Short Courses & Events / Archive

Crosstraining for vocal health

Thursday 9th January 2025, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)

The current buzzword in vocal pedagogy is crosstraining. Nowadays singers are expected to sing in more than just one style for the whole of their careers, and long-term one-sided use of the muscles involved in singing can be detrimental to the health and functionality of the vocal organism. Crosstraining addresses both these concerns.

What does crosstraining mean?

  1. In sport, it means training in different disciplines in order to strengthen the performance capacity of many different muscles.
  2. In the world of work it means giving management trainees experience in all areas of the company, as well as job rotation of skilled workers to achieve multiple qualifications.
  3. Applied to voice training, it means a pedagogical approach that helps overcome weaknesses in the singer’s vocal technique, by applying exercises and repertoire from different genres to strengthen all parts of the vocal range and increase the flexibility and reliability of the voice.

In this workshop, we will discover the main differences between vocal styles and experiment with some of the functional elements involved in crosstraining for vocal health.

🏷️ Price £30 (UK VAT inclusive)
🎥 Recording automatically sent to all who book (even if you cannot attend live)
▶️ Rewatch as many times as you like
📜 Certificate of attendance available

Eleanor Forbes

Born in Scotland, Eleanor Forbes completed an honours degree in German Studies at Aberdeen University. Alongside her studies she gained her ARCM performance diploma before going on to the Royal College of Music in London...

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Attend this course for as little as £22 as part of the Voice Professional Training CPD Award Scheme.

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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.

Inspired Sound: Unlocking the Science of Choral Acoustics
Tuesday 16th December 2025
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
(London Time)

Inspired Sound: Unlocking the Science of Choral Acoustics

Professor Helena Daffern

In this session, Professor Helena Daffern will explore the fascinating science behind choral sound, offering choir singers and directors valuable insights into achieving a cohesive and expressive ensemble, no matter what their standard. The concept of choral blend will be examined —what it is, how it can be cultivated, and the roles of intonation and vibrato will be analysed. The decisions that have to be made around intonation when tuning thirds or dealing with modulations over the course of an a cappella piece will be explained in the context of existing research and different singing styles such as barbershop singing and solo voice ensembles.

Unclenching the Jaw: Options from the Physio Lens
Tuesday 16th December 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)

Unclenching the Jaw: Options from the Physio Lens

Walt Fritz

“Jaw tension” is one of many potential problems facing the singer, and can cause a direct negative impact on the performance in both direct and indirect ways. The underlying cause of jaw issues is attributed to numerous factors (technique, posture, strength, range of motion, etc.), making it often difficult to identify common denominators. Join Walt Fritz as he examines the evidence supporting stretching, strengthening, and manual therapy interventions to address jaw-related concerns in vocal performers, taking into account their unique needs.

Improving Lyric Italian Diction for Classical Singers
Thursday 18th December 2025
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
(London Time)

Improving Lyric Italian Diction for Classical Singers

Professor Conroy Cupido

Join Professor Conroy Cupido as he offers an in-depth exploration of the most frequent pronunciation errors made by classical singers in Italian lyric diction. Designed for both emerging and advanced singers, the course provides a structured and practical approach to mastering Italian pronunciation as used in opera, oratorio, and art song.