Short Courses & Events / Archive

The Neuroscience of Speech and Song

Thursday 1st May 2025, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)

Every syllable and every song comes from a 1kg lump of cells in our skulls that we call the brain, and that’s not half of what it does! Understanding how the brain works is important, but understandably this can get a little complicated and sometimes even a little intimidating.

The Neuroscience of Speech and Song offers an engaging and accessible introduction to the fascinating interface between the brain and some of the things that we use it for. This course is designed to unravel the complex processes underlying how we speak and sing, using simple and accessible language.

The mind and the brain are two sides of the same coin. You would expect an expert in digestion to have a working knowledge of the stomach, wouldn’t you? In just the same way we might expect that an expert in certain kinds of human behaviours -like speaking and singing- should have some understanding of how the human brain is able to do these things.

This course will start from basics and assume very little prior knowledge. We will cover the basic structure of the brain and how it works in general, then narrow in on specific processes that are relevant to speech and song. Examples may  be drawn from clinical cases such as Parkinson’s Disease because understanding ways in which the brain sometimes does not work as it should can help us understand how it typically would.

🏷️ Price £30 (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 Michel Belyk

Dr Michel Belyk is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Edge Hill University. He studies the human voice, all the things that it says, and how it is able to say them.

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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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Thursday 5th February 2026
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Thursday 12th February 2026
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(London Time)

Trauma-Sensitive Voice Professional Certificate with Dr Elisa Monti

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Updated for 2026, this five-part certificate course is designed to help participants learn the theory and practice of trauma-sensitive approaches. The concepts and activities included are tailored to meet the needs of voice specialists who want to acquire more specific tools to navigate the space with their students and colleagues.

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(London Time)

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As stylistic demands in the vocal world continue to evolve, classical singers are increasingly expected to perform in genres such as Musical Theatre and Commercial Music (CM). Yet, for many classically trained singers, the transition from operatic technique to speech-based, microphone-amplified styles can present significant technical and artistic challenges. Join internationally renowned pedagogue Edrie Means Weekly as she provide singers and teachers with practical, research-informed strategies for healthy, authentic crossover.

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(London Time)

Simultaneous Singing and Dancing in Musical Theatre: A Cross-Disciplinary Evidence Review

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This short course invites participants to critically examine the latest cross-disciplinary evidence on the physical and vocal demands of musical theatre performance. Drawing on a comprehensive literature review conducted by Debbie Winter and Claire Thomas (Voice Study Centre, University of Essex), the course explores research from voice science, dance medicine, sports science, and performance pedagogy.