Jazz, Research & Bucket-List Turns: The Moment Melissa Forbes Quit Law for Music

Send us Fan Mail Dr Melissa Forbes worked in law for 10 years until the firm's partner told a story about a bucket of water. That speech sent her straight to a jazz conservatorium, then to the research lab, and finally into community halls where group singing is healing real-world isolation.  In this episode of This Is A Voice, Jeremy Fisher & Dr Gillyanne Kayes chat with Melissa on  -  the “flight-corrections” that reboot a creative life  -  how positive psychology reframes practice, strength and burnout  -  why participatory choirs can out-perform stadium shows in human impact  -  tips for choir leaders & voice teachers who feel stuck in the “performance-only” loop Whether you belt for Britain, lead chamber choirs, or run a voice studio, the twists and turns in Melissa’s story will spark new ideas for you and your singers.  Hit play, grab a cuppa, and let’s get vocal about making music that matters! 00:00 – A Jazz Singer, A Lawyer & A Bucket of Water Walk Into a Bar... 05:05 – Bringing the lawyer brain to music 08:50 – Is singing research a dry subject? 13:55 – Losing (& refinding) your joy in music 17:45 – Turning points for different people 22:09 – How singing helps with a crisis of social health  24:12 – Music for health and wellbeing #CommunityChoir #PositivePsychology #VoiceScience Remember to like, subscribe, and hit the bell icon for more insightful episodes. Leave a comment below on what inspired you the most! 👇 Here's the link to Melissa's article on pivoting from music performance to music on prescription (it's free to access): https://research.usq.edu.au/download/58f90447e97bc759d586fcb70ab91a7d3114d02bd6fdade8d31dbc0b1e02b81f/449105/forbes-et-al-2025-from-music-performance-to-prescription-a-guide-for-musicians-and-health-professionals.pdf You can find out about our Teacher Accreditation for singing teachers, vocal coaches and choir leaders and start your own journey here  https://vocalprocess.co.uk/teacher-accreditation/ We've also got this ↓  For the best self-guided learning, check out the Vocal Process Learning Lounge - 22 years of vocal coaching resources (now over 700 videos) for less than the price of one private singing lesson with us.  Click on the link https://vocalprocess.co.uk/learning-lounge/learning-lounge-level-2-deep-dive/   If you want to discover if our singing teacher training programme works for YOU, message us - we can share the process for joining Cohort26. https://www.cognitoforms.com/VocalProcess1/TheAccreditationProgramme  Get the One Minute Voice Warmup app here, it's got a 4.9star rating  Appstore https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/one-minute-voice-warmup/id1212802251  Google Play https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.speechtools.warmup&hl=en_GB     Check out our Voice Journal, written with Rayvox's Oren Boder https://www.rayvox.co.uk/products/voice-journal?ref=VOCALPROCESS    Find us - follow us on the socials!  📸 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/vocalprocess   📖 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/vocalprocess  #vocalprocess #teacheraccreditation #voicetraining