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 18th August 2026
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday 25th August 2026
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday 1st September 2026
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday 8th September 2026
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday 15th September 2026
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday 22nd September 2026
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
(London Time)
Musical Theatre Vocal Pedagogy Certificate
Kevin Wilson
Join Kevin Wilson for this six-part certificated course, offering an in‑depth, practical exploration of contemporary voice teaching for musical theatre. Across six focused classes, participants develop a systematic approach to vocal technique, diagnosis, and repertoire selection that reflects the stylistic, physical, and emotional demands of the genre. The curriculum integrates vocal science, embodied voice work, registration theory, and stylistic awareness across the five major sub‑genres of musical theatre.
Thursday 20th August 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
AI Assisted Voice Training and Business Development
John Henny
Join John Henny as he builds on the foundations of AI for voice educators by focusing on practical applications for running and growing a teaching studio. Designed specifically for voice teachers, the session shows how AI can support studio operations, content creation, research, and business development, with one foundational skill at its core: training AI in your own teaching voice, pedagogy, and communication style.
Wednesday 26th August 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
The Vocal Tract and Singing: A Research Overview!
Dr Brad Story
Fine control of the vocal tract shape is important for producing acoustic characteristics that may be targeted in singing. Join Dr Brad Story as he focuses on how the vocal tract shape can be tuned (i.e. modified) in both large and subtle ways to enhance the signal radiated from a singer to an audience. The session will include the vocal tract shape contributions to the ‘singing formant’, enhancement of vibrato, and harmonic/formant alignment.