We recently connected with Felicia Harding and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Felicia, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
I think resilience has a lot to do with mindset. I actually have a gratitude journal I started a few years ago in which I literally write “I am resilient” as one of my mantras. The original journal was given to me by one of my students (I’m a vocal coach) named Nikita Paddock and her project is the “I am resilient movement”. I write at least 3 things I’m thankful for as well as my favourite mantras. I love how my students can also be my teachers. I intentionally program my brain to have thoughts that lift my spirits, along with breath-work/meditation and physical exercise. It’s a daily practice.
I definitely don’t always feel like a resilient person, in fact, I am a very sensitive person and often feel like I get overwhelmed easily and have a delicate nature. That being said, I am an optimist (a trait I inherited from my grandmother) and I have learned that success is a numbers game and resilience is a choice (and being a stubborn Taurus doesn’t hurt). I will admit that I have never had a thick skin for rejection or negative feedback, but through my years as an original musician and entrepreneur I have had to adapt! When I booked my first tour I emailed venues, putting myself out there, often to never hear back. At first I took this pretty personally, but I soon learned that I needed to really put my skin in the game to stand out from the crowd; it was about making the phone call (sometimes several times) and making personal connections with people. I continued to build my resources and improve my methods.
I love telling the story of how I got into singing (I used to be very embarrassed about this). My mom always told me to ask teachers for extra help if I needed it. I was homeschooled and very shy but when I went to high school I tried out for the R&B band… and got rejected. In fact I remember my score was 2.5 out of 10! I decided I wouldn’t let that stop me and I asked the teacher if I could be an understudy and he let me into the “B-band” (the backup band). It was the first step towards learning my craft and I took a lot of lessons and even went to school for music! So I guess I’ve never let rejection stop me, though I’d be lying if I said it never slowed me down. Resilience is always a work in progress.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am an original music creator/performer and I own my own business as a vocal coach (SingIT Studio). I have been singing and songwriting since I was about 14 and I love to help people on their journey to finding their voice. I tour and perform as a solo artist as well as with my original projects The Sleeves (a music duo with my husband Daine) and Belle Miners (an international trio with 2 other amazing singer/songwriters from Australia and Canada). Together with my current projects (as well as my past project Isobel Trigger/Fortune Killers) I’ve released 3 studio albums and 3 EPs. I often run vocal workshops with my bandmates on my tours as well.
Belle Miners just released an EP and completed an Australian tour (the first since the pandemic) and celebrated 10 years of music together. We have a very interesting story as we only get together once per year (usually to tour Australia) and were separated by the pandemic. This project is absolutely magical and we’ve been through some remarkable challenges too; Jaime Jackett (our Australian member) is a brain tumour survivor and 7 years cancer free. We’ll be playing a couple of shows here in BC before we move into a writing/planning phase to re-group for a Canadian tour in 2025 and Australia in 2026.
The Sleeves were also separated by the pandemic and that’s a whole other story! We feel so grateful to be reunited and we’ll be releasing a single and doing a small tour in the summer here in BC… then recording our full-length album for release in early 2026.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Oh I can tell you right now this could be a book and narrowing it down to 3 things is not going to be possible, but I will try!
I became a teacher because of the impact teachers had on me. My first vocal coach told me she thought I was good enough to go to school for music. At the time, that simple statement blew my mind. I then proceeded to apply to Selkirk college of music, where I met several people who significantly altered the trajectory of my life. I developed a deep sense of purpose around music and devoted my life to the craft. As a teacher and mentor, your encouragement can mean the world to someone. Find mentors, find people who stoke your fire. Fill your mind and body with content that elevates you.
I was constantly investing in myself; even though I came from a low-income family and had to fund my own education, I understood the importance of multiple mentors and perspectives along the way. I learned jazz, classical and pop techniques before I settled on the techniques I teach today. I also suffered from acid reflux and that taught me a lot about balance, health and vocal rehabilitation. I am grateful to be able to pass on this knowledge. Sometimes roadblocks become advantages later on.
Never stop evolving and never stop trying new things until you get it right! My band went through SO many different players and it changed our sound every time. Under the hood of every success story there are years of failures and misfires. I’ve heard it takes 5 years of hard work for any music project to start gaining traction. My sound evolved with my teams and we had to hone our business skills as well as our music. We gathered resources, applied for grants (mostly got rejected, until we didn’t) and put in the hours practicing in our shitty jam-room and playing dive bars… until one day we finally narrowed it down! We got the grant, we got the record deal, we booked the tour of Australia/Canada/Europe, we got the main-stage gig, we got the manager, the feature with Rolling Stone. I found that once we picked a lane (sound/look/message) it became a straighter shot.
My whole life I’ve always felt too old. I’ve had people tell me “you’re too old for this” since I started at 17. As a woman in the music industry, it’s been something I’ve constantly had to overcome and at 39, I’m not done yet. Sometimes I joke in interviews that I’m 111 because I was told to lie about my age and hey, perception does count for a lot. I felt for a long time I had to lie to be seen. The truth is: if this lights you up, you can never be too old (or too anything).
Following my passion has been my fountain of youth, and as I start again in many ways, I have people all around me telling me I have a glow. They notice me walking down the street and say hello. They compliment me and tell me I look so fashionable (in my comfy wrinkled clothes after 3 flights). I get noticed now, more than ever in my life! People want to be around me because that feeling that I get, is what everybody wants. The inner work shifts the external, I am always evolving my inner landscape. That doesn’t mean I always feel good or sure or bursting with enthusiasm. Sometimes it’s diving into the darkness. Even if sometimes it’s scary, it’s about having that curiosity and feeling that sparky desire… going for it anyway and sticking with it. Small steps lead to big leaps… this path leads to where you want to go. If you never try, you’ll never know!
And you know what?
Success is different for everyone. You may find it’s not what you expected. Once you get there, the target moves.
Celebrate your wins. Keep going.
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
I love this question and I don’t have the answer other than to tell you that I’ve done both! I believe in the middle way. I tell my students that it’s most important to identify their vocal strengths and play to those when it comes to showcasing themselves and developing their sound. Sometimes your weird vocal quirks can be part of what makes you stand out from the crowd! Even Bob Dylan (who is a famously bad singer) gets emulated by folks who think his style is interesting. In the end, as an original artist, it is more important to be distinct (someone others can hear and identify) than to be good at everything.
That being said, everyone should work on improving the balance. An imbalanced voice can burn out or lack stamina (not to mention feel limiting and discouraging). There is always room to improve and learn. People can hear vocal struggle and it doesn’t sound good. We are empathetic beings. I think this translates to many other facets of life.
For example, tried learning to live-loop. I gave up. Don’t get me wrong I respect people who have that skill – but is it interesting enough to me to spend the hours to learn how? For some, the answer is yes! For me, it’s a no. I would rather get better at guitar, write more songs or about a hundred other things. I have already invested the time and energy into interpersonal skills and working with others – I don’t feel I need (or want) to be a one-woman band. Even though I can play multiple instruments and love playing drums. There are only so many hours in the day. I love collaborating so that’s the choice I made. That’s okay with me. I prefer having a team.
As a person with ADHD, I firmly believe (and have learned from experience) that you can’t (and shouldn’t) do everything. Look at the cost/reward ratio. How much energy do I have for this (do I love it?) vs what will I get out of it. Generally it seems like people who are trying to do too much at once take way longer to get where they want to go and often fall short. You need to choose your top 10 priorities/goals, put them in order, and then put all your energy toward the top 3 at a time.
During the pandemic I started streaming live on Twitch. My #1 priority was learning how Twitch worked so that I could still play music and make progress. My #2 priority was to find the sweet-spot where I could be authentically enjoying myself and also entertaining others (to maximize my own energy and output). Therefore, I worked on my repertoire/baseline skills (guitar and singing) and came up with fun things I liked that other people might also enjoy (writing/learning songs on the spot, playing requests, reading tarot cards and showing off my cats). In the end I had a great response from people but I spent wayyy to much time bogged down by technical glitches. Because I had no choice, I spent a lot of time troubleshooting and upgrading my gear. That is not my strength – it felt like a waste of my energy (though I did learn from the experience). I am now married to an audio engineer and he is all OVER it – he loves learning new things about tech and figuring things out! I am honestly overjoyed. That means I have more precious time to hone my chosen craft. There is nothing wrong with that!
I’m glad I made the foray online because I found a really supportive network internationally and we have a really symbiotic relationship. That was something I would have never done, had it not been for the pandemic. It was a special time in which I got to explore who I am as an individual and a solo performer.
Another counter-example I can think of, is the story of my first band Isobel Trigger. When we were starting out we were a 5-piece. I wanted a set lineup (I also couldn’t afford to hire/pay players) and felt we needed keys, backing vocals, drums, bass, and guitar. I was very attached to the idea, but running a band with 5 people was actually quite a lot to manage with everyone’s different schedules/opinions. Plus the keyboardist/backing vocalists were so talented and kept getting opportunities overseas, leaving us high and dry with big shoes to fill! I loved those ladies (and am still in touch with all of them) but there came a point when I realized that “hey, I already know how to play keys myself!” and people seemed to still love us just as much without harmonies! So we were down to 4. Things were much simpler.
Then we kept going through bass players and it was a similar issue. It took precious time to audition and train new players. We found most bass players were getting bored because our music had fairly simple bass parts. We realized that between my keys and Brett’s guitar (with the help of some creative guitar tech) we could hold down the bass without another person. We ended up with a dynamite team. 3 was a great number for making decisions and we were all equally passionate about the project. Brett was all over the audio/technical aspects, Ariel played drums and was amazing at the business/admin side and did some booking, and I covered vocals, keys, majority songwriting and admin/booking. We could all fit in one SUV on tour (much better on gas) and our schedules were relatively easy to coordinate. We really clicked in.
All good things come to an end (and that project met its end in 2019) but now I feel like I know where my strengths are and where to outsource. In the Sleeves, Daine and I both write and play multiple instruments but he is more rhythm/tech strong (as a drummer/audio engineer) and I am more vocal/melody strong. We both have booking and admin experience but I take care of more of the front-end (booking/online presence) where he takes care of the back-end (live tech/recording). A match made in heaven! Belle Miners is also a power-house with 3 writer/singers/admin divas and my multi-talented hubby on drums.
So in summary, pick your battles and choose wisely!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.feliciaharding.com
- Instagram: @feliciahardingmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIUb1sRn6QW3ZvnTrKeR7dw
- Other: www.singitstudio.com
https://belleminers.com/
@thesleevesduo
https://www.twitch.tv/feleeseeya
Image Credits
First B&W shot taken at the Marquee in Halifax by Jordo Haines Live solo shots by Darren Ho Solo Promo shot by Annemarie’s Photography Big stage shot Philips Backyard Weekender (covered by Rolling Stone) by “Rocktographer” Webmiester Bud https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/the-scene-experiencing-music-and-more-in-victoria-british-columbia-194887/ Rest of photos self taken
