Get Vocal with Marybeth Hallinan
“Singing will always return us to our center. By taking time to nurture and explore your voice, you will simultaneously calm your nervous system and reconnect to your breath, and body, which help relieve anxiety and stress.”
To know Marybeth Hallinan is to know that music and sound are the wings upon which her qi—or, her life force energy—soars out from her soul and into the world.
When we first introduced Marybeth in early March, the effects of COVID-19 were as-of-yet unrealized in the Monadnock Region. It was a mythical coronavirus attacking China and because it was so far away, most looked upon the situation with either empathy for the Chinese or mild indifference toward this ‘foreign’ problem. Very few of us could have predicted that this virulent virus would so quickly rip across the globe and land right here in our own backyard.
We didn’t foresee the changes to life as we knew it. We didn’t know that we would be ordered to stay at home, or close our schools and businesses indefinitely. We couldn’t have imagined that it would feel scary to go to the grocery store or to pump gas into our cars.
Now that the effects are real and ever present in the Monadnock Region, we share in this global reality, and yet, our individual experiences are incredibly personal and unique.
Some of us are parents with school-aged children attempting to become their teachers while working and running a household all from the same building. Others are home alone and lonely. Some of us are content and feel safe in this situation, while others are facing uncertainty or shadows that this crisis and its collective trauma have triggered.
Part of the global reality that we share is that no matter what material items we do or do not possess, we have ourselves, our physical beings, our bodies.
For those who feel called in this moment to use your voice, that is all you need.
Your body is your instrument of sound and the home of your voice. Our voices can speak out against injustice or wail in times of grief; advocate for more, or better, or others; call for peace and unity; and bring us joy and healing through song.
Sometimes we just need to find our own voice. Ironically, the freedom to find your voice from the comfort and safety of your own home is the foundation on which Marybeth built “Let’s Get Vocal!,” a comprehensive, in-depth and cost effective program that covers all of the basic and core foundations of vocal technique.
“When I began teaching distance lessons, I often made videos for my students to illustrate a key component of their lesson,” Marybeth said. “I realized I could combine these videos into a package to offer to students anywhere, anytime, in the privacy of their own home, and on their own time table.”
What she did not realize, and never could have imagined when she created this program in 2017, was how powerful this offering would become at a time when the isolation of our own homes is all we have available to us.
However, you’re never really alone throughout “Let’s Get Vocal!” You’re just in control.
With each instructional video, you can stream Marybeth into your room when it’s convenient for you, to support and reinforce the materials you are learning. You can sing along with her, or listen, pause, then sing alone... or both.
Marybeth’s guidance offers the reassurance that you are enough just as you are. That alone is invaluable; not just now, but always. Her reassurance also builds confidence, instilling a deep wealth of physical and aural knowledge that singers can tap into at any time.
Singers slowly and deliberately master each element through modules that focus on different aspects of technique. A set of warm up exercises, videos, mp3’s and PDF’s bring each lesson to life. Many of the exercises are silly, allowing for an element of playfulness that allows the body to relax. This releases inhibitions that give way to the expression of our voice because after all, it feels good to sing!
For example:
Curious? Marybeth offers a peek into “Let's Get Vocal!” with this Getting Started module.
Here's a go-to exercise for centering into your breath and posture and spirit each day.
There are also two bonus modules available to singers who complete all four units of the “Let’s Get Vocal!” program, which add deeper context to the most universal benefit of singing: its infinite ability to heal.
“This is not only about singing or public speaking,” Marybeth says, “But about releasing your personal power! This program was made to empower and support others to use their voice without apology, fear, or shame.”
Trauma of any kind can severely impact one’s ability to actualize their voice but one of the best ways to heal one’s throat chakra is to sing.
The first of Marybeth’s bonus modules focuses on Negative Messaging, to overcome external and internal negative messages that inhibit our singing.
The second bonus module focuses on Trauma and the Voice. Marybeth designed this module to help her students to examine some physical techniques which will help break through old patterns and release tensions, thus freeing one’s voice to its utmost potential.
You have that potential. If now more than ever you feel called to use your voice, or to heal the trauma that triggers you, or simply to recalibrate your being to the essence of who you really are, perhaps you are being called to sing.
“Singing will always return us to our center,” Marybeth says. “By taking time to nurture and explore your voice, you will simultaneously be calming your nervous system and reconnecting to your breath, and body, which help relieve anxiety and stress. It also transports you away from your thinking mind, into a physical place where we can stay in our bodies and breathe. This also helps remediate stress and “monkey mind.” Mostly, it’s a way to continually reconnect to the center of our being, and our innate knowing that what we need right now, is right here.”