On Sunday, I did something I’d never done before and hosted an online masterclass. I’ve been running Create Ensemble sessions for several months (new dates below), but they feel different because once everyone has joined and we’ve said our introductions, we all get on with our creative projects and there’s no teaching involved!
However this time, I taught an hour-long class complete with a Q+A on the topic of how to add voiceovers to Substack posts and why that might help us reach more subscribers.
It felt like a coming together of my skills and interests. I’ve spent almost half of my life working as a music teacher attempting to get teenagers to pass exams, but I’d never taught adults before. Until Sunday.
Adding audio to Substack posts is something I’ve been doing for over a year now; I thoroughly enjoy it and I’ve experimented with various methods along the way. Combined with my musical training, I felt that I perhaps had something useful to share with others.
I’ll be honest with you, I was really nervous about it. I’d thoroughly planned the workshop and created slides (available below), got examples ready and made copious notes. I was very well prepared, but having never delivered something like this online before, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
I shouldn’t have worried because it was a hugely enjoyable experience and one I hope to repeat again. I’m even considering future masterclasses delving deeper into adding audio and/or making podcasts here on Substack. Let me know if either of those would be of interest to you.
Thanks so much to everyone who attended on Sunday. I’ve been tagged in a couple of posts since which include audio and I am delighted to know that the newly learned skills are already being put to good use!
Talking of live online events, below are the dates of the next three Create Ensemble sessions. I host one of these every month for paid subscribers. It’s an opportunity for us all to carve out an hour and dedicate it to doing something creative: writing, reading, drawing, sewing, painting, songwriting… you choose.
We chat for a few minutes at the start, then get on with our creative project with our cameras on, sound muted. During the last few minutes we have a quick check in and then go off on our merry way. Here are the dates/times (all UK time) for the remaining sessions of 2024:
Monday 21st October, 7-8pm
Tuesday 12th November, 7-8pm
Monday 16th December 7-8pm
(Zoom links are sent to subscribers a few days before the sessions)
The voiceover masterclass was recorded which paid subscribers have access to in full here in this post. Free subscribers can see a short taster clip.
There are accompanying slides in the form of a pdf. These are available to paid subscribers below.
I hope you find this useful!
Hannah x
