Short Courses & Events / Archive

One More Time with Feeling; The Use of Emotion for Training Singers

Tuesday 1st September 2020, 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM (London Time)

How does emotion affect the voice, and can it be harnessed as a tool in Western classical vocal pedagogy? Eminent voice pedagogues do use emotion as a pedagogical tool and have described their experience of its usefulness anecdotally (Bozeman, 2013 and 2017; Chapman, 2007; Williams, 2019). Scientists have striven to measure emotionally produced acoustic changes in the voice; these changes can be heard and even accurately perceived by the listener (Scherer, 1986). Muscular changes occur with emotion (Scherer, 1986) in all three components of the vocal apparatus; breathing, vocal folds and vocal tract (Sundberg, 1987), and these changes affect voice acoustics (Laver, 1980). Research shows these emotional effects on vocal acoustics to be comparable in both the speaking and singing voice (Scherer, 2015). Scherer (1986) predicted these changes in his Component Patterning Model of Vocal Affect Expression and subsequent research has largely proven his model which predicts the acoustic result of an emotion based on physiological responses.

This 1 hour webinar will outline;

  • Darwin’s phylogenic theory of emotional effect and his theory of the early origins of vocalised emotion.
  • Historical use of emotion and its description in the early singing treatise.
  • The emotions used anecdotally by pedagogues
  • The work of Professor Klaus Scherer and his early predictions of the effect of emotion on voice acoustics based on; his own emotion model of physiological response and, the work of  phonetician Professor John Laver who described the acoustic change for different muscular actions of the vocal apparatus. Scherer went on to ‘prove’ his predictions with his own and other scientists research on acoustics of vocalised emotion.
  • Current research on the singing voice and the effect of emotion on acoustics; how does the research compare to the emotions used by pedagogues in the studio?
  • Interesting correlations with vowel use and emotion.
  • Possible ways to elicit emotion in voice teaching; tips from the scientists.
  • Kate will present a diagram she has compiled based on a two dimensional model of emotion with the results of the latest acoustic data, the emotions studied, as well as the emotions used anecdotally by pedagogues.

Katrina Sheppeard

Katrina Sheppeard is one of the UK’s most exciting up and coming dramatic sopranos. Since moving from Australia to London in 2008...

Sorry, this is an archived short course...

We have plenty of upcoming short courses coming soon. See details of some of them below or look at the full list of short courses.

The Voice in Neurodiversity Affirmative Music Therapy with Autistic People
Tuesday 23rd April 2024
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
(London Time)

The Voice in Neurodiversity Affirmative Music Therapy with Autistic People

Hilary Davies

This lecture, delivered from a lived experience perspective, will begin with an explanation of the key concepts around neurodiversity, the neurodiversity paradigm, and some neurodiversity-informed theories within autism research, including a brief exploration of autistic communication and culture.

Queering Country Music: Conceptualising LGBTQIA+ Voices in a Contested Genre
Thursday 25th April 2024
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
(London Time)

Queering Country Music: Conceptualising LGBTQIA+ Voices in a Contested Genre

James Barker

This course considers the way songs by LGBTQIA+ artists navigate country music aesthetics and definitions of genre, looking at the voice as a medium for articulating and reworking ideas of authenticity and genre identity. The presentation explores particular songs in depth...

Mental Health Informed Practitioner Certificate with Dr George Musgrave (4 week course)
Tuesday 30th April 2024
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
(London Time)

Mental Health Informed Practitioner Certificate with Dr George Musgrave (4 week course)

Dr George Musgrave

Join Dr George Musgrave – co-author of Can Music Make You Sick? Measuring the Price of Musical Ambition (2020), an Amazon Number 1 Bestseller in the Sociology of Work – for a deep dive into the social and psychological experiences of musical career creation and development, as well as the effects of the music industry and its practices on mental health.