Navigating Vocal Health: Understanding Voice Disorders and Rehabilitation for Singers
Thursday 22nd May 2025, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)
Friday 23rd May 2025, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)
At some point in every voice teacher’s career, they will most likely encounter a singer facing a vocal health challenge. Every voice teacher and singer can benefit from a deeper understanding of vocal pathologies and how to navigate them. From recognizing the signs of voice disorders to working with a voice care team, gaining knowledge in these areas is crucial for supporting a singer’s vocal health and longevity.
In Part I, this course focuses on key considerations for maintaining vocal health, with a significant portion dedicated to understanding specific voice disorders that singers might encounter. The discussion will cover structural pathologies such as nodules, polyps, cysts, hemorrhage, and scarring, as well as neurologic voice disorders like paresis, paralysis, and singer's dystonia. Additionally, muscle tension dysphonia (MTD) and vocal fatigue will be examined. Participants will learn about the characteristics of these voice pathologies, their impact on the voice, along with an overview of general treatment approaches. Case studies will be presented to offer real-world insights.
In Part II, the course will outline the steps the Singing Voice Specialist (SVS) voice teacher takes in an initial voice history interview and provide an in-depth outline for conducting the critical singing evaluation. Participants will learn what to listen for, and how to interpret findings. This evaluation process will guide the selection and structuring of vocal tasks tailored to support the singer’s vocal health and rehabilitation. A central theme of the course is the collaboration between the singing voice specialist (SVS) and a voice care team, as well as understanding the SVS’s scope of practice.
The course will cover:
- Collaborative roles between the SVS and voice care teams
- Overview of voice disorders that may impact singers
- Characteristics and treatment approaches for nodules, polyps, cysts, granulomas, scarring, paresis, paralysis, muscle tension dysphonia and more
- Case study presentations on real-world vocal pathologies and treatments
- Conducting a thorough voice history interview
- Systematic approach to structuring an initial singing evaluation
- Strategies for selecting and structuring vocal tasks to aid in the rehabilitation process
This course is ideal for singing teachers, voice professionals, SLP/SLTs, and those seeking to enhance their understanding of voice disorders and rehabilitation for singers.
🏷️ Price £50 (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 Kari Ragan
Singer, author, and voice pedagogue Kari Ragan holds degrees from the University of Washington (DMA) and Indiana University (MM, BM). She was the recipient of the prestigious Van L. Lawrence Award (2012), the NATS Foundation Pedagogy Award (2009), and the Wicklund Singing Voice Specialist Certificate (2010), and she was selected as a Master Teacher for the NATS Intern Program in 2021.
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
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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.
Thursday 14th May 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Friday 15th May 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
The Vocal Health Challenges for Actors and Singers!
Leda Scearce
Two part course! Vocal health principles are inextricably and symbiotically linked with singing and acting voice pedagogy: Good vocal health allows the singer and actor to more easily and effectively achieve their technical and artistic goals, and good teaching reinforces vocal technique that diminishes the risk of vocal injury. We now also recognize the necessity for singers and actors to understand how their instruments work, how to take care of their voices, and what to do when something goes wrong. Singing and acting teachers are indeed on the front lines of vocal health!
Tuesday 19th May 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Staging A Coup: History meets science for the coup de la glotte!
Kourtney Austin
Historical vocal pedagogy, voice science, voice health, and performance practice come together in this presentation from Kourtney Austin! The session addresses the historical context for teaching the onset as a fundamental skill, along with a review of a recent publication examining the acoustic effects of different types of onset, and practical studio implementation of onset training. The aforementioned publication is the first known research to objectively measure the acoustic implications of the coup de la glotte, and delineate it from the hard glottal attack.