my Facebook page and Instagram account. This is NOT like your dry cleaner telling you to follow them on social media. I post valuable content every day, and it's all for singers!
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Check out my YouTube channel. I have a LOT of content there! Check out whatever looks interesting to you. Helpful short videos include:
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I keep a very active blog. If you're a reader and want to grow your knowledge of singing, you've come to the right place!
About Meredith
I don’t hold up "standards", I solve problems. I help artists find their voices. And I love my job.
I love brains and how they work. I'm a science nerd. I wrote a book about how to tap neuroscience to make singing easier and healthier. I wrote it so anyone can understand. Cuz it's wow!
Four years of classical lessons in high school. Not because I loved classical music. I’d never heard a classical singer. I loved R&B, punk, and singer/songwriters.
Then a year abroad tending bar and singing in pubs.
Then two years of classical lessons at the University of Wisconsin until I found what I’d always wanted: the Studio Music & Jazz degree at the University of Miami! Yay!
Three more years of classical lessons! What?
I didn’t know how to sing the music I wanted to sing when I left Miami. I joined a road band, sang five or six nights a week for nine months, and trashed my voice. Shocker, right?
Back to my parent’s basement, a day job, vocal therapy, and piano lessons for a year.
When I got to Chicago, a friend helped me find a voice teacher who could help me. He was a studio singer and concert performer. He lived in the same world that I did, and taught me how to sing for that world. It was the first time in my life I felt like I was actually singing.
So I took graduate level how-to-teach-voice at Northern Illinois University, and set out to (read this in your best Baptist Preacher voice) save all the microphone singers!
For the next 20 years I was a freelance singer in Chicago. I taught band singers during the week and sang with bands on the weekends. I headlined at most of the jazz clubs in that jazz town, sang on cruise ships, and with society bands. I headed up The Center For Voice in Chicago, directed choirs, and was a church music director. I recorded a CD of original jazz tunes. I did a lot of different gigs for music, money, and both.
Retro Meredith. chick singer.
If you want to know about how NVM came about, you can read the story on the About NVM page. I wrote Money Notes: How to Sing High, Loud, Healthy and Forever in 2016. It’s about Neuro-Vocal Method, and about microphone singing.
What I want YOU to know is that I’ve been there.
I speak the language of the college-educated classical singer, and the language of the band singer. (Also, band leader, acapella group member, musical theater actor, big band singer, and, most importantly, professional Christmas caroller.)
I don’t hold up standards, I solve problems. I help artists find their voices. And I love my job.