Life of a student: Jessica U.

Jess has been with us since the beginning, and she shares her journey, full of self-discovery and absolute silliness, as a Voice Lab voice nerd!
--Liz Jackson Hearns

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It's such a gift to be able to work with the same singer over the course of years, to witness the personal and artistic growth and see someone step into their full selves as a singer and a super amazing human. Jessica has been a student with me for about two years and we've done so much great stuff together! 

Liz: Darling! Thank you so much for sharing your story. Let's start with the easy stuff. How long have you been studying and who is your teacher? 

Jessica: I started taking singing lessons with The Amazing Liz Jackson Hearns in the spring of 2015, almost two years ago. This was before The Voice Lab North Center location even existed, my lessons were in the basement of a nearby church while you and Alexandra were building up your clientele.

Liz: For a lot of folks I meet, the decision to take music lessons as an adult is about reclaiming a part of your identity or hoping to uncover you inner diva. What about for you? Why did you decide to take lessons? 

Jessica: My career is demanding and stress levels can get sky high if I don't force in time to take care of myself and enjoy a life outside of work. At the particular time of seeking lessons, aspects of my personal life were unraveling inside me and I didn't want to face it. So I was working, working, working and then coming home feeling trapped in sadness. Because I grew up playing the piano, hand bells, guitar lessons, and singing in the school chorus, I knew that music could take me to another head space. I desperately needed a creative outlet.

Liz: Truth!! To say that music is an escape is kind of an understatement, right? 

Jessica: Exactly. There's a special kind of high when you immerse yourself, fully focused, into music and all the pieces come together while the rest of the world falls away.

Liz: So aside from seeking self-care and finding ways to immerse yourself into music, did you have any goals in mind when you started lessons? 

Jessica: Aside from relieving stress and finding a healthy, productive way to bring lightness and creative expression into my life, I really wanted to learn to enjoy my voice. I hadn't sung since middle school and to me, my voice still sounded like an annoying little girl, not a strong woman. I also didn't want any requirements to perform for anyone, I was only singing for myself, for the fun of it. Performing was too much pressure and singing for a teacher was a challenge enough at the time. You understood and gave me the space to be comfortable.

Liz: I did my best! It's funny, as a teacher I think I always hear where your voice is going, and I know there has been a lot of trust-building between us and a lot of...shall we say experimentation? But we'll get to that in a sec. In the pursuit of those goals, I think some other things have emerged. Have some other goals come up along the way? 

Jessica: Yes! It's so crazy when I unlock a beautiful sound from my own body that even my most critical self can't ignore. Learning to love, or even like my voice can be really hard and for me, it's a long, slow road. You are relentless with pointing out the good things that are going right and sounding awesome and making sure I appreciate that in myself. Of course I don't always get things right and sometimes I still feel ridiculous, but now when that happens, I have plenty of experiences to remember that when I do lock into the right space, I'm happy with my sound and it truly does exist inside me. It's easier to accept all the imperfections knowing that they are part of the learning process, practice brings real improvement, and I'm not just inherently doomed.

Liz: I love that! That's our whole thing, right? "Love your voice" is as much a promise from me to you as it is the process that you learn in lessons--to love your voice means to be patient with it and help it be its best self. I think in turn that means that you are unlocking yourself and it's so much like watching a flower bloom from my perspective. 

Jessica: Oh, Liz that's so sweet!

Liz: Gross. 

Jessica: Not gross. It's sweet.

Liz: Fine. *sticks tongue out* You're so great. Tell me more! 

Jessica: As for new goals, after a year of singing only for myself, I was encouraged to consider joining the ColLABorate program and try something new with performing and harmonizing with other students. So I did - and loved it! So much so that my band mate and I continued working together on our own after the program ended. We just signed up for the next ColLABorate session and I'm super excited to have another public performance in the plan and conquering those fears.
Of course I have technical goals too, like having better control in keeping my soft palate lifted, improving breath suspension and exploring my vibrato.

Liz: And I can't wait to see you shine on stage again! 
So some pretty crazy and experimental things have happened in lessons, which we touched on earlier. What's the weirdest thing I've ever asked you to do? 

Jessica: Uh yep... I have to pick just one? Quacking like a duck, howling, singing into a kazoo, smooshing my face into funny shapes, power poses, singing upside down... There's no shortage of weirdness but it all serves a purpose. Readers, if you know Liz, you know she loves straws. We've used them in every. Single. Lesson. They really do help though, as a tangible tool to manage my breath. The best key to unlock my voice is usually my imagination. You're fantastic at translating what physically needs to happen inside me, in an instrument that I can't see, into a creative but practical visual to help my brain send the right signals through my body. 

Liz: I want you to know that you're not the only one who has quacked in a lesson. I'm wondering how many of those things we've done in a single lesson...there's a research project! 
Ok. So what's next? ColLAB is coming up, what else are you looking forward to in your music life? 

Jessica: I actually just started piano lessons with Gene and one of my goals will be to learn how to accompany my singing so I can offer a more well-rounded experience when performing. Only two lessons in and it's already added a new level of creativity and excitement into practicing both voice and piano together. 

Liz: Awesome! It's so special to be able to grow our faculty and provide that opportunity for you. We have grown SO MUCH since you started almost two years ago. What changes have you seen at The Voice Lab? 

Jessica: SO much! One of the many reasons I love The Voice Lab is that Liz is an inspiring person to know. She has worked so hard to bring The Voice Lab to life and she does it all with an amazing attitude, impressive determination and an infectious laugh. The passion just oozes out of the team and creates such a wonderful environment to immerse ourselves in (I basically live here). 

Ok, what's changed? In the beginning, like I said, Liz and Alexandra were teaching lessons in a church in Boystown on irregular schedules while they both worked elsewhere. Clientele built up and they opened their own full time storefront in North Center. Workshops and events like ColLABorate were offered. Third Thursday open mic sessions became a monthly opportunity to perform free of judgement, and to observe our teachers sing and play and be awesome but also screw up, laugh, move on, etc. proving that it doesn't have to be all perfect all the time for your audience to enjoy you. Katherine joined and brought a new level of laughter and light to the team (and South Park references). Lesson offerings expanded to include some really adorable children. There's so much business to track, Rachel came on as Office Manager. Meanwhile Liz's offerings to the trans community expanded and grew and are integral to The Voice Lab culture of goodness. Diane joined as a dedicated, trans focused resource on the team. Gene recently joined to teach piano and music theory (and ColLAB!). What's next? Whatever it is will be exactly what the world needs today. 

Liz: Oh my gosh, Jess! Thank you for that beautiful description. It's been so amazing to be able to share all this with you as a student and now a friend. I feel that I've been given a gift to be able to do this work! Last question: what would you tell someone who is thinking about taking lessons? 

Jessica: Be good to yourself, take them and go to The Voice Lab. I tried 3 other teachers around Chicago and never felt understood or relaxed until meeting Liz and the gang. I've had the pleasure of singing with Katherine, Alexandra and Liz and they are each joyful, fun, passionate and compassionate people who live and love their art. Their goals are for their students to be happy, healthy singers/humans who love their voice. It works. Boosh! 

Liz: Boosh! Ha! Thank you, Jess!

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