Inner Wylde Child
Hi! Im Kat Martin, the founder of Wylde Voices, the original Wylde child! When I was young I never doubted myself and I played without a care in the world. I was wylde and free! I was, and still am in love with nature and music and believe they are related. As a child, I would climb the highest trees and sing at the top of my lungs. In sixth grade, however, bullying interrupted my love for music. At school I was taunted because I sang so loudly and the kids asked me why my voice shook. I had a strong vibrato from a young age. I didn’t know how to deal with the pain and the embarrassment so I stopped singing all together and never told anyone why.
Fast forward to college; I made the brave decision to take a voice class despite my deep belief that I “was not a singer.” My teacher, Charlene, was the most loving, compassionate, not to mention incredible opera singer herself. She believed in me and asked that I consider singing opera. I was both shocked because I had truly believed I could not sing, and also determined to discover my vocal potential. I felt the importance of having that one, kind teacher who could change your whole life. After school, I began pursuing my Masters in Classical Vocal Performance. What I didn’t know though was that I had a very long road ahead of me. I spent the next ten years studying the voice, bouncing from teacher to teacher, reading countless books, taking seminars and workshops, and training endless hours.
Yet, my voice eluded me. I felt very confused about what to practice after every lesson. I didn’t feel confident about my voice at all. I was a complete mess in auditions, let alone performances. I began to wear my voice out until I developed a polyp on my vocal cords and chronic tension and pain in my throat. Even speaking for 30 minutes became hell for me. What I was doing WAS NOT WORKING!
4 years ago, I hit a breaking point. I was miserable, in credit card debt, my voice was injured, and my Opera career was going nowhere. I was devastated and felt completely defeated. I stopped singing altogether for months as my love for music had died. I had spent a third of my life pursuing a lost cause, or so I thought.
The truth is, I was trying to “fix” my voice with constant vocal warmups, without realizing that my path to vocal freedom had much more to do with regulating my nervous system, healing from past trauma, and moving through limiting beliefs and emotional blocks.
Thus began my holistic approach to understanding my voice. For the first time in over a decade, my voice began to heal and I began singing with more freedom and confidence. For the first time since I was eleven years old, singing became fun & joyful for me!
Today, I use this holistic approach with my students. Not only do we practice vocal warmups, exercises, and music, but we go much deeper into all aspects of the voice, self confidence, and freedom of expression.
Learn more about Your Inner Wylde Childe and Wylde Voices with a FREE Consultation and Mini Voice Activation!
Little Kat, The Original Wylde Child