Singing for Lung Health: The Basics
Tuesday 2nd April 2024, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)
According to a 2016 study, nearly 1 in 5 people living in the UK have received a diagnosis of lung disease, making it highly likely that clinicians and voice teachers will encounter a singer living with a lung disease such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or pulmonary fibrosis.
Dysfunctional breathing patterns can result from attempts to compensate for underlying pathology. Mounting evidence touts the benefits of better breathing patterns for patients with obstructive and restrictive lung diseases, however learning to sing may impact other systems.
Reduced respiratory capacity is associated with dysphonia and patients with lung disease are at a higher risk of developing complications due to swallowing problems. Singing can strengthen the muscle associated with phonation and swallowing, bring awareness to the oral motor mechanism, and assist in coordinating multiple physiological components critical to the management of lung disease.
In this presentation, we will explore the current available research and theories about why singing is beneficial to people living with impairments in the respiratory system.
Dr Rachel B. Goldenberg
Dr Rachel B. Goldenberg is a leading authority on singing and lung disease. Dr Goldenberg’s doctoral dissertation focused on the use of singing lessons as an adjunctive airway clearance technique for cystic fibrosis, and...
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.
Wednesday 4th March 2026
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Wednesday 11th March 2026
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Wednesday 18th March 2026
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
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This six-week course is an opportunity to learn about both Received Pronunciation and Standard Southern British English. Rather than a course in learning how to speak RP/SSBE (there are many brilliant available courses for this already), this course is about learning how to coach it.
Thursday 5th March 2026
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Thursday 12th March 2026
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
(London Time)
Acting Emotion: Perspectives from the Masters
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Stanislavski said, “our artistic emotions are, at first, as shy as wild animals and they hide in the depths of our souls.” Michael Chekhov said, our bodies should be like a “sensitive membrane, a kind of receiver and conveyor of the subtlest images, feelings, emotions and will impulses.” And Meisner said we should be “living truthfully under imaginary circumstances.” Join Louisa Morgan in this 2-part course as she explores a range of well-known acting practitioners to investigate what they believed (or believe) about emotion and how they approached it in their work. She'll compare their work to see where they align and where they diverge.
Tuesday 17th March 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
The Use of Vibrato in Belt and Legit Styles of Singing in Professional Female Musical Theatre Performers
Dr. Alyssa Becker
Shaped by the popular music of its time, musical theatre blends storytelling with an ever-evolving range of vocal styles—from classical legit singing to jazz, hip-hop, and powerhouse belting. Despite its importance, much of what we understand about vibrato comes from laboratory-based studies that strip singing of its musical, stylistic, and performance context. Join Dr Alyssa Becker as she connects current research with real-world pedagogy, revealing how elite musical theatre performers strategically use vibrato to shape style and storytelling, and showing how these insights can be applied in the voice studio to train stylistic flexibility and control!