Darci Monet Vocal Style Studio

Watcha doin' this weekend?

THIS! YOU'RE DOIN' THIS! ↓↓↓

Yooz guys...my student Kat has inspired and impressed me! We had a really intense session last week where she had to go really deep emotionally to work through the song we were working on. She was absolutely brave AF in those moments...allowing another to see your vulnerability can be terrifying. I'll let her share how it went for her in her own words below. For me personally, it was truly the work with singers I love to do best and is the whole reason my studio's little catch phrase is "Sing Like You Mean It." And she absolutely did! Bravo, Kat. 🥰

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Today my voice coach and I had what I would call a breakthrough.
Do you ever try to connect with your material and just feel like there’s this giant wall in the way? Like you know you can relate to it but the emotion feels flat and forced?

Yeah… turns out when we have our own emotional blockages, it’s hard to be real and honest and vulnerable.
Sometimes we may not even realize that our attempts to “maintain our composure” are preventing us from truly experiencing the story we are telling, and consequently, preventing the audience from also experiencing the moment.

So, today Darci Monet watched me break down in tears when I finally was able to get out of my own damn way and not hide from the emotions brought forth by my piece. It’s been a very long time since I’ve sang anything with so much unabashed and raw emotion.

When you’re in the moment, you don’t even realize people are watching or listening. You are simply living your reality through the story you are telling, and the audience just happens to have the pleasure of experiencing it with you.

Real is better than perfect. People would much rather hear the humanity and truth of a voice cracking with emotion than a perfectly held note.

Hey, songbirds, my long time DMVSS students Andie Kay and Marie Pettit are The Key of F and they just put a new song out a few days ago. You like the rock n' roll, campers? If so, I hope you'll go take a listen!

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1AifkFc9v2xGPD3e4THv6l

Need You Now The Key of F · Single · 2023 · 1 songs.

♉️♌♌As an extroverted Ta**us with a Leo rising AND Leo moon (all that Leo in my chart is where my, "LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME!" comes from), I’ve come to realize that my time is best used singing in front of and/or speaking to groups of people, either providing entertainment or encouraging them to go for what they want and accomplish their goals.

With that in mind, I have lots of workshops and masterclasses in the pipeline over the next few months for vocalists and performing artists (a second Total Artist Masterclass in September, several Zoom workshops), I'm seeking out music conferences or meetups I might participate in as an expert (suggestions welcome!) and even some studio and live performances (FB Live concerts and a BIG secret project I'll spill the tea on soon!). Whenever I do one of the aforementioned, afterwards I still have TONS of energy to burn off! Man, it's such a rush and I could seriously do it all day long! I usually have to go have a glass of wine afterward with friends to settle my b***y down. 🥴🥂

Don't get me wrong, I get great satisfaction from my one-on-one sessions with my singers (that's the intuitive empath Ta**us part), but I guess when you come out a big ole drama queen 🎭👑, you always crave a larger audience...and I think that being able to move many hearts at once is kinda one of my Superpowers! Really excited to get back in front of people again. It's been too long.

So, tell me...what’s one of YOUR superpowers? We've all got at least one...AT LEAST! Fess up, little heroes! 😁

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♪♫ Sing Like You Mean It Story Time ♪♫

A few years ago, I was working with my voice student Elaine, who had everything she needed to succeed in her niche, which was musical theatre. Great voice, solid acting chops (she was big into improv), cute as a button (think the perfect Elle Woods), stone cold work ethic...but she couldn't seem to even get a call back whenever she auditioned for shows.

She had struggled with this for a couple years and was so frustrated. And it made no sense to me, either...

Until I said to her, “Okay. Let's break down the audition process. Walk me through a typical audition for you from the minute you walk into the building till you walk back out."

When she started explaining, I realized that she was making a
very simple, but gargantuan, mistake.

The mistake was this: once she'd signed in, sat down and waited for her name to be called, turns out she was doing everything BUT mentally focusing on what she was actually there to do! She was eyeing the room, checking out - judging - all the other actors (who looked like her? who didn't?). She was straining to hear through the door of the audition room to try and figure out who sang better than her. She was trying to read the facial expressions of everyone who came out to see if they'd give the impression that they'd crushed it. She tried to guage who was a seasoned pro and who was wet-behind-the-ears and on and on...

She was being a Snoopy Suzie instead of getting herself mentally prepared for her audition.

When I pointed it out, she said, “But..." And I said, "No buts. Here's your new process. Sign in, sit down, stick in your earbuds and listen to your 32 bars play on repeat. Run your sides. Don't be rude, but don't bother with anyone else. They're not your business. This is YOUR time and you're not there to make friends OR judgments. Set your focus, then go in the room and slay." Reluctantly, she agreed to try it.

And wouldn't ya know, her very next audition, she not only slayed the audition AND got a call back for the first time in a couple years...SHE BOOKED THE DANG LEAD!

BADA BING, BADA BOOM.

That big shift in process and focusing her mindset on the task at hand helped Elaine go from being relegated to the company (not that there's anything wrong with that...there are no small parts!) to playing Lucy in "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown." She continued to book major roles in a few other shows following that until she retired to have a family.

If you’re struggling with streamlining your focus and mindset, whether it be in your vocal technique, your audition process, or your general work ethic, it's fixable. It's doable. And I can help.

If this is something you want, send me a DM and we can explore it further. Your best gigs are yet to come!

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A while ago, I had a really big insight.

Even though I was an exceptionally talented vocalist, for much of my life and career I played small and let what other people thought about me (or what I PERCEIVED they thought about me) drive my will to succeed...or not. I leaned all the way in on the idea that no one would be interested in giving a chance to a short, juicy, very loud, lil-bit-snarky New Yorker with occasional foot-in-mouth disease, regardless of my talent level. I was just TOO MUCH and that would always work against me.

It took me a long time, but what I came to realize was that it didn't serve me - or anyone else - to keep minimalizing myself that way. I didn't deserve to feel that way about myself, either. Who was I helping by NOT giving myself 100% of my time, effort and investment? Musicians are healers...I AM A HEALER! How much good might I have done by stepping into my power when I was much younger and unabashedly, joyfully GOING FOR BEING ALL THE EFFING ME I am and can be???

This is why I'm so passionate about working with my singers and other performing artists.

Because I want to help those with exceptional talent to stop struggling with Play Small Syndrome and instead shamelessly fly their artsy fartsy freak flags and heal the world with their divinely bestowed and inspired gifts! The world needs us "carnies" now more than ever. MORE.👏🏻THAN.👏🏻EV.👏🏻 ER.👏🏻

If you’d like support with shedding your Think Small Syndrome, drop a comment below or DM me. I would be honored to support you.

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HEY LOS ANGELES! If you’re an actor-that-sings or a singer-that-acts (any genre) who is looking to sharpen your audition skills, you definitely want to attend the Total Artist Masterclass that I'm co-leading.

THIS WEEK IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO SIGN UP! CLASS IS SATURDAY, JULY 8TH!

If you have any questions about it, drop a comment below or DM me and I'll answer as soon as I can. Otherwise, visit TotalArtistMasterclass.com for more details and registration/payment instructions. And by all means, if you know someone who'd benefit from attending, please share!

Time to level up, artists! Let's do this!

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♪♪ Sing Like You Mean It Story Time ♪♫

One of the most disappointing times of my life was when I auditioned for The Voice for the third season in a row, finally got a call back, crushed it and STILL didn't get booked on the show. 😬

Thing is, I had made a REALLY huge mistake in my audition...

After I sang, in the "here's my-sparkling-tv-ready-personality" portion, a producer said, "Wow, that was great! But this is your third time auditioning and we haven't booked you yet? How did THAT happen?" I said I didn't know but I hoped the third time would be the charm. He responded, "Well, I think it will be, Darci. Great audition." To which I WANTED to respond, "Great, cuz I'm sure you're all getting sick of seeing me!" Ya know...cuz I do the humor. But what I ACTUALLY SAID was, "Great! Cuz I'm sure sick of seeing you guys!"

*cue record scratch* 😳

It was one of those moments where your brain is screaming, "SHUT YOUR PIEHOLE! STOP TALKING!" the entire time the awful words are pouring forth.

Deafening silence. I wanted to vomit. "No! I, I mean..." 🤮

He calmly interrupted with, "Thanks for coming in," and I watched him put my headshot and application on the bottom of the BIGGER pile of headshots and applications, which I knew had to be the rejection pile.

HE LIFTED UP THE WHOLE PILE AND SHOVED MY HEADSHOT AND APP THERE. 😣

I learned an important lesson that day. Doesn't matter how prepared you are or how smokin' you look, if you bring a spirit of desperation into the room, it can go dreadfully wrong. And that's what I did. I wanted that gig SO. DANG. BAD!

Now, I'm grateful for that lesson, cuz I never went into another audition with desperate energy. Ever since, I usually get at least a call back if not the gig. If I don't, then it's much easier to let it go. When you go in with an attitude of playfulness and being of service to the casting directors or producers, then leave it at the door on your way out, it truly shifts your success ratio. It's a learned skill and one I share with my students to help them in their own auditions.

I would love to support you in preparing your voice AND whole self for the artist's life. If booking the gig is something you want, message me and we can explore it further.

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♪♫ Sing Like You Mean It Story Time ♪♫

People sometimes ask me how I got into voice coaching.

To be a bit vulnerable with you...

The reason I decided to work with singers as more than "rainy day money" and create a career out of it was honestly out of necessity. Back at least 15 years ago, I'd had a handful of students I worked with on evenings and weekends around my corporate day job at a title company, but when the housing market crashed in 2008 and Corp asked me to train someone in the Philippines how to do my job over instant messenger in order to "help me out"...well, I saw the writing on the wall. And when my number was up, I took it as a sign from the Universe that I was supposed to be making a living with music full time and this would be a practical way to begin as I kept pursuing singing work. Good plan, right?

Well, the caveat is...my craptastic "Murphy's Law" attitude, unresolved childhood trauma and a very large missed opportunity beyond my control ("Napoleon Dynamite") buried me beneath their weight and I began to expect failure. I played small, blamed everyone and everything but myself for lack of opportunities and ultimately robbed myself of a fruitful career as a performer. Even worse, I believe it manifested in my body via allergies and chronic sinus infection, which has robbed me of my 3 1/2 octave range and the ability to count on my own voice when I need it.

I faced a crossroads: either get over myself or spiral forever into bitterness. I had already started down that dark path. So, I began the difficult work of healing and rediscovering who I am beyond others' expectations and even my own. I let go of my shame and self-doubt, reignited my love for music and ignited love for MYSELF.

Even though I’ve come a LONG way, I’m still dealing with my broken voice (I've come to accept it may never heal entirely), and am so present to the struggle that so many singers like me wrestle with every day. Their stories may be different from mine in the minute details, but there are so many exceptionally talented vocalists out there who are allowing their self-doubts keep them from their greatest potential.

And, that’s why I do the work I do... because I don’t want anyone to have to wrestle with their inner Negative Nate or Debbie Downer. I want them to know how spectacular they are for WHO they are and simultaneously train their voices so they can step into the spotlight and shine so bright you gotta wear shades to look at them...and pay GOOD MONEY to hear them!

My schedule is quite booked these days, but I’m really passionate about getting my work out in a bigger way. So, I’ve decided to open up a few Sing Like You Mean It Strategy Seshes this week. You can schedule a session by reaching out to me via private message here or email me at [email protected].

So what happens in this Sing Like You Mean It Strategy Sesh? It's a private 60 minute (for 12+) or 30 minute (under 12) vocal assessment session either in person or via Zoom where we'll look at three main areas:

1. Determine your/your child's current vocal skill level (there is no pass or fail!).

2. Discuss the challenges your/your child's voice experiences while singing and if it feels appropriate, address any potentially limiting mental blocks such as stage fright, fear of success, crummy authority figures in your past who should've kept their pieholes shut, etc.

3. I’ll give you a few of my best suggestions while we sing together to make immediate improvements and after, I'll share my recommendations on what we can do going forward to help you get from having a pleasant enough voice to sing karaoke to Hollywood-Bowl-Concert-ready!

These recommendations have worked for me and many of my artists (including a Tony Award winner and world-touring bands) and I promise that you’ll get a ton of value from our short time together.

We’ll also take a few minutes to explore whether we would be a good fit to continue to work together, as I believe a strong, positive connection between coach and client is essential. No pressure, no strings attached... just a great conversation with someone who listens deeply, sees your magnificence and believes that you can transform yourself from waiting sheepishly in the wings into that rock star skyrocketing toward global domination!

Obviously lots of folks are gonna see this post on all my socials, so if you’re interested, then I encourage you to book right away. I've only three spots available.

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🥰 🕉🙏🏻☮️🌿

P.S. If you’re not personally interested in unleashing your inner rock star, feel free to forward this to a friend or family member who wants to or perhaps needs that little nudge to step into their light. Or share on your own socials in case you know someone who secretly dreams of being a great singer or has a kid who never stops singing (like I was!). We all know SOMEONE who wants to sing better, even if we can't think of one off the top of our heads. You could be the catalyst in changing someone's life for the better...ya never know!

Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.

📣Happy to finally announce this upcoming masterclass I've been working on with my colleague Freddie Lara and our special guest Robin De Lano!

🧐We're looking for a few actors-that-sing and singers-that-act to work with closely who want to dramatically improve their skill set and learn some great technique and audition tips, ALL IN ONE DAY, in a loving, safe, spirit-lifting environment.

IF YOU...

→ Are focused on a career path in the entertainment industry...
→ Are really ready to improve your craft AND break down the barriers that may hold you back...
→ Are capable of handling constructive but encouraging feedback in a group setting...
→ And are coachable...

Then this might be the masterclass for you! 🎶🎭🕉

Please follow the instructions on the flyer below to sign up. SPACE IS EXTREMELY LIMITED. This is an in-person masterclass. Singers of all genres welcome (not limited to musical theatre). See website http://totalartistmasterclass.com for prerequisites. Feel free to share with other actors/singers you know.

Let's go, artists! See ya there!

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