Short Courses & Events / Archive

Designing Exercises for the Classical and Contemporary Singer

Thursday 16th September 2021, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)

We are excited to present this highly informative, interactive workshop with John Nix on Designing Exercises for the Classical and Contemporary Singer. John will examine the following:

How do vocal exercises work? What are the variables?

  • Direction
  • Pattern
  • Length
  • Vowels
  • Consonants
  • SOVTs
  • Registers
  • Temp/note values
  • Repetition
  • Dynamic level

Other factors to consider when designing your own vocal exercises

  • Muscle activtation
  • Tissue fatigue
  • Motor learning aspects
  • Psychological factors
  • Musical factors

Looking at key examples involving

  • Plosive and close vowels – descending scales for light production
  • Exercises ideal for cross-training
  • Exercises for male classical versus male belt
  • Contrasting Classical and CCM exercises
  • Vocal agility
  • Messa di voce

Case scenario – exercise design

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...

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.

Vocal Health, Well-being and Hindustani Classical Music
Tuesday 2nd December 2025
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
(London Time)

Vocal Health, Well-being and Hindustani Classical Music

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Join Dr Sunny Sandhu for a 2-hour course that introduces participants to the ancient practice of kharaj exercises in the Dhrupad tradition, focusing on the deep and resonant lower octave of the voice. Through guided breathing, slow tonal exploration, and sustained notes, students will learn techniques that strengthen the vocal cords, expand range, and develop clarity and stability in sound production!

(R)evolutionary Voice Training: harnessing human instinct to accelerate vocal transformation!
Thursday 4th December 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)

(R)evolutionary Voice Training: harnessing human instinct to accelerate vocal transformation!

Maddie Tarbox

Human beings and our vertebrate ancestors have been communicating via vocalization for millions of years – those sounds did not start as complex language, but as animal mimicry, acoustic cuing, and emotional primal sounds. Join Maddie Tarbox for this two hour session as she unpicks the repertoire of instinctive shortcuts that can lower cognitive load and accelerate vocal change!

Low Male Voices (LMVs): Development, Technique, and Repertoire
Tuesday 9th December 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)

Low Male Voices (LMVs): Development, Technique, and Repertoire

Dr Dann Mitton

Join Dr Dann Mitton for this two hour workshop where he explores the Development, Techniques, and Repertoire favoured for Low Male Voices (LMVs). Typically labelled as 'Bass' and 'Baritone', these classifications are used in classical music, choral settings, and vocal pedagogy to help determine suitable repertoire and vocal roles. In contemporary music, the distinctions are less rigid but still useful for understanding vocal range and timbre.