One More Time with Feeling; The Use of Emotion for Training Singers
Tuesday 1st September 2020, 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM (London Time)
How does emotion affect the voice, and can it be harnessed as a tool in Western classical vocal pedagogy? Eminent voice pedagogues do use emotion as a pedagogical tool and have described their experience of its usefulness anecdotally (Bozeman, 2013 and 2017; Chapman, 2007; Williams, 2019). Scientists have striven to measure emotionally produced acoustic changes in the voice; these changes can be heard and even accurately perceived by the listener (Scherer, 1986). Muscular changes occur with emotion (Scherer, 1986) in all three components of the vocal apparatus; breathing, vocal folds and vocal tract (Sundberg, 1987), and these changes affect voice acoustics (Laver, 1980). Research shows these emotional effects on vocal acoustics to be comparable in both the speaking and singing voice (Scherer, 2015). Scherer (1986) predicted these changes in his Component Patterning Model of Vocal Affect Expression and subsequent research has largely proven his model which predicts the acoustic result of an emotion based on physiological responses.
This 1 hour webinar will outline;
- Darwin’s phylogenic theory of emotional effect and his theory of the early origins of vocalised emotion.
- Historical use of emotion and its description in the early singing treatise.
- The emotions used anecdotally by pedagogues
- The work of Professor Klaus Scherer and his early predictions of the effect of emotion on voice acoustics based on; his own emotion model of physiological response and, the work of phonetician Professor John Laver who described the acoustic change for different muscular actions of the vocal apparatus. Scherer went on to ‘prove’ his predictions with his own and other scientists research on acoustics of vocalised emotion.
- Current research on the singing voice and the effect of emotion on acoustics; how does the research compare to the emotions used by pedagogues in the studio?
- Interesting correlations with vowel use and emotion.
- Possible ways to elicit emotion in voice teaching; tips from the scientists.
- Kate will present a diagram she has compiled based on a two dimensional model of emotion with the results of the latest acoustic data, the emotions studied, as well as the emotions used anecdotally by pedagogues.
Katrina Sheppeard
Katrina Sheppeard is one of the UK’s most exciting up and coming dramatic sopranos. Since moving from Australia to London in 2008...
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.
Tuesday 14th October 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Musical Theatre Singing Pedagogy: A Framework for Teaching Musical Theatre Singers
Amanda Flynn
This class will look at the pedagogy of teaching musical theatre singing. We will begin by exploring the flexibility needed for musical theatre singing through definitions, listening exercises, and some historical context.
Wednesday 15th October 2025
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
(London Time)
Congruent Ideologies of the Bel Canto Pedagogues
Dr John Seesholtz
This presentation and discussion highlights the qualities held in common between the major pedagogues of the era, including elements of alignment, inspiration, vowel purity, legato, and pedagogic progression from exercises to repertoire.
Wednesday 15th October 2025
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
(London Time)
The Alexander Technique: Principles, Application, and Voice Integration!
Michele Capalbo
Developed by Australian actor F.M. Alexander in the late 19th century, the Alexander Technique evolved from Alexander’s voice loss during performance. Voice teachers have long recommended the Alexander Technique to improve posture and vocal function. Studies have shown alterations to vocal quality and reductions in performance anxiety following Alexander Technique intervention. This short course will emphasize universal aims considered beneficial to voice users, including mitigating excess tension and breaking harmful habits!