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Meet Dot Todman of Dot’s Voice Studios in Culver City

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Dot Todman.

Dot, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Oh oh! Did you say briefly? My mother used to bring us to her rehearsals in local musicals and cabarets when we were kids, so I grew up with music in my head and started singing professionally when I was 15 years old. I also loved teaching so I decided to go to school and learn all I could. Through some indecisiveness, I ended up earning degrees in Media Music Composition with Voice as my instrument, Theatre Arts Education, and Psychology Education (with a Teaching Certificate).

I had some great opportunities to perform across North America when I was in college, got signed to a record deal with a small label, and had a blast singing and appearing on TV commercials, live on the radio, and many other adventures, which gave me the confidence to come to LA and make some things happen. When I got here in 2000 I was cast in a musical revue and signed with a modeling agency and was singing regularly at different events, but my full-time job was being an Assistant Director at a Learning Center.

I also went on to moonlight and tutor kids of all ages in math, English, history – you name it. LA is a tough town to make ends meet! I was also teaching voice part-time. I remember thinking one day, “I love working with these kids, but it would be so cool to be teaching them to voice instead of Maths and English.” Then I had a fearful thought: “There’s no way you could make a living off that. Artists are too flaky and they are all broke.” I kept tutoring but left my full-time job to do part-time tutoring work that paid better.

One day, something happened at work – I don’t even remember what it was, but I just had enough and decided to quit. That was the best choice I ever made. Now I had to do what I love. I started teaching voice full time and within one month, my whole life changed. My business blew up faster than I could have imagined. In the meantime, I entered a singing contest where I got to work with Vocal Coach Arthur Joseph and be featured on KTLA 5 as “the most talented singer” of the bunch. The way he taught was different than anything I had ever experienced. He spoke very slow and was deliberate in all of his communication. He taught me about empowerment and my connection to my breath and how to slow down.

Working with him and also getting feedback from my clients about being more confident as a result of my teaching, made me realize that the mental and emotional aspect of singing was just as important as the physical. So, I worked my butt off to understand more about vocal technique and also started addressing the emotional component and people’s belief systems. I also addressed my own. Back in 2006, nobody was talking about “the psychology of singing” and MIND-SOUL-BODY awareness in vocal expression, so it made me stand out.

Clients were having breakthroughs with their voices and it felt very rewarding. I taught people who were just starting their careers and are now famous, so suddenly I was a Celebrity Vocal Coach and featured on Idol. Dot’s Voice Studios has thrived over the past 15 years, and have been so grateful to get to be the part of people’s lives that helps them love themselves more and transform. It has truly been a blessing.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I have had numerous struggles along the way. A huge one for me was feeling like my body betrayed me whenever I had something very important in my life to accomplish. I ended up with Stage 4 endometriosis, which kept getting worse, and prevented me from performing and made me completely disabled every 20 days. I had to plan my clients around a debilitating disease that affects one in every ten women, yet most people know nothing about. I would go from being my highest of highs to my lowest of lows, having to walk with a cane (if I was even able to walk), and hemorrhaging to the point where I had to be hospitalized.

The good that came from that is I became very driven to get stuff done when I was well because I knew in 20 days I’d be in for some excruciating pain. I also became so grateful for every moment of life I had without pain. It was such a harsh contrast. Endometriosis is something I would never wish on anyone. I don’t know what the stats are now, but back then, 75% of women with the disease ended up committing suicide.

The next struggle was in 2007, doctors nicked my bowel by accident while performing a laparoscopy to see what was going on with my severely distended stomach, due to endometriosis. That’s not a good area to mess up for singers. As a result, my core had 36 staples along it, and that was devastating.

The good that came from that was it forced me to go outside what I knew in order to heal – because doctors didn’t have answers. So I learned about chakras, vocal toning and meditation. (I’m really summarizing here.) I had no idea we actually had the built-in technology to heal ourselves with the sound of our voice. What was supposed to take me 6-8 months to heal ended up taking about three weeks!

Over the next few years, I would create what is now my brand, C.O.R.E. Vocal Power®, which is the MIND-SOUL-BODY approach to empowered singing, and I was the living proof it works because it’s the four steps I used to heal and empower myself! I had to look after what was inside my mind, beliefs, breath, and energy field before I could notice any healing on the outside. After the accident which almost killed me, I was teaching way more than I had prior to. I started Vocal Empowerment Workshops, choirs, CORE intensives, and speaking in different places, which provided new unheard of opportunities for singers.

My biggest most depressing struggle was a story I have not yet told. I actually lost my voice in 2018 after another abdominal surgery (excision) which completely healed me from the endometriosis but left me completely disconnected from my diaphragm, and the sad part was – I didn’t even notice – until it was too late. I was so confident from my prior surgery that I assumed I’d be fine and didn’t work as hard to stay connected. My voice slowly went from 3.5 octaves to less than 1 octave after surgery. When I was told I would never sing professionally again I was deeply traumatized and resentful, feeling like I had helped everyone else’s career while sabotaging my own. Now it was time for me to get vocal therapy and I was filled with so much shame because I felt like I should have known better, having provided this very thing for so many other people.

My ego had been shattered. I decided to throw away everything I knew and worked with a very technical coach with no improvement after two months. The second vocal therapist I had was female and had an understanding of the extensive excision surgery I had just undergone, which also involved them cutting four inches off my bowel. She told me many women with this surgery lose their voices because they have to re-learn how to use their diaphragm to support their voice. She also referred to chakras and energy, and I knew this was going to be a great match! Just when I thought my career and dreams were over, she assured me I could overcome this.

So I diligently did the work and learned a ton more about my voice – and it slowly but steadily improved. She also restored my faith in my CORE Vocal Power® Program, because she pretty much taught it back to me with more information, shining a light on the parts of myself I was unable to see, combining Mind, Soul and Body to restore my voice. It was humbling and cathartic. I will be forever grateful to her for helping me to heal, enabling me to help others even more!

I remember being so happy I could actually sing more than one octave again, so I decided to get a guitar player and start jamming – for the first time in years. When my voice barely started coming back, we created a medley of Queen/Bowie’s Under Pressure and “I want to Break Free.” My amazing Director friend Bryan Pitcher helped me make a music video to cheer me up. Although my voice was not up to par, I was learning to accept and appreciate it exactly how it was – just like I teach!

After training more deeply and applying more work in restoring my physical and emotional CORE, my voice has since come back in full force, and I have continued to uncover layers of fear and love and everything in between. I am not that same singer now, but I’m proud of that video and for where I was in my life at that time- simply showing up for myself, instead of only other people.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
I’m known for being the first Vocal Empowerment Coach (I coined the term “Vocal Empowerment Coach”) who started making YouTube videos and teaching about the MIND, SOUL AND BODY as your WHOLE instrument, and individualizing voice lessons, instead of just teaching standard vocal technique the same way to everyone. For over 15 years, I’ve used my system as a structure C.O.R.E. (Connect, Objective, Resonate, Exercises) and acronyms like CHASE and BAT (Breathe, Align, Trust) to help myself and others find an efficient way to become more of their own awesomeness, and as a result – sing better. To me, that means I specialize in empowerment through the voice.

I hold my clients more accountable upfront to do this core work because you can have the best voice in the world, but if you have limiting beliefs around it, or are afraid of your own success, no one will ever hear it or even be allowed to enjoy it. Also, it’s amazing how fast people improve vocally when they’re given tools that become habits to rewire their nervous system. Many of the people who work with me have life-changing experiences that go far beyond singing. It’s just a natural by-product when we get into full alignment. Haha! They say I’m like a vocal chiropractor.

You ask what I’m proud of – it’s that despite all the setbacks, for 15+ years solid, I’ve got to live what I need the most in my life (learn self-love through vocal expression) and share it with others along the way. I’m also very proud that last year I was able to take my story and create an interactive musical for singers who are afraid to let loose. It was so much fun and I’m looking forward to expanding my career in new ways this year.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
This year I plan to do so much more outside of teaching. I want to share my journey as an artist with the world. So I will still be teaching, but I also am a professional songwriter. I want to write more music for myself and others, do more of my interactive-comedy style musicals, as well as work more with children, Colleges and Corporate America.

I have a really interesting back story being adopted and raised by white people in Canada and a bunch of other things that need to be talked about – around bullying, healing from disease, and learning how to use your voice to overcome depression and fully align to your dreams. My goal is to use my creative gifts of music, humor, breathwork, and art to create unity across all cultures and perceived areas of separation.

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Image Credit:
The pic with Dot and Bobby McFerrin is by Michael Darius of https://www.michaeldarius.com/

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