Live Your Bloom Podcast

Emma Back, Singing Out Loud and Changing People’s Lives

June 28, 2021 Sharman Nittoli Season 1 Episode 11
Live Your Bloom Podcast
Emma Back, Singing Out Loud and Changing People’s Lives
Show Notes Transcript

Emma Back is a singer, songwriter, violinist, producer, live-looping artist and seasoned performer. She is the founder and lead teacher at She Sings Out Loud and Soul Sound Academy where she helps emerging, purpose-lead women singers & songwriters heal their self aggression and ditch their fear of sharing their work so they can step into their true artistic purpose and make an impact with their music.

Unlike traditional music teachers and business coaches in the music industry, Emma helps her students reconnect to source by embracing their feminine divinity so they become a channel for music that elevates collective consciousness.

With over 10 years of experience as a music educator, Emma has helped hundreds of young people find their voice and deal with body image, bullying and depression teaching violin, voice and songwriting and leading chorus, band, orchestra and meditation classes in schools. Through She Sings Out Loud’s Programs she has helped dozens of women embody their worth and launch their music careers through her “Awakening Your Soul Sound Methodology.”

Emma is fiercely committed to her own self growth, continuing to inquire, discover and integrate what it is to live from feminine wisdom as an artist, spiritual seeker and activist among the challenges of today’s world.

Connect with Emma:

Join the Magnetize Your Audience 5 Day Challenge! Starts July 6th!
https://www.shesingsoutloud.com/challenge

Reach out to Emma on instagram or facebook:
Instagram: @emmabackmusic
Facebook: facebook.com/shesingsoutloud

Join the free private facebook group for a weekly workshop and throat chakra healing:
https://www.shesingsoutloud.com/group

Want to chat with Emma? Book a Free Soul Sound Alignment Session:
https://www.shesingsoutloud.com/apply




Sharman Nittoli:

Welcome to the Live Your Bloom podcast where I interview people stepping out of their comfort zones to fulfill all dream seeds or plant new ones, regardless of age. And I'm always interested in the challenges and successes of these people. But I also interview others who have specific interests or programs and things that could benefit us on our journey to blown. And that's all I have today. Emma back, musician, composer, performer and businesswoman has a fabulous program called soul sound Academy for emerging purpose led women singers and songwriters through her company, she sings out loud, are you interested? I am. Welcome, Emma.

Emma Back:

Thanks for having me. Sharman. It's so good to see you. It's been a while and so good to be here.

Sharman Nittoli:

I'm so glad to have you. Sure. So could you give us a little background of yourself that will lead us to how you actually conceive of this program?

Emma Back:

Yeah, absolutely. Well, I've been a musician since as long as I can remember, my mom likes to say I came out of the womb thing, pretty much. And I just know that as a child, there was a lot of joy, there were a lot of ease in singing and performing. It was just kind of the stage where I was meant to be, so to speak. And then in my early 20s, I started really developing debilitating stage fright. And I experienced burnout, experienced injury, vocal fatigue, I had an overuse injury and was told I could never play my instrument again, I would need surgery and just had all these things happen. And I went through a process of healing, and really returning to a spiritual path. And returning to what I like to call is the soul sound, my soul sound, my most authentic voice. So there was a physical healing that took place. And there was a lot of emotional healing. And there was a really kind of healing of all of the inner thoughts around not being good enough, not being worthy, all of those things. And so as I started to kind of step back out and write music and share music from this more authentic place from this deeper place from this place that felt really connected to that which is infinite and greater that which is one, I started to have conversations with other women and heard stories of them experiencing the same thing like going from that freedom as a child, that confidence, to having something happen in their life, sometimes something really subtle, sometimes a major trauma, and really just going into this place of feeling unworthy and feeling voiceless. And so it became my mission and my commitment to really help other women awaken their soul sound and step into their power and their purpose, and their true artistic calling, and be able to fearlessly share their work and make an impact.

Sharman Nittoli:

Wow, that's a really very astute observation. Because there are so many women, so many people, but more women, I am so keyed into women, I've heard those kinds of stories about the fear, about the timidness, about being afraid to get yourself out there. I know, I think I was one of them. I'm not one of them anymore. But I don't want anybody to wait as long as I did. Especially when you're composing songs, and you're composing from that place, it's really hard to just trust that you're going to put it out there. And you're going to accept the positive with the negative and my mom used to say throw out 90% of both, you got 10% of what's real. You know, some people are going to love you no matter what some people are going to not like you no matter what, but somewhere you know what the truth is, and that's what you're looking for.

Emma Back:

Yeah, that's really my belief is that when you're really creating from your soul sound from your truth from your, your creative truth, then you begin to actually magnetize what I call your soulmate audience, so the people that really resonate with what you naturally have to offer. So rather than this kind of very patriarchal model of trying to become better, in a really narrow way, I would say, with a lot of shoulds a lot of should not in the way, that really when you discover your authentic voice and you begin sharing from that place and people crave authenticity. And so immediately you'll start to really attract and draw in the people that resonate - and that's been my experience. When I really was able to wake in my soul sound I just started, I went from debilitating stage fright and playing like empty bar after empty bar to really being able to build long term really deep relationships with my audience.

Sharman Nittoli:

Yeah. Oh, I know those barless nights, people not in there. Oh, I know those nights. My husband I were joking the other day we needed money at a certain point so bad that if there was just snowstorm, we would go at nine o'clock in the morning and set our stuff up to play that night, knowing there wouldn't be anybody there. And that's, it's okay. It's called paying your dues and you know, training and all that stuff so. So let's just say someone does come to you very introverted and shy. They think they have something to say. They can sing. What's the first thing you do with them? Probably the first thing we do is a throat chakra healing. And I've been doing these weekly Throat Chakra healings inside of my free Facebook group, and anyone is welcome to join that. Any women female identifying people want to join that, we'll talk about it, I'm sure you'll share links and stuff later. I will but I just is that your Facebook group is She Sings Out Loud? She Sings Out Loud Sisterhood or you can search Throat Chakra Healing for Women Singers and Songwriters on Facebook either one. Is that on a certain day of every week?

Emma Back:

Right now it's been on Wednesdays at four. Okay, eastern time. It shifts occasionally, that's the time right now. And there's definitely at least another month or so probably at that time. Um, and what else was gonna say, you can also go to She Sings Out Loud/ group, and that'll get you there directly if you have trouble finding it on Facebook. But so I would do a throat chakra healing, whether you came to a, you know, a free workshop, throat chakra healing like these, or you came to me one on one, you came to a program, we would start with some really deep healing work, to just start to get present to what blocks are in the way and what's really happening, and to start to work with energetically how to open the throat because a lot of times, we don't always know what's in the way of having us express ourselves. Truthfully, express ourselves through song, you know, get over that shyness, which I don't even think you need to get over shyness, maybe it's more embrace the shyness and work with how to be confident in light of that. Like, I don't think that we all have to be these very extroverted people all the time. But there's a way to work with the fear that might be connected to that shyness. And a lot of that starts for me and my work working with energy and how do we how do we work with the throat energy? How do we work with the core energy, and these two places really connect us. So when we do Throat Chakra Healings, we also work with how to connect to the core and how to feel powerful and confident receiving. So a lot of times that shyness, or that fear has to do with these mixed messages that we receive, especially as women about being seen about being heard about that being safe to be seen and heard, there can be a lot of, you know, trauma from this life underneath that there can also be a lot of inherited patterns of how we're supposed to be a lot of inherited ways of being through generations through lifetimes. So we've kind of work with healing that through what I call"The Receiving Practice". And this is a core of the work that we do in Soul Sound Academy is to really learn how to do this practice and feel powerful in your core, and be able to receive energy, receive love and attention, as well as really honor boundaries. So people always ask, Well, if I'm just open to receiving everything, what about all the things I don't want, but when we actually, you know, take away the the wall that we put out up around receiving love and receiving attention, which we have to do if we want to really perform especially, we have to kind of take that wall out of the way, when we start to do that, instead of being in a reactive pattern where we're self protecting or putting up a wall, we start to learn how to open that and receive attention, receive love, receive support. And then in doing that we get really powerful with how to create boundaries when we don't want to receive that energy. So that's how we start.

Sharman Nittoli:

Yeah, I can see how that would be really useful and even benefit people who even just want to sing in a choir. I know, just to do to be able to do that - to have the courage to sing in the choir where they may think "everybody's better than me and I don't belong there". And it's just such an awful way to go into anything.

Emma Back:

Yeah, well, and a lot of people don't know that there's actually is this really amazing connection between the core and between the throat. And when we talk about it often from a vocal technique we talk about, like core support for the breath and for singing. But there's also an energetic connection, which is that in, in the core, we sort of we receive and the core is also the home of our soul sounds. We start to get these intuitive hits about what we might might want to create. And this could be in singing, but it could be anywhere in life, like what do we want to make? What do we want to create what's wanting to come through us and we can get present to that through working with our core energy, and then that actually comes up and it's offered through the throat energy, through this Throat Chakra energy. So again, it could be through song, but when you also do healing work with the throat chakra and with the core, you will release your creativity and all capacities and you'll get more powerful and how you communicate and relationships. Like there's so many things that that happen as well because I know a lot of your listeners and your work is all about, you know, living your bloom and all the kinds of you know, creative work or exciting things you might want to do. A lot of that can be resolved energetically, a lot of the blocks can be resolved through this kind of learning that relationship between the core chakra and the throat chakra.

Sharman Nittoli:

It's true. And in Live Your Bloom, when you ask a person, like, "What is it you want to do"? Sometimes older people, mature people will say,"Well, I always wanted to do this, or I always want to do that". And right away, I'm just seeing the blocks, the walls going up the walls going up. So we try to tear that wall down. And when they finally acknowledge that this is something I always want to do, and it could be singing, and it could be playing an instrument, and then you get the buts, "But I can't do it now". but, but but, when we can figure that out, we start to put together some kind of schedule that will put you first and allow you to work on the thing that will bring you joy, and restore your passion in this life. Because we surely need it right now! We really need we need to take our joy wherever we can find it. So if it comes from music, all the better. So will people have to commit to daily exercises, or how much time would that would require for them?

Emma Back:

Not necessarily. I mean, it depends if we're talking about in Soul Ssound Academy, you know, it's a pretty immersive six month program where we're doing a lot of work like it's really about that becoming your focus and your life if you really have the desire to become a professional singer songwriter, or a part time singer songwriter, but that being a big part of your life that you want to you know, want to go out and you want to start your music. But you know, I think I mean, I personally have a daily meditation practice that is really powerful in my life. But I'm also passionate about people really choosing the rhythms that work for them, as I know you are right. That's a lot of your work. Yeah. And so I think that in committing, it's more about what do you need? How big are the blocks? How deep is the maybe trauma that's underneath that blocks? And what is a personal pathway to healing look like for you? So it could you could just come to the Throat Chakra Healings once a week with me and we'll just do it. Want to take it on in your life more than that, you're welcome to.

Sharman Nittoli:

Well see something like this would actually feed everything else that you do. You know, because you mentioned that it would make you a better, more comfortable and positive communicator. If you've noticed that people don't listen to you. There's a lot of reasons for that, a lot of reasons for that. But very often, if you project a comfort level, and a directness and a strength to put yourself out there, eye to eye, they will, they will listen, there will always be people that don't because they don't have good manners, I can't teach them good manners now, but you know, what I do think this kind of work is the kind of thing that has a synergistic response and just affects everything else that you do. So if this were something you wanted to do, I would put this at the top of the list because everything else is going to be benefited positively from you, even your ability to talk on the phone. And deal with insurance people or whatever people that you want to get angry. But that's not going to serve a purpose. But this kind of work just helps you exude a confidence that you might not have had before for a variety of reasons. But thank God there is a point where we just get where we just like, "I don't want to be like this anymore. I want to change". Yeah, once you say you want to change, it will take time and energy and fortunately programs like this. I'm so intrigued by this. I've just been too busy to get in there. But I think you're going to see me at the chakra. I think you're going to on Wednesday.

Emma Back:

Yeah, this week's one. Well, I don't know when this will air so I'm not gonna actually say what this week's one are. But they're all they're all very carefully chosen based on the conversations I've had and with students, with non students just people expressing to me what they need, so I definitely receive any feedback. You can feel free anyone can reach out to me on Instagram at Emma Back Music or at She Sings Out Loud and let me know what you're wanting to heal in your throat and your communication and your singing and I always listen and and design these very carefully around what I feel people are needing. So, yeah, I've had many clients heal relationships that were on the brink of falling apart by getting empowered in their throat, throat chakra. And our core chakra is also the center of power and self esteem. So definitely anywhere that that shows up in life, it's can be really powerful to do this work.

Sharman Nittoli:

Yeah, because it's a very unhappy thing to suppress the real you, you know, in order to make certain things work, you sometimes feel like you can't say this, and you can say that because you're going to be judged. And it's such a freeing thing to just realize, you have a truth, you have a truth, this is how you feel it's reasonable, it's just, and you're going to live it. And these people around you, most likely will respect it and accept it, if they care about you. I also have found that if they don't, sometimes it's good to know that it's time to change. But if you if you can heal it just by your soul, just speaking from your soul and living your truth, then that's wonderful, you know. So the, the Academy is six months long,,,,

Emma Back:

It's a very, very immersive program. So I'll just share base, just really briefly that it all lives inside of my methodology, which is a five step methodology. And essentially, what we're doing is first working with embracing your feminine divinity. So really, looking at the the old wounds you might have around the feminine around the masculine around patriarchy, and really healing that. And returning to the wisdom qualities of the feminine, which include everything, like I talked about, from receiving energy to the creative and the wild, feminine, we work a lot with feminine archetypes. So that's the first step of methodology. And then we really work on after that releasing limiting beliefs and forgiving past failures. So we can actually move on to fearlessly share our work and make an impact if we have limiting beliefs, which is kind of what you were just talking about a little bit as well and saying, I was hearing you know, sometimes we have, like beliefs that we have about our ability to be heard by others. And so it's impossible for someone to hear us the way we want to be heard, when underneath that we really have this very solid belief that no one will ever hear us. So we actually have to heal that before we can open up the pathway for authentic, singing, authentic sharing, authentic, creating authentic communication. Yeah, oh, that's the step two of my methodology. And then step three, is to claim your musical identity as a spiritual mission. So we really get grounded in what is the contribution that you want to make on the planet through your music. And stepping into that you get clear on who you are, as an artist, you get clear on who you no longer want to be as an artist and releasing the kind of the false self these identities these "shoulds" that other people might have put on you that you might have put on yourself, and to really step into your true mission, your true calling, and to work with on believing and really 100% believing that your voice is necessary and that it matters. And so then once we've done that work, you we move on to Step four, which is to create from your highest truth, to write your soul songs to write from your soul sound to really allow that to awaken and come through with ease and with joy. And then we move on to fearlessly sharing your work and making an impact and being able to really magnetize your soulmate audience. So we go through this methodology in six months. And we'll I could talk about more about it. But really, the thing to do is to come to a five day challenge I'm doing next week, that's completely free, you're welcome to come, I'd love to have you and we will be walking through each of these five steps of this methodology. So you can really have an experience of what that's like, and do some really deep work on it. And then I will share more about how to apply for Soul Sound Academy at that challenge. So if you're interested, that's the thing to do. It's totally free, you can just come and experience each day, no obligation to join self on Academy, this is really my gift to you. It is my desire to share this work and make it accessible. And then at the end of those five days, I will invite you to apply for Soul Sound Academy.

Sharman Nittoli:

Okay, and I just want to say for people who are listening, if if you happen to listen to this podcast in a few months, Mo will be offering this program again. So she's doing it the end of June, but you may not be ready till January. And so you'll have to just keep in touch with Emma through her Facebook site, or she will the contact information will appear. So if it's something you're interested in, but you just can't do it right now. You could do it later on. Does sound fabulous!

Emma Back:

Yeah, definitely come to the challenge. You know, even if you can only come to one day, you know, come to the challenge. And then that's the way for us to stay connected and be in touch. And then you can decide if it's the right time, the program actually doesn't start until September. But applications will open the last week in June, and be open for about a month. So we can talk more, I'm also really happy to jump on the phone with anyone who is really feeling intrigued, we can do what I call a Soul Sound Alignment Session, which is a free session to experience this work and to really see if we would be a good fit to work together. So you can absolutely reach out to me through Instagram is probably the best way for me to just publicly share my info but also through my website, SheSingsOutLoud.com, if you want to register for the challenge it's SheSingsOutLoud/challenge. And yeah, just just get in touch. I would love to jump on the phone with anyone and talk to you do a little bit of healing work, everyone's welcome to come to the free, weekly healings and I just love connecting and conversing about all of this. And so definitely, you know, reach out even on Instagram direct message me and just let me know where you're at in your creative process and what you're wanting, and we can have a little conversation.

Sharman Nittoli:

Okay, and I just want to touch base with you about your own creative work. How is your new CD coming?

Emma Back:

It's coming very slowly. But surely, yeah, I've kind of taken a little bit of a break to really support my current students who have just been completing a program, and the women who are registering for Soul SoundAcademy, a couple have already registered. And my own work I just finished, I just got the Masters back for a single that I've been working on for a while that I'm really excited about which is all about being able to rest in the space of the unknown, which is the birthplace of all creativity. So that's, in my mind anyway. So that's a song that is going to be coming out probably this fall. And I'm currently working on pitching it for TV and for film. And continuing to record I have lots of lots of songs to keep working on I record here in my home studio in Burlington, Vermont, and send it off to my producer to work his magic. And it's been really beautiful recently to just be balancing my own creative work and supporting all these women and just really being inspired by what my students are creating to continue to write and create more things. So yep, checking ahead.

Sharman Nittoli:

So you can't see Emma but she definitely has the glow of a fulfilled woman right now she is Living Her Bloom. She's doing it! 'Cause this is her this has been her Bloom, her dream, and she planted the seeds and nurtured them and here they are growing and developing and expanding. So like I said, all her contact information will be on the page. Of course if you have any if you can't for some reason, you can always contact me too, but she's quite accessible. I thank you, Emma, you inspire me. You're gonna see me at those Chakra. Healings.

Emma Back:

okay. Yeah, definitely.

Sharman Nittoli:

So thanks again. Okay, everybody, be well and Happy Blooming.