The Magic* of Vocal Function Exercises!
Tuesday 6th June 2023, 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM (London Time)
Vocal Function Exercises, or VFEs, developed by Joseph Stemple, are a set of 4 systematic exercises designed to improve strength, balance, adduction, and coordination - and anecdotally, also improve control, flexibility, and range. They are each intended to be executed with specific vocal qualities, vowel shapes, and volumes on set pitches, and are most effective when performed 2x each, 2x a day for 6 weeks with a taper schedule that is similarly exacting.
You may find yourself asking “But aren’t vocal exercises of any kind ultimately designed to improve function? Why these particular exercises when we already have so many functional exercises for the voice designed to improve strength, coordination, flexibility, and range? Why be so seemingly prescriptive? Aren’t all our exercises, by design, Vocal Function Exercises?”
Ah, but if only it were so! VFEs are different. Rarely do we see a set of exercises so prescriptively detailed, so extensively researched, and yet seemingly so impossible to do despite the near mythical status they’ve come to enjoy. And I’m beyond excited to show you this magic*!
This workshop will demystify the four VFEs, explain how they address rebalancing each of the voice subsystems, and help you determine what’s most important about both modeling and explaining them to help your client succeed.
We’ll get super practical as we learn and practice all four exercises together, and you’ll have the chance to ask questions and get feedback on your production. We’ll try different prompts and cues to elicit each target sound, and I’ll even share a tracking sheet to help your client keep track and stay accountable. We’ll also discuss how to know when a vocalist is on the right track or off the rails, and what - if anything - we can do about it.
And lastly, whether you’re calling it pivoting, individualizing, adapting, or winging it, we’ll look at how and where we can intentionally tailor these magical* exercises to each vocalist for maximum results. You’ll leave loving the fact that you gave VFEs an honest try.
Melanie Tapson
Melanie Tapson is a professional singer, Singing Voice Specialist, and speech-language pathologist whose practice specializes in voice assessment and therapy...
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.
Monday 2nd June 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Monday 9th June 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Monday 16th June 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Monday 23rd June 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Monday 30th June 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Certificate in Foundations of Vocology with Adam Roberts
Adam Roberts
This fifteen week (30-hour) Vocology Cohort Intensive provides a comprehensive overview of basic vocal anatomy, physiology, and theories of voice production & perception, fundamentals of vocal health, pathology, evaluation, performance, and habilitation of the speaking and singing voice, and a survey of research, resources, and professional opportunities.
Tuesday 17th June 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
How to Hack Your Next Audition: The Limbic Response
Dr Katherine Skovira
We all know the feeling: staring down an audition panel, we lock up, our knees and hands shake, our breath stops, and we’re in emotional free fall. This is your limbic system going into hyperdrive. In the audition setting, when the limbic system or paleomammalian cortex kicks into action in the face of a perceived conflict, we experience the body’s answer to stressors from people and social interactions. In this course, Dr Katherine Skovira will walk you through steps to work with your limbic response and choose the most appropriate course of action to nail your next audition while honouring your internal mental and emotional landscape.
Wednesday 18th June 2025
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
(London Time)
Alternative Methods of Accent and Dialect coaching - and coaching Neurodiverse Actors
Ellen Hartley
Ellen Hartely has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company for over eight years - in this session she will explore how an accent coach can develop and deliver alternative (non-IPA) methods for coaching accents and dialects. There will be a particular focus on developing inclusive and accessible practice for all. Not all actors receive accent and dialect training in IPA, or indeed in any other specialist accent teaching method, others find IPA an unhelpful way to learn. Over a career you may need to find effective ways to coach any, and all, of the following: young people, amateur groups, a cast with mixed experience, professional actors with no formal training, or neurodivergent and learning-disabled actors.