Vocal Coaching
Ritika offers several vocal coaching experiences. Engage in Voice Yoga, to learn a repertoire of techniques of voice vibration, or explore Voice Culture with Tanpura-enhanced ear training that opens up a world of vocal expression.
Voice Yoga
In her Voice Yoga offerings, Ritika shares a repertoire of techniques and practices that use breath, voice vibration, and resonance to stabilize and calm the nervous system. These techniques help us experience a deep appreciation for our innate ability to breathe, to sound our breaths, and release our voice freely from the body.
-
While these sessions help anyone interested in creating time for mindful living, in the past, they have been especially useful in nourishing and replenishing the mind, body, and spirit of movement builders and frontline organizers.
-
“What does it mean to focus on the relational aspects of healing through our voice, attuning to the chorus of breaths in a room, tapping into the vast potential of the voice and of yoga as a practice, not only for the self but for an awareness of each other? We explore these questions in private or group sessions. I have learned and practiced these techniques for over twenty years, with teachers and co-learners in New Delhi and Minnesota, and am thrilled to share it forward.
I offer accessible inter-generational workshops, healing circles and private lessons.
Much of the Yoga available to us here in the West is a Brahminized version of a plurality of practices that approach wellness not as a self-pursuit, but as a communal pursuit. These sessions are for anybody who wants to explore wellness through an anti-oppressive lens.” -
Groups of 1-3: $35 - $40 for a 30-35 minute session. Tea or a hot beverage is always included.
Larger Groups: Pricing varies. Contact Ritika for more details.
Lessons in Voice Culture
In these lessons, Ritika shares how to build a process around listening and vocalizing and focus on finding our pitch within the continuous loop cycle of the Tanpura – the four-stringed Indian plucked drone instrument. The Tanpura provides a dynamic reference within which you will find your notes to vocalize. Lessons in this curriculum use ‘mirror-singing’ as a format of interaction. Lessons gradually build up from a few improvised tones to complex phrases and sequences, culminating in a joint artistic creation in the moment.
-
Lesson curricula are tailored to your own vocal goals, but the ‘mirror’ format of lesson interaction help hone aural skills and ear training, develop relative pitch, express yourself in a different art form. and (re)establish your own relationship to singing freely and with joy.
If you would like to sing along with an instrument to guide your pitch, Ritika has recently incorporated the Harmonium into her voice lessons. This is an incredible instrument to learn to play, especially as you lay the groundwork for understanding complex things like scales. -
“How do we rely on our bodies, our inner ear, and our own life experiences to remember a note and vocalize it expressively? And then, how do we cultivate an awareness of our voice or vocal expressions’ fit within the overall harmony of our aural environment? In these voice culture sessions, we focus on training our inner ear to build sounds one at a time, just as we build vowels and consonants. We acknowledge that the voice is a whole system that is capable of producing a wide range of sound, emotions, and hidden undertones that convey meaning to what we want to say.
The mode of deep listening and ear training in these lessons is different from available formats of voice coaching in the Twin Cities. In my five years of vocal coaching, I have found this to be an exciting and eye-(and ear!) opening experience for learners of all ages and abilities.” -
Groups of 1-3: $35 - $40 for a 30-35 minute session. Tea or a hot beverage is always included.
Larger Groups: Pricing varies. Contact Ritika for more details.
Ready For Vocal Coaching?
Fill out a form about the experience you’re interested in, and I’ll be in touch about next steps.
Ritika Ganguly is a fiscal year 2022 recipient of a Creative Support for Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity (Harmonium instruction) is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Creative Individuals grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.