Best Practices: How to make the most out of your performance preparation time!
Monday 26th January 2026, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (London Time)
There’s no substitute for being prepared as well as you possibly can be for a performance. But peak performance requires smart, sufficient practice – not too much, not too little, but just right, like Goldilocks and the Three Bears! What is practice, what is the difference between practice and performance, and how does optimal practice occur?
This course will review what is known from research on motor learning about how we best learn to do activities like singing. We’ll define important terms, such as practice, learning, and performance, and examine different kinds of practice (massed vs. distributed; constant versus variable; blocked versus random) and when they are most useful. This impacts how we organize our practice time, how we plan teaching others, and even how we warm up before a performance.
We’ll look at various strategies for reflecting on our practicing, tracking our progress, and seeing patterns in how we are or are not making progress. These include daily, weekly and monthly reflections, having practice partners and lesson partners, planning schedules for major performances, goal setting, musical and character study prompts, and various apps to track what you do.
Time will be left for questions and sample materials will be available for your use.
Professor John Nix
John Nix is Professor of Voice and Voice Pedagogy and chair of the voice area at the University of Texas at San Antonio. His mentors include Barbara Doscher...
Attend this course for as little as £22 as part of the Voice Professional Training CPD Award Scheme.
Learn MoreSorry, 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.
Tuesday 13th January 2026
5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Tuesday 20th January 2026
5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Tuesday 27th January 2026
5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Tuesday 3rd February 2026
5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Tuesday 10th February 2026
5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
(London Time)
Introduction to Postgraduate Academic Skills - Join Live!
Debbie Winter
Are you ready to elevate your academic journey? Hosted by our very own Debbie Winter, join our comprehensive Introduction to Academic Skills course, designed to equip you with essential tools and strategies for success in higher education. Perfect for bridging the gap between undergraduate and postgraduate study, this course offers a pathway to our full MA for students without an existing degree. We offer both live, interactive sessions and standalone, pre-recorded content.
Thursday 15th January 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Thursday 22nd January 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Thursday 29th January 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Thursday 5th February 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Thursday 12th February 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Trauma-Sensitive Voice Professional Certificate with Dr Elisa Monti
Dr Elisa Monti
Updated for 2026, this five-part certificate course is designed to help participants learn the theory and practice of trauma-sensitive approaches. The concepts and activities included are tailored to meet the needs of voice specialists who want to acquire more specific tools to navigate the space with their students and colleagues.
Thursday 5th February 2026
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Thursday 5th February 2026
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
(London Time)
The Emotional Voice: Past Theories, Present Practice
Louisa Morgan
From the Greek actor Polus of Aegina carrying an urn of his own dead son’s ashes onstage in Sophocles’ Electra (Konjin, 1997) to the so-called American Method acting of Hollywood in the 20th Century, how performers work with and express emotion has been a vital part of their craft and how they are perceived by audiences. Join Louisa Morgan for this two-part course, where she considers: How have theories of emotion developed over time? How could understanding theories of emotion help voice practitioners in their coaching of singers and speakers?