Your Passaggi Professor with Sarah Neely is a podcast for singers that provides tools to help you bridge the gap between the "hard" skills you learn in your music degree and the "soft" skills needed to live a focused, intentional life. We’ll talk about mindset, emotional regulation, boundaries and more, so you can navigate the passaggi of your life both on and off the stage.
yourpassaggiprofessor.substack.com (https://yourpassaggiprofessor.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)
What happens when your performance goes sideways in the moment — and you still leave the stage laughing?
In this season finale of Your Passaggi Professor, Sarah Neely takes you inside two concerts in Madrid: a performance of the Carceleras by Chapí that went off script, the old mindset voice that crept back in afterward, and the second concert that landed her performance in the inbox of Chapí’s own granddaughter. Sarah also unpacks duende — the flamenco concept her program’s teachers introduced this trip — and the surprise of being voted by her colleagues as the performance with the most duende of the whole program.
You’ll learn:
* Why a mistake on stage doesn’t have to define how the performance felt
* How old, unhelpful beliefs can resurface even after real success
* What duende means, and why preparation is part of getting there
✨ Coming next: This is the last episode of the season — Sarah’s taking a few weeks off to reset before the next university semester. Before Season 3, she wants to hear from you: what’s been most helpful about the podcast, and what you’d like more of.
🎧 Subscribe & Review If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen. It helps this podcast reach more singers who need these tools.
📲 Connect with Sarah Send a DM on Instagram — @sarahsingersmindset — and let Sarah know what’s been useful, and what you’d like Season 3 to cover.
🎵 Music Credit “Carpe Diem” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yourpassaggiprofessor.substack.com (https://yourpassaggiprofessor.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
21 Jul 2026
Scarcity vs. Growth Mindset
Have you ever had a sudden barrage of negative thoughts right before a lesson, an audition, or a new program —one that tells you everyone else is going to be better than you, and that you have no business being there at all?
In this episode, Sarah talks you through an experience she had in Madrid, where she caught herself falling into exactly that trap mid-masterclass. She walks through the comparison spiral in real time, including the specific tools she used to catch it, calm her body down, and stay grounded in the middle of singing under less-than-ideal conditions.
You’ll learn:
* How to recognize the comparison trap— and why it shows up as more than just “vocal” comparison
* The difference between scarcity mindset and growth mindset, and how to turn a moment of jealousy into something specific and actionable
* A real-time example of catching a spiral mid-masterclass
* Why beating yourself up for having these thoughts in the first place only makes the spiral worse
✨ Coming next: Sarah will wrap up the summer season of the podcast after two concerts in Madrid, and more from this trip is on the way — including how these same tools hold up under real performance pressure, not just in the practice room or masterclass setting.
🔔 Subscribe & Review If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen. It helps this podcast reach more singers who need these tools.
📲 Connect with Sarah Follow along on Instagram: @sarahsingersmindset Link in bio to join the weekly newsletter and learn more about coaching opportunities.
🎵 Music Credit “Carpe Diem” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yourpassaggiprofessor.substack.com (https://yourpassaggiprofessor.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
13 Jul 2026
Five Trips, One Ball Pit, and a Zarzuela
What does it actually take to prepare for something important when nothing about the circumstances is ideal?
In this episode of Your Passaggi Professor, Sarah records live from the middle of her most chaotic prep season yet — her fourth of five back-to-back summer trips, over 24 hours of travel to reach Germany, real jet lag, and repertoire prepped everywhere from a tiny Mexico condo to a San Antonio hotel room to her brother’s basement playroom (ball pit included). With a Spanish diction course and two concerts of Spanish music just days away, Sarah walks through the real mindset shifts and practical tools she’s using to prepare — including a detailed, real-time breakdown of untangling a memorization mix-up in Chapí’s “Carceleras.”
You’ll learn:
* Why self-blame (”I’m not focused enough”) doesn’t serve you, even when it’s technically true
* How to memorize without ever making a sound — marking, mouthing text along to recordings, and speaking rhythm through conducting
* Why drilling text in random order builds real recall, while practicing straight through just builds momentum
* How to use score study and harmonic shifts as aural memory landmarks
* A real example of building specific word and image associations to stop two similar passages from blurring together
* Why expecting mistakes in rehearsal — and having a plan for them — builds a stronger memory than expecting perfection
* The one preparation rule that has nothing to do with mindset: what never leaves Sarah’s carry-on
This episode ties into Sarah’s ongoing thread this season on the pastiche career — the patchwork, non-linear nature of a singer’s professional life. This time, that patchwork shows up literally, in the string of imperfect spaces she’s had to turn into practice rooms.
💬 Sarah wants to know: What do you do to stay prepared when you’re on the road or the circumstances are less than ideal? Send her a message on Instagram, she’d love to hear your tools.
✨ Coming next: Sarah puts these tools to the test under real pressure, and shares how it’s going.
🔔 Subscribe & Review If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen. It helps this podcast reach more singers who need these tools.
📲 Connect with Sarah Follow along on Instagram: @sarahsingersmindset Link in bio to join the weekly newsletter and learn more about coaching opportunities.
🎵 Music Credit “Carpe Diem” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yourpassaggiprofessor.substack.com (https://yourpassaggiprofessor.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
8 ratings
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