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Vocal De-Armoring

@vocal_dearmoring

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Illuminating a path to freer singing and deeper embodiment
Director @marisa_michelson
Official offshoot @liberocantosinging
⬇️New Student Special⬇️

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Vocal De-Armoring™ (Vo-De) is an umbrella term for a somatic and holistic approach to working with singing and voice-giving.

Through the practices, principles, and ethos of Vocal De-Armoring, we may connect intimately with the layered dimensions of Self.

As an official offshoot of the Libero Canto School of Singing, Vo-De applies certain transformative approaches from that school more broadly, not only in service of freer singing, but in service of healing, self-growth, sexuality, and spiritual inquiry. The Vocal De-Armoring approach is unique in its honoring of what is raw, primal and immanent alongside that which is disciplined, refined and abstract.

Vo-De is not focused on particular aesthetic sound outcomes (though aesthetic improvement - which is subjective - is a certain byproduct) but, instead, on self-connection and on learning to sing from a place of honesty.

Vo-De invites a person into freer and more spontaneous relationship with their own instincts, inviting the release of inhibitions and encouraging one’s clearest and most honest expression. Vo-De guides a way of Being which infuses the Self-relationship with qualities of patience, courage, playfulness, and curiosity.

By noticing and freeing the body, soul, and voice through physical practices that feature specific movements, active imagination, embodied musical practices, and ways of working with the pure energy (not the looping story) of emotions, Vo-De invites people into a relationship with themselves that is Alive.

#vocaldearmoring #somaticpedagogy #liberocanto #freesinging #voicelessons #healyourvoice #somaticsinging #embodiedvoice #vocalinjury #fullexpression by @vocal_dearmoring

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2 years ago

Marisa will be offering a limited number of personalized Vo-De intensives this summer!

There is currently room for one more person to attend the July 11-12 session and experience individual work in a small group setting.

Please send us a DM to express interest & discuss all the details! by @vocal_dearmoring

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4 months ago

A tiny taste of last weekend’s annual Libero Canto Festival in NYC. A few VoDe students joined in this year for a masterclass taught by Kinga Cserjesi, a presentation on the late inspirational music and singing teacher Hedda Szamosi, and students and teachers alike sang together in an evening concert. It is a community of devoted music students and voracious learners. What a joy!

Photos of the VoDe crew posin’, the @liberocantosinging teachers bowin’, @marisa_michelson singing Vivaldi in the masterclass, pre-concert boggle, @jonathankoeofficial singing his own song, warming up together, @lanahjk singing Handel, Molly in the masterclass (no video of her heartfelt singing, unfortunately!), the homage to Hedda, Deborah Carmichael in all her glory, more Vivaldi coloratura, - and then at the very end, a longer, completely glorious clip of @lilygreenart singing a composition by Marisa with such truth and fullness! Thank you to all who attended! by @vocal_dearmoring

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5 months ago

Whew! Our 2nd ever cohort of teachers-in-training (3 coming from NYC, 1 coming from Ireland) converged in upstate NY and wow, what a week. This was an intensive, rigorous time for the teachers to gain more confidence with the touch and bodywork that awakens, opens, releases and frees the singing, speaking, voice-giving Human Being. Thank you to our incredible special guest teacher, the neuromuscular therapist, massage therapist, choir director and singer Peter Coulianos for sharing his understanding of the anatomical function of the jaw and tongue - and his ways of working on these areas in one’s own body. Our trainees continued developing functional hearing, practiced teaching each other - and someone completely new to the work. They, themselves, also received multiple sessions from Marisa because experiencing the work in one’s own body is essential for teaching it with authority. And thank you also to our other 1:1 master guest teacher, Deborah Carmichael of the @liberocantosinging . Finally, thank god for the gorgeous land, and the company of each other throughout. Thank you @jonathankoeofficial @maia.nu.nes Molly Ranson and Eliana Kissner♾️ taken in Ancram, New York by @vocal_dearmoring

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6 months ago

For those wondering what a voice lesson with me looks like…voila! I have been steeped in the Vocal De-Armoring approach to voice for the last 15 years, and sometimes forget how just how uniquely embodying, supportive, and confidence building these lessons are compared to more traditional voice lessons early in my career. @vocal_dearmoring

In addition to my 20+ years in the business, I’ve originated 2 leading roles on Bway, many more Off-Bway (mostly in the Dave Malloy-verse), recorded my own albums, sung at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall (+ many more), and have been teaching one-on-one private lessons for the last 6 years in NYC/Catskills/Virtually.

If you’re interested in learning more about a curiosity-based relationship to your voice, sign up for a FREE 20 min Strategy Session so we can connect. Link ⬆️

A huge thanks to @rebeccajmichelson at @11oclockcreative for the photo & video and my beautiful volunteers, @kblanck @oliviaanjulee @snugmanchester ! by @vocal_dearmoring

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8 months ago

And last but certainly not least, our final teacher trainee is Molly Ranson! Molly has been studying singing and exploring embodiment with Marisa for (a very biblical) seven years! She is a powerhouse performer with a formidable resume.

Molly’s mystery, emotional depth and humor delight everyone she meets and will surely inspire her students. Molly is also a voracious seeker with a curious and rigorous mind. She has a great ability to sense into her own body with nuance and clarity and we are so excited that she is about to turn this passion towards her work with others!

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Molly Ranson has been performing on and off Broadway for nearly two decades. She is currently in the critically acclaimed off-Broadway production of The Honey Trap at the Irish Rep. Her Broadway credits include August: Osage County, Jerusalem, Fish in the Dark, Plaza Suite, and Prayer for the French Republic. Off Broadway, she has appeared in productions at MTC, Roundabout, Playwrights Horizons, and starred as Carrie White in MCC’s production of Carrie. She is a Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, and Drama League nominee.

Molly can be heard on the cast albums of The Burnt Part Boys and Carrie. She also recently recorded Marisa Michelson and Mark Campbell’s 25-minute solo piece, The Other Room, which will be released in the near future.

As a passionate and confident singer from early childhood, a vocal crisis at the age of 20 led to a journey of exploring the psychological and spiritual dimensions of singing. Synchronistically, she was introduced to Marisa Michelson soon after completing a thesis paper on the subject while finishing her undergraduate degree in comparative religion. She has been studying with Marisa for the last seven years and feels infinitely grateful to be on the VoDe path. This work deeply informs every area of her artistic and personal life and she’s thrilled to be learning to share it with others.

#vocaldearmoring #somaticpedagogy #liberocanto #freesinging #voicelessons #healyourvoice #somaticsinging #embodiedvoice #vocalinjury #fullexpression by @vocal_dearmoring

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a year ago

Maïa has been on the Vocal De-Armoring Approach teacher training trajectory since they first reached out to us more than a year ago. A gifted sound healer and a true Capital A Artist, Maïa’s ability to intuitively sense into their clients was perceptible from day one.

Maïa’s internal yearning towards artistic expression is palpable and their devotion to their craft is inspiring. (Just last month they were learning stonemasonry the day before our intensive!)

We are delighted to include Maïa in this special cohort of trainees. Not to mention, they live in Ireland, so for those of you in Europe who’ve been wanting in-person somatic voice sessions and lessons, well, that’s a bit closer than New York!

#vocaldearmoring #somaticpedagogy #liberocanto #freesinging #voicelessons #healyourvoice #somaticsinging #embodiedvoice #vocalinjury #fullexpression by @vocal_dearmoring

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a year ago

Jonathan is a gem. If you’ve ever heard their podcast, Healing the Spirit, you know what we mean. He is endlessly inquisitive, and rigorous in his pursuit of Truth - and brings that curious spirit into every space he steps into. As a coach and guide, Jonathan holds his authority with gentleness - and with a sprinkle of trickster energy thrown in.

We are so excited to have this deeply creative and musical being joining us on this radical journey into the body, psyche and soul. What a gift!

#vocaldearmoring #somaticpedagogy #liberocanto #freesinging #voicelessons #healyourvoice #somaticsinging #embodiedvoice #vocalinjury #fullexpression by @vocal_dearmoring

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a year ago

I met Eliana via @labshul in 2018-ish, after I sang in a Rosh Hashanah service. She became an “every now and then”- type student for a while - and a friend.

About a year ago, things heated up! She couldn’t get enough (haha) and decided she wanted to teach and offer this work to others in her community. As you’ll see from her diverse bio, Eliana is a multi-faceted spiritual practitioner of singing, a canto and creatrix and a special needs mom of two kids.

She has such depth of soul and healing gifts and it is a blessing to spend this year with her, obsessing about singing and somatics. Eliana, I can’t wait for your students to learn from you!

#vocaldearmoring #somaticpedagogy #liberocanto #freesinging #voicelessons #healyourvoice #somaticsinging #embodiedvoice #vocalinjury #fullexpression by @vocal_dearmoring

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a year ago

We are over the moon excited about this year’s brilliant Vocal De-Armoring Approach teacher trainees, Eliana, Jonathan, Maïa and Molly.

Between the four of them, they are artists, healers, cantors, Broadway actors, pianists, composers, astrologers, mothers, and coaches - living in New York City and Ireland. Being with them is an honor and a gift. We are now entering our third month (out of ten) of rigorously obsessing about singing, voice-giving, creativity, emotions, and somatics.

More than twenty years ago, the holistic and somatic singing work of the Libero Canto School changed every aspect of singer, composer and founder Marisa Michelson’s life. Since then, her expansion of work has changed the lives of countless singers and non-singers alike. Teaching the “Vocal De-Armoring Approach to Singing and Embodiment” to those called to teach it is one of her greatest joys.

Over the next few days we’ll be sharing about each of them individually so you can get to know these powerhouse, beautiful human beings.

#vocaldearmoring #somaticpedagogy #liberocanto #freesinging #voicelessons #healyourvoice #somaticsinging #embodiedvoice #vocalinjury #fullexpression by @vocal_dearmoring

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a year ago

There is a quietly re-emerging VoDe substack! Link in bio. “In more mechanistic or alignment-focused pedagogy, differentiation is often constrained by imposed templates. The jaw, tongue, pharynx, diaphragm, and other muscles, bones and organs are treated as non-living elements to be forced into prescribed positions and “placements.” The body is viewed as a system of fixed levers rather than what it really is: a living, responsive, reflexive system.

When the body is viewed in this more mechanistic way, the spontaneous, flexible and organically self-organizing responses of the body don’t emerge in the same way. Coordination may improve in a purely technical sense, but the aliveness, adaptability, and integration that produces expressive, living singing is limited. Differentiation can then become functional replication rather than exploratory self-organization. The system might become unified, but it will do so in a more superficial, mechanized way rather than an internally driven one.

Approaching one’s body in a more mechanistic way might feel good a lot of the time, because - ahhh, control feels good for a lot of us! But in the end, singing is a living activity that involves some amount of letting go of control.” by @vocal_dearmoring

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a year ago

We will have THREE deep practices coming up this month for channel members. :)

1. VoDe Embodiment with Meryl
Friday, October 17th at 11am-12pm EST

In this class with Meryl, we may play with the exploration of embodiment, somatics, authentic movement and sounding, pleasure, and all matters of expressing in service to deepening our connection to our bodies and our VoDe practice.

2. m3Ditation With Shawn: A Practice for Integrating Mind, Body and Voice
Wednesday, October 22nd at 12pm-1pm EST

A nervous-system soothing hour including blending mindfulness meditation, gentle movement and communal singing practice.

3. VoDe Deep Practice with Marisa
Monday, October 27th at 11am-12pm EST

Deep Practice with Marisa may include comparative listening practice, warming up together, authentic relating, learning songs together, and more.

To learn about joining the channel where you can access live classes, countless hours of videos and material, an incredible community and more, send us a message or click the link in our bio ! ✨ by @vocal_dearmoring

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a year ago