A fascinating deep dive into what really happens inside the singer’s brain, this episode explores the surprising intersection of neuroscience, pedagogy, and creativity. Joined by renowned voice expert Heidi Moss Erickson, the conversation unpacks how singing is both incredibly complex and beautifully instinctive—revealing why play, imagination, and even a bit of “crazy” can unlock better vocal performance. This episode challenges singers and teachers alike to embrace a more brain-friendly, joyful approach to vocal training.
WHAT’S IN THIS PODCAST?
4:19 Is singing really that complex?
7:58 Nature Vs. Nuture
10:19 Brain data for singing
12:03 The order of things: The Holy Grail P1
23:10 Integral parts to the brain’s prediction for singing
29:42 Neurodiversity inclusivity
34:02 The role of intention
39:12 The order of things: The Holy Grail P2
46:26 The brain and learning expectations
54:29 Who needs to understand ‘singing in the brain?’
About the presenter HERE
RELEVANT MENTIONS & LINKS
The work of Richard Miller
Heidi’s Singing in the Brain Series
The work of Ingo Titze
Singing With Your Whole Self by Samuel H Nelson & Elizabeth L Blades
Singing Teachers Talk – Ep.63 Developing a Singer’s Self Awareness And Clarifying Intention
ABOUT THE GUEST
Heidi Moss Erickson is a performer, educator and scientist. Noted for her “rich and radiant soprano” (Edward Oriz, Sacramento Bee) she has performed on national and international stages as well as numerous local companies such as Festival Opera, West Edge Opera, Livermore Opera, Fremont Symphony, Peninsula Symphony, Oakland Symphony and the Sacramento Choral Society. Notable performances include Oscar in “Un Ballo in Maschera” with Opera Memphis, St. Theresa in “Four Saints and Three Acts” with Opera Parallele, Susanna in “Le Nozze di Figaro” with IVAI in Italy conducted by Kevin Murphy and the role of Blanche du Bois in “A Streetcar Named Desire” with Opera San Jose in a remount of the LA Opera production starring Renée Fleming.
A champion of new music, she helped spearhead the performance of eight song premieres by eight different renowned composers for LIEDER ALIVE! including Daron Hagen, David Conte, Kurt Erickson and Henry Mollicone. In 2022 she presented a world premiere of a new song set written especially for her by Tarik O’Regan, whose “Agnus Dei” was recently commissioned for King Charles’s coronation. Other collaborations with living composers include works by Jake Heggie with the composer himself at the piano and operas by philanthropist Gordon Getty with the Russian National Orchestra, San Francisco Opera and, most recently, a recording of his opera “Plumpjack” with Lester Lynch.
Moss Erickson has also garnered recognition in major vocal competitions, including the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (NYC First Place Winner), the Liederkranz Awards, the MacAllister Awards and the KDFC competition which resulted in a performance with pianist Lang Lang. In 2019 she was awarded a Best in the Bay award for her “Richard Strauss” recital featuring John Parr of Deutsche Oper Berlin at the piano.
Moss Erickson received a dual biology and voice degree at Oberlin College, where she worked in the voice lab of Richard Miller. At the University of Pennsylvania, she completed graduate courses in biochemistry with an emphasis in neuroscience. Her postgraduate research on telomeres at Rockefeller University led to prestigious publications, including a landmark paper in Cell which demonstrated that the ends of DNA are looped. Moss Erickson has taught vocal physiology at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and applied voice at UC Davis. She is among the original faculty members at the Summer Vocal Pedagogy Institute at St. Andrews in Scotland which attracts voice teachers from around the world. In 2007 she came down with a rare CNVII nerve injury which resurrected her passion for how the brain controls the voice. Through the curation of research in the neuroscience of vocalization, she has created a line of vocal pedagogy that applies to all genres. Her clients include singers from a wide variety of styles, including professional singers from the worlds of classical, musical theater, R&B, pop, Hindustani classical music and Chinese opera. Her courses and lectures have been featured both nationally and internationally at conferences and universities. She has been a panelist and guest speaker for Renée Fleming’s acclaimed “Music and Mind” series which brings together experts at the intersection of art, neuroscience and health. She believes in the accessibility of singing for all and has created a non-profit to give free and discounted voice lessons to those in need. Her other open-access resources include the “Minding the Gap” column in the Journal of Singing which bridges neuroscience research with vocal pedagogy and a YouTube series called “Singing in the Brain.” She is currently working on a book about the neuroscience of singing and vocal pedagogy.
