Lisa Richards

By 3:00 PM on a Friday, it usually happens.You go to answer a phone call, speak to a colleague, or say hello to your partner, and your voice feels suddenly thin, weak and scratchy. You find yourself clearing your throat…Read more

 "I Can’t Carry a Tune": Why Tone Deafness is Mostly a MythMany adults carry around a persistent and loud voice in their head that says some variation of  "I can’t sing,"  or “I have a terrible voice” .This is the…Read more

A student once sat in my studio, looked at me like she'd just failed a life exam, and said: " I should be able to belt this D5, what is wrong with me?"I smiled and then deconstructed this common myth…Read more

A blank page isn't an artistic problem; it’s a judicial one. You are trying to sit as judge and jury over a song that hasn't even made it out of the gate yetWhen you sit down with your guitar or…Read more

In a city driven by public service, corporate leadership, and policy creation, teams need a shared rhythm. By stepping into a creative, vocal-focused space, your team can build a culture rooted in genuine trust and emotional intelligence.Moving from Competition to…Read more

The Executive Voice: Why Your Presence is a Physical ActLeadership isn’t just about the strategy you present; it’s about the sound of your conviction. In a city like Canberra, where communication is our primary currency, the ability to command a…Read more

A more human kind of workplace workshop A lot of workplace workshops are trying very hard not to be boring.Some of them succeed.Some of them don’t.A lot of team-building still feels like something people get through rather than something they…Read more

December Is a Strange OnePeople are gradually slowing down — or winding up so they can collapse on Christmas Eve and call it for the winter break.Families unravel over Christmas.Drinking increases.Domestic violence increases.There’s pressure to buy the perfect gift —…Read more

Lately, I’ve been thinking about why humans create. Yes there is creativity that builds a bridge or bakes a loaf of bread — this is what I call ‘ the useful kind  of creativity’ — but what about the kind…Read more

Hey there,I just started playing live again after a good 18 months away.And I didn’t take that break by choice.What do they say… Life is what happens while you are busy making plans? — an illness took my voice and…Read more

Hey there,If you're one of the many people who were told to "just mime" during a school choir, classroom sing-along, or 7th grade music performance — this one’s for you.I hear this story all the time in my studio.A grown-up…Read more

Hey friendsIf you're feeling a bit done lately, you're not alone.Burnout isn’t just for overachievers anymore — it’s  the constant background hum that whispers “ do more, be more, have more” mixed with “what is the point?.” It’s the 24/7…Read more

 People search weird things online when they’re thinking about singing lessons. I know, because I’ve seen them:“Am I too old to learn how to sing?”“Can you teach yourself to sing or do I need a teacher?”“Voice lessons for tone-deaf adults…Read more

On recognition arriving decades after the workSome people are recognised early. And some—often women—wait decades before the world catches up. Think of Emily Dickinson. She wrote nearly 1,800 poems, most unpublished in her lifetime. It wasn’t until after her death…Read more

Hi friends,I collect scraps.A scrap is small and stubborn. A sentence heard at the shops. The squeak of a trolley. The way a dog lies stretched out in the sun.  The neighbours laugh through a fence at 10pm — too…Read more

Late Bloomers: women who hit their stride when the world wasn’t looking(and why that gives the rest of us room)Hi friends,I come from late bloomersMy dad was almost 103 when he died. Lucid and sharp to the end. Hearing like…Read more

Hi friends,THE LONG DRY SPELLIt’s been over 3 years since I wrote a song I was happy with. I don’t like to say it out loud. It feels like a failure. I used to sit down anytime and write. During…Read more

Why Writing a Song Can Be More Healing Than Talking About ItSome days the words just don’t come out. You can’t find the words to express the intensity of what you are feeling. Or the only movement you can muster…Read more

Hi friends,Spring is a change you can feel. The air warms earlier.  Mornings brighten. In Australia it’s September to November on the calendar, but it lands first in the body—“open the window” weather.Winter can make things small. Quiet. Barren. I’ve…Read more

Hey friend,Does your voice feel tired, achey, tight, or croaky by 3pm? … if people ask you to repeat yourself… if you end a day of meetings with a sore throat and a headache—this is fixable. Not by pushing harder…Read more

Let’s be real:Midlife isn’t a crisis.It’s not a flaw to fix or a hill to coast down.And despite what the ads tell you, you don’t need to shrink, lift, tuck, tone, or “bounce back” from it. It’s the moment you…Read more

You know that moment when you want to sing—but you don’t?You open your mouth and… nothing. Or something small. Croaky. Hesitant.It’s a whisper. Or you don’t even try. You just say: “Oh, I can’t sing.”Not true.But I get it.Here’s what…Read more

Hey,Let’s talk about something most performers don’t say out loud.The show’s over.The lights are down.The adrenaline has done its job—and now you’re back in the car, or on the couch, or in bed… wide awake or weirdly flat.That feeling?That hollow…Read more

Hi there,There’s a quote I first read over 30 years ago that blew my mind.Not because it was poetic or inspiring—but because it knew me. Like, inside-out, read-my-mail, pull-the-curtain-back knew me. And it didn’t flinch.It was a letter Martha Graham…Read more