Today we’d like to introduce you to JoAnne Hart.
Hi JoAnne, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I have always been a singer and an athlete. When it came time for college, it was obvious that I would study voice and work in fitness on the side, but it wasn’t until my vocal pedagogy class in my junior year of college that the connection between my two passions emerged. In this class, I learned about the anatomy and physiology (and other science) of the voice, and my future plans began to take shape. I knew one day I would get my master’s in vocal pedagogy and teach voice.
Fast forward many years, I now have my master’s in vocal pedagogy, and I have been teaching voice for over 7 years. In grad school, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to write my thesis on weight training + yoga for singers, and I was able to dive into the available research on the topic. As a personal trainer, I had a lot of experience with the weight lifting side of things. But in researching and writing, I fell in love with yoga and started to experience the many benefits this practice has for singers. I even went on to get certified as a yoga teacher, and I now incorporate aspects of yoga into how I teach singing. It’s incredible how much the two overlap.
I’ve grown much as a teacher and singer since getting my degrees. I now teach from a holistic perspective; my goal for my students is to find health in singing from the perspective of the physical as well as the mental. I believe that a singer’s emotional and physical health play as much of a role in their singing as the foundational vocal technique they learn. I love incorporating these different facets into my teaching and watching my singers grow as musicians and people. Teaching is my passion, and I’m grateful to do this as my career.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My methodology and teaching style has come not only from my research and education but also from a lot of personal experience with overcoming obstacles. It has been far from a smooth road! Grad school is hard, and I struggled a lot along the way. I had a lot of weird health issues pop up during grad school, and that has had a huge impact on my growth as a teacher. After experiencing how those ups and downs affected my voice, I developed a lot of personal awareness around the necessity of health for singers. That doesn’t even begin with the struggles of running a business during a global pandemic. I burned out and took a few months away from teaching full time because I over-extended myself. It was very hard, but it was one of the best things for me because it clarified that this is what I truly want to be doing. I am not perfect at running my business, but I am much better at setting boundaries and not over-extending myself.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about JoAnne Hart’s Vocal Studio?
I am a Nashville-based voice teacher with an option for in-person and virtual lessons! I take a very individualized approach to teaching. I have my Master’s in Vocal Pedagogy, so I have a lot of knowledge of how the voice works. This is very important and is why I am so good at teaching sustainable singing. That’s my priority for my students: confident and sustainable singing.
I believe health in singing encompasses the physical and the mental/emotional, and I aim to serve this need. What makes me unique is that along with my degree and experience as a performer, I have researched weight training + yoga for singers. I have experience working as a personal trainer + yoga teacher and training as a life coach. I’ve cultivated skills to address the various struggles my students might be facing so they can become confident and embodied singers.
Beyond voice lessons, I occasionally offer yoga classes tailored to singers and am available for corporate and private events to teach the value of yoga for health in singing. Be on the lookout for a book soon and break down my fitness and singing research! Stylistically, I teach all styles of singing. Most of my students sing musical theatre (as do I), but I am trained and have experience in classical technique, pop, country, rock, worship music, songwriting, etc.
What was you like growing up?
Music has always been a huge part of my life. I was (and still am) singing constantly. I constantly sang as a kid. I started choir as early as school allowed, and I started taking voice lessons when I was 13. Musical theatre became my obsession probably around 3rd grade when I discovered Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Once I knew some shows involved singing the whole time, it was all over for me. I’ve never looked back! I was also a gymnast growing up and a very active kid. I loved climbing on everything, and growing up in Colorado; there were plenty of opportunities. The funny thing is that as an adult, that still hasn’t changed. If can climb something on, I’m probably climbing it!
Fun fact: as athletic as I am, I do not participate in sports involving a ball. I played soccer for 3 years as a kid and never scored a single goal. I then played in gym class in middle school, and the ball hit me in the wrist and broke it. Soccer is not my sport. I also have always been an avid reader and writer. If I’m not singing or climbing something, I probably have my nose in a book or my pen in a journal.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://joannehartsings.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joannehartsings/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdS8E1ImKBt7zxbVVuwHTlQ
Image Credits
Photos were taken by Jamie Pratt.
