Comparative Vocal Styles: Classical, Belting, Pop, R&B, Country, Rock & Jazz
Tuesday 5th March 2024, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)
Not only are there major differences between Classical and Commercial singing techniques, but there are also unique characteristics and variations required by singers to 'authenticate' commercial or pop vocal styles.
In this interactive workshop, participants will have the opportunity to experiment with some of the many elements which comprise different genres, including Classical, Musical Theatre Belting (including its five substyles), Pop, R&B (Soul), Country, Rock and Jazz.
These elements include resonator shaping; vibrato (type, speed, use); larynx height, phrasing (word stress, breath management requirements, dynamics); resonance (degrees of brightness, ring, and nasality); stylisms (e.g. cry, fry, growls, melisma, runs, scatting); vocal fold adduction (clean, blowy, three degrees of breathy); degree of hyoid bone pull; jaw strategies; and even cultural/emotional roots which are integral to understanding the history of each style.
As voice pedagogues, it is very helpful to have at our disposal a large number of 'vocal hacks', not just for vocal technique improvement but for stylistic accuracy as well. Often, a simple tweak in mouth shape can result in a noticeable improvement when producing an authentic sound. All pop is not the same!
Handouts with graphs will be provided for further review as well as a suggested listening list.
Lisa Popeil
Lisa Popeil, MFA in Voice, has studied voice for 60 years and has taught professionally in a variety of styles of singing for over 40 years. Based in Los Angeles, California, Lisa is the creator of the Voiceworks® Method, the Total Singer DVD and the Total Singer Workshop.
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 17th February 2026
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
(London Time)
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Dr Claire Thomas
This short course invites participants to critically examine the latest cross-disciplinary evidence on the physical and vocal demands of musical theatre performance. Drawing on a comprehensive literature review conducted by Debbie Winter and Claire Thomas (Voice Study Centre, University of Essex), the course explores research from voice science, dance medicine, sports science, and performance pedagogy.
Thursday 19th February 2026
8:30 AM - 10:30 AM
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Performance Anxiety is one of the most widespread and debilitating challenges facing musicians across all ages, nationalities and musical genres. Despite decades of research and the development of numerous interventions, we do not yet have an established way of supporting performers experiencing performance anxiety. Aimed at performers, teachers, researchers and students, this presentation will first summarise the current state of play in performance anxiety research, before exploring alternative ways to think about performance anxiety, drawing on new research outside of performance psychology...
Thursday 19th February 2026
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Thursday 26th February 2026
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
(London Time)
Performing Pain: Vocal Health in Emotional Roles!
Louisa Morgan
How connected are acted emotions to our real-life emotions? Are they expressed differently? Do they feel different in the body? This 2-part course with Louisa Morgan looks at the potential impact of acted emotion on vocal health, why we should consider it as voice practitioners, and how to care for our performers needing to work with it.