Short Courses & Events / Archive

'Mal canto' and the cultural politics of voice pedagogy: provocations from a critical disability studies (CDS) perspective

Thursday 14th November 2024, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)

‘Mal canto’ and the cultural politics of voice pedagogy: provocations from a critical disability studies perspective.

Critical disability studies (CDS) is a growing field of academic enquiry that has gained considerable traction over the past two decades.   Encouraging us to think beyond typical medical and legal definitions, CDS analyses disability as a complex cultural, historical, political and relational phenomenon.

In this short course, I apply the insights of CDS to voice pedagogy and the academic discipline of voice studies, more broadly. I suggest that disability is highly relevant to our field in significant (and potentially surprising) ways.

In his book, Shakin’ All Over: Popular Music and Disability (2013), Georgie McKay coins the phrase ‘mal canto’ in opposition to the historico-pedagogical notion of idealised singing, ‘bel canto’ (lit. beautiful singing). In this course, I use McKay’s critical concept as a starting point for identifying and disrupting the potentially ableist norms that are often sustained within the field of voice studies and vocal pedagogy.

Key topics:  Critical Disability Studies, access, inclusion, disability justice

🏷️ Price £30 (UK VAT inclusive)
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📜 Certificate of attendance available

Dr David Cane

David is a lecturer, researcher, singer, singing teacher and choir director.  He is a former choral scholar of King’s College, Cambridge where he studied for a degree in Theology and Religious Studies.

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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.

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3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday 28th April 2026
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday 29th April 2026
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
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3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
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Tuesday 28th April 2026
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(London Time)

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