"Singing it for CF" by Franny Kiles

Hi Breathe Bravely community! In the spirit of the upcoming CF Marathon of Song (on 10/25/26), I wanted to reflect on my time in sINgSPIRE as both a student and now an instructor. 

For as long as I can remember, I have always loved to sing. I grew up playing the violin, which gave me a great foundation in music, but I was always drawn to voice. When I was little, I loved to belt out songs in the shower (I still do, of course) and was always fascinated by how the water seemed to enhance my voice and make everything more resonant in the most satisfying way. I could have spent endless hours in the shower experimenting with all the tones and sounds. When I got older, I started teaching myself ukulele and guitar as a way to accompany myself when singing, and I started writing my own songs. I come from a musical family and we have a Christmas tradition of performing songs on Christmas eve and doing a group caroling session in our living room. We have been doing this for so many years now that it has become a marathon of singing interwoven with so many inside jokes, and the whole thing is a hilarious, entertaining musical affair every year. 

I have sung all my life in many different capacities, but I had never considered how singing relates to respiratory health and CF until I discovered sINgSPIRE in 2020. Starting sINgSPIRE lessons was an amazing antidote to being trapped inside during the pandemic, and a perfect way to stretch myself as a singer with voice lessons and virtually meet more people with CF. I had taken a few voice lessons in college, but I didn’t know very much about vocal technique or the importance of breath in singing. sINgSPIRE opened my eyes to the fact that all the time I had spent belting in the shower, writing songs, singing with family, had almost definitely had a positive impact on my lung health. Definitely a more enjoyable form of respiratory therapy than nebulizers or the vest! 

Looking back over the last few years, sINgSPIRE has also played a huge role in making me feel more confident in my singing and inspiring me to focus more seriously on singing. Shortly after joining sINgSPIRE, I started playing and writing music with my now-fiancee Anthony, which grew into performing and recording some of our original music in our musical duo called yssily. I also - very much on a whim - applied to a voice teacher training program with New York Vocal Coaching and became a certified vocal instructor. 

When I started the voice teacher training program, I was not sure if I would actually end up teaching or if I would just use what I learned to develop my own skills as a singer. Regardless, this program was hands down my favorite educational experience that I have had. I have always loved to think in patterns, whether that be solving a math problem, writing a song, or playing a classical violin piece. This program was all about patterns - breathing patterns, vocal exercise patterns, how different sounds train different aspects of the voice - and it was awesome. 

I am so grateful that I impulsively decided to do this voice teacher training program because it definitely allowed me to improve my own singing, but it also gave me the opportunity to become an instructor for sINgSPIRE - a program that I have loved being a part of for the last 6 years and counting. It has been so much fun working with my students, and teaching them all the vocal techniques and strategies that I learned when I started in sINgSPIRE. I hope that my students are enjoying and learning from our lessons as much as I did when I started in the program!