Life as a GVMA Vocal Pro - Eanna Botchway
Our brilliant vocal pro Eanna shared some of her thoughts recently reflecting on her first term working as part of the Good Vibes team.
In my first couple of months at Good Vibes it’s been really great to work alongside the team,get to know the students and teach in some of the amazing schools that we work with.
From my first day, it has been clear that a positive learning environment for the students and teachers, is at the forefront of the Good Vibes ethos. Receiving shout outs and introductions through our website and social media platforms, not only made me feel welcomed but ensured that my students could learn a little about me before our first lessons!
The students have truly been amazing! It’s been a pleasure to work with such dedicated and talented singers of all ages – exploring all different genres music. The lessons have been filled with such memorable moments and it’s so rewarding to see students have breakthroughs within a session, whether they’re hitting a tricky note that we’ve worked on for the first time or have found the breath control they need to form a key expression in a song.
I’ve had many stand out moments – most of which stem from hearing about all the brilliant opportunities and performances students have been involved with. It is a real joy to hear about the performing arts groups and auditions that the students here are working towards and have achieved. Assisting in any way that I can for upcoming performances and shows, so many of the vocalists I teach continue grown in confidence, making the songs and roles we are working on their own.
A consistent theme throughout all of my lessons is that the students just love to sing! Building upon this, I have yet to experience a moment when a pupil is not open to trying new skills, techniques and approaches. Breathing technique is usually my place to start and is such a fundamental part of supporting your voice. This has been such a great tool to begin a lesson! Not only is this a key skill but it helps bring a level of calm and focus to the tasks ahead.
Warm ups that have also been a real hit during my lessons, are tongue twisters! These are great for warming up your voice effectively but have also led to many outbursts of laughter during my sessions, followed by a real determination to try again and get those tongue twisters spot on!
I’m looking forward to what’s to come at GVMA. I had my first assembly performance at a school recently and the reception we had, as well as the feedback from students/teachers afterwards, was superb and so encouraging. We have more of these lined up which I am so happy to be involved in! I am also eager to explore more of the creative sides to teaching here. As a songwriter, I look forward to helping students with creative projects and encourage those who wish to write their own songs. We have our Summer Band Course soon approaching, this will be really exciting to see and be involved in this summer. I can’t wait to see our students perform!
I am grateful for the amazing start that everyone here has given me at Good Vibes. I think it is so important to share music in the way that we do and to give our students all that they need to be amazing musicians out in the world.
It’s awesome having Eanna as part of our team and we know from her students that they absolutely love her too.
“My daughter is having an amazing experience learning singing with Eanna at good vibes, who has helped her develop her range and capability brilliantly,, with accessible and enjoyable methods - highly recommended!”