Female Musical Theatre Belting in the 21st Century
Tuesday 1st April 2025, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)
The female musical theatre belt sound originated on the Broadway stage in 1930, mostly associated with Ethel Merman and her vocal performance of the song “I Got Rhythm,” in the Gershwin musical, Girl Crazy. In the almost 100 years since the origin of the female musical theatre belt voice, the sound has become almost synonymous with Broadway itself, and has continued to develop and evolve, based on the storytelling needs of the musical theatre artform.
With this in mind, it is imperative that singers and teachers have up to date strategies and techniques to create this exciting vocal production.
This 2-hour short course will begin with a brief discussion of the history and theatrical purpose of the female belt sound. Then, various categories of the female belt sound will be explored and demonstrated, as well as different types of female belt vocal repertoire and roles. During the last portion of the course, vocal exercises to enhance belt voice ability and range will be explained and demonstrated. During this part of the course, participants will be encouraged to sing and personally experience these exercises to enhance their own vocal production and teaching strategies.
🏷️ 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
Dr. Christianne Roll
Dr. Christianne Roll received her BFA in musical theatre from New York University, where she was a Tisch Scholar. Her doctorate is from Teachers College, Columbia University, where she focused her research on musical theatre vocal pedagogy.
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 5th May 2026
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday 12th May 2026
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday 19th May 2026
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday 26th May 2026
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday 2nd June 2026
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday 9th June 2026
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
(London Time)
Music Theory Fundamentals for Voice Pedagogues
Dr David Cane
Voice pedagogy has advanced significantly in the last decades in relation to knowledge of the vocal apparatus (anatomy and mechanics), acoustics, and performance psychology (to name just a few subfields) – this is a wonderful thing! Nonetheless, musicianship and the foundations of music theory are still relevant to the teaching and coaching of singers and this course aims to empower voice teachers and coaches with skills to support the fundamental musicianship development of their students.
Wednesday 10th June 2026
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
(London Time)
In Conversation With… Amanda Flynn
Dr Amanda Flynn
Join us for the first event in our new public interview series exploring vocal health and sustainability in musical theatre performance. Free and open to all!
Friday 12th June 2026
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
(London Time)
Learning together: group singing and choral pedagogy
Dr David Cane
The benefits of group singing are well documented and well known. Singing together can foster a sense of social connection and community as well enhancing wellbeing and mood. However, group singing is not only a shared cultural and artistic experience, but can also be a powerful site of learning. While many of the developments in voice pedagogy have tended to centre around the one-to-one model of teaching, this course with Dr David Cane explores the pedagogical (and potentially the political) potential of teaching and learning to sing collectively.