Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Courtney Riddle. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Courtney , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
I can’t really recall a time during my life when I didn’t know “how” to sing, it was never really something I got into later in life, but actually something that has always been there. I was shy though and didn’t always enjoy singing in front of others. A lot of times I couldn’t wait to be alone so I could practice. I think while I did listen to other vocalists that I respected, I tried to steer away from listening to any one particular artist too often, because I never wanted to just copy what they did. I think it’s fairly easy to mimic others but I didn’t want to do that. I felt it very important to have my own sound, my own unique voice that was mine alone. I’ve been asked who I think I sound like but I’d rather ask myself how I can grow into my own voice. Being in choral groups for 11+ years definitely helped a lot and was something I always enjoyed. That being said, you don’t really get that one on one training in a group of 60+ people, and individual feedback was not something that was common. I’ve actually never taken individual singing lessons, so that could have held me back a little, but I choose not to look at it that way.
The skill that was needed more than anything was just my ability to persevere. When I was a teenager, I’d go into the back room at my house and just practice for hours. Sometimes the same line over and over again. I’d sing it slow, fast, loud, soft, swell, pull back in different places, and figure out what worked. Sometimes I had to take it note by note if the piece was really difficult. A lot of it was instinctual and learning to trust that. I try not to think about it too much now and just go with what comes naturally. I’d pull up videos of artists I liked and listen to what they were singing and then make up my own harmonies to go with their melody.
My biggest obstacle was myself. Thinking I wasn’t good enough. Mistakenly thinking no one would enjoy my music. Cognitive distortions were my biggest downfall for the longest time. Thinking I had to be perfect was my biggest barrier and ultimately the thing that almost caused me not to act at all. I also had a lot of trauma that happened in my life, in my youth. It made me feel like I had to focus on surviving instead of being able to really thrive. Also being a very introverted person, it was hard for me to express my pain to others, but I could let it out in song. It’s interesting too because when we sing, our exhale is significantly longer than our inhale. This sends a signal to our nervous system that we aren’t in “danger.” I do always feel super regulated when I’m on stage and not nervous at all but never knew. the science behind why until recently. I’m in a better place now where I’m dealing with my stress and I have the right people around me to help. I also know now that I will never let anything come between me and my dream again. Ever. No one can take that from me, I think that’s pretty powerful.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I started singing solos when I was really young-4 years old at church. I’ve always been a really small person, and people have joked my entire life about how they don’t know how such a big voice comes out of such a tiny body. I think I always shock people if they haven’t heard me before. I started in choir in 6th grade, and kept going all the way through my senior year of college. I started a duo almost 2 years ago and we really hit the ground running. We played over 65 shows that first year. Something unique about us is that I am accompanied on something called a harp guitar. It’s like an extended range guitar that has extra strings so that bass can be played with the guitar at the same time.. People always ask what it is and it’s such a good conversation piece. We play all over the place-bars, wineries, restaurants, cruises, private parties, and weddings. The gigs are usually 2 hours but can sometimes be 3 hours or more. Last year, our most notable gig was probably for The Festival at Sandpoint-they do a mini series each year of private ticketed concerts and we were one of them. They have some big names that come out and perform-Vince Gil, Amy Lou Harris, Blues Traveler, and countless others. I also performed at Benaroya Hall with a choral group in Seattle Washington-they’re home to the Seattle symphony and it was a really big deal.
What sets me apart from a technical point of view is with something we call phrasing in singing-it’s the ability to make a song your own. It’s not just that you’re singing the words in time as the song is written, but can you sing the words in a way that produces emotional impact? Can you push forward at certain parts, and pull back at certain places to create that musical tension? I want the people that listen to me to feel what I’m feeling. My guitar player says “my heart is in my voice.” It’s true. I feel like I’m showing people my soul when I sing. It’s so vulnerable yet so incredibly freeing at the same time. If you’re looking for an example of someone famous with great phrasing, I think Frank Sinatra is a prime example. Anyways, a long time ago, someone once told me to use my gift, enjoy it, and thank God for it. I think that advice aged well.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
I think a misconception about the work that I do is it’s all just fun and games. At the end of the day, sure, it is pretty dang fun, and I wouldn’t want to do ANYTHING else, but there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes that people sometimes don’t realize. It takes a lot of time to get good at a song-especially when there’s someone else involved. We all interpret songs a little differently, and the goal is to make it your own if it’s not an original piece. Discussions have to take place for what is appropriate, what isn’t, and we don’t always agree. Creative differences you could say. I spend a lot of time promoting, booking gigs, and there’s the manual labor of course involved with hauling all the gear to each gig, the sound check, and tear down at the end of the night. It’s worth it though.
Most people understand, but I’ve even had people get a little put off because we won’t play their song request-it’s not that we don’t want to do it, but it takes time to learn music, and I’m not a jukebox. That’s also the beauty of it though-we’re real people, performing live. That kind of experience is so much different than a prerecorded one.
Have you ever had to pivot?
My last major pivot was very recent-last June in fact. I was able to make the final step down from my full time role as a therapist. I knew some people wouldn’t understand. I still practice, and my practice is still open, but it’s very part time. Opening my practice was a daunting task. I often heard from people in my life that I made it look easy-but it wasn’t always. At times, it’s been exhausting, it’s been infuriating, and, sometimes even isolating. I’ve been the therapist, I’ve been the boss, I’ve been the scheduler, the insurance biller, the insurance benefits checker, the invoicer, the note writer, the money chaser, the clean up crew, the plumber, and many other things I won’t get into. As if this wasn’t enough, after that, I would go home and reach out to various businesses/venues/restaurants and try to get my duo booked as often as I could. I’d do therapy during the day and play music at night, get up and do it all over again for days in a row if necessary in order to get where I wanted. This was just simply not sustainable long term however. I’m happy I did it, and my practice has a lot of meaning with my own background and what I’ve been through, but I knew it was now time to recalibrate on some other goals. Now that I’ve stepped back, I get to more fully go after my musical pursuits, and have some time to enjoy the fruits of my labor. It kinda all happened right after I had my 30th birthday. I can acknowledge that while 30 isn’t that old, it’s really easy to get comfortable with something and just go down that path of least resistance, but I couldn’t do that. Something in my life was missing, When I was in grad school to become a therapist I put music on the backburner for a while. I didn’t sing, I wasn’t in choral groups. wasn’t performing. It really bothered me, so I decided to do something about it. Now I just wish I’d done it sooner.
Contact Info:
- Website: Courtneyandcompany.net
- Instagram: courtneyandcompany28
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CourtneyandCompany28
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