Heather Baldwin
What's your main instrument?
Voice & Piano: Music has always been my way of expressing myself. Even as a child, I would be found singing almost constantly. It just seemed to be a part of my soul. As I grew older I found that playing piano opened up a curiosity about music, and how the sounds fit together. Both singing and piano, combined with the theatrics of being on stage, just made sense to me.
What's your musical origin story? What lit the spark for you?
I started taking formal piano lessons at the age of 6, and started choir in middle school, along with voice lessons starting at 16. I joined a band with some close friends in high school that were looking for a singer, and the "rock star" bug grabbed me. Through a few life transitions, I attended college to become a music teacher - specifically a voice teacher and choir director. My path continued through Masters & Doctorate degrees in voice, because I loved performing and teaching voice. I met my husband in music school (he's a bass player and been in several bands) and we combined our love of different music genres into a modern industrial/metal band here in Kansas City. Still have Rock Star dreams and goals!
Can you share a good gig story?
There are several great gigs that I've had with my band where we got to meet some of the musicians in our favorite bands such as The Birthday Massacre, Covenant, The 69 Eyes, and Aurelio Voltaire, but my favorite gig so far was headlining the Kansas City Vampire Ball at the Voodoo Lounge stage about 4 years ago. We had an amazing crowd, the sound and lighting was incredible.
Tell us about your practice routine and share some practice tips.
I find that very focused, goal oriented practice in smaller increments works so much better that longer practice sessions that don't have a focus. I used to sit down and play or sing through my songs from beginning to end just to get through them in an effort to put in the time, but would often get bored and not feel like I was progressing. Then I learned to break things down into smaller parts, and focus with active listening and specific goals, and it all just started coming together so much better.
What drew you to the Music House team?
I love the collaborative focus at Music House, and the ability to share music with other musicians. Building relationships with fellow musicians and getting the experience to learn and grow with others makes music so much more rewarding.
Anything else you'd like to add?
Dream Big and follow your heart!
