Bitchin’ Pitchin’: Teaching the ‘tone-deaf’ singer
Thursday 29th August 2024, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)
This course will dig deep into why some singers struggle to match pitch and how voice teachers can help them develop this skill.
Many beginner singers identify as ‘tone-deaf’ but Amusia only affects around 3% of the population (significantly less than the percentage who struggle to sing in tune). For most poor-pitch singers there are underlying neurological reasons for their struggles. In this course, the neurological processes that must co-ordinate in order for someone to match pitch successfully will be reviewed. These include accurate pitch interpretation, pitch production, internal feedback evaluation and, crucially, pitch translation and the involvement of memory within this sensorimotor loop.
A variety of strategies that can be used to enhance a singer’s pitch accuracy will be shared and demonstrated so that course attendees will leave feeling better equipped to recognise the potential causes of a singer’s pitch inaccuracy and have a list of strategies they can draw from in order to guide singers to accuracy.
Heather Baker
Heather Baker is a Contemporary Voice Teacher based in the North of England and a Founding Director of the Institute for Vocal Advancement (IVA), delivering global training to voice teachers.
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.
Monday 28th April 2025
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Tuesday 29th April 2025
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Wednesday 30th April 2025
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Thursday 1st May 2025
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
(London Time)
Mental Health and Musicians Certificate with Dr George Musgrave
Join Dr George Musgrave – co-author of Can Music Make You Sick? Measuring the Price of Musical Ambition (2020) – 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. Dr Musgrave will present an overview of current research on career musicianship and mental health before exploring an array of specific themes, including success (and the management thereof); career sustainability; and cultural, social and symbolic capital. A comprehensive look at the ethics and morality of the industry provides the finale to this course!
Thursday 1st May 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
The Neuroscience of Speech and Song
Dr Michel Belyk
The Neuroscience of Speech and Song offers an engaging and accessible introduction to the fascinating interface between the brain and some of the things that we use it for. This course is designed to unravel the complex processes underlying how we speak and sing, using simple and accessible language.This course will start from basics and assume very little prior knowledge. We will cover the basic structure of the brain and how it works in general, then narrow in on specific processes that are relevant to speech and song!
Thursday 1st May 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Thursday 8th May 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Thursday 15th May 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Thursday 22nd May 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Thursday 29th May 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Trauma-Informed Voice Professional Certificate with Dr Elisa Monti
Dr Elisa Monti
This five-part certificate course is designed to help participants learn the theory and practice of trauma-informed 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.