The Race of Sound – Why Do We Think We Can Hear Race Vocally?
Thursday 24th October 2024, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)
Why and how do we make assumptions about a person’s race, gender, or age based on the timbre of their voice? Within the context of the United States, we will examine historical precedents for racialized listening to voices as well as contemporary realities, utilizing a framework for critically interrogating the racializing processes embedded in vocal and listening practices. The case studies we will draw on range from classical voices (such as Marian Anderson’s) to jazz (Jimmy Scott) and voice technologies (the vocal synthesis software Vocaloid). In considering the physiological basis for voice, we learn that there are actually no racial markers. And in taking the power of formal and informal voice lessons seriously, we can begin to deconstruct how voices and listening strategies are shaped within a racialized world.
This session will draw from my book The Race of Sound: Listening, Timbre, and Vocality in African American Music (Duke University Press, 2019).
Nina Eidsheim
Nina Eidsheim is the author of Sensing Sound: Singing and Listening as Vibrational Practice and The Race of Sound: Listening, Timbre, and Vocality in African American Music, and co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of Voice Studies and Refiguring American Music.
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 28th September 2026
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Tuesday 29th September 2026
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Wednesday 30th September 2026
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Thursday 1st October 2026
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Friday 2nd October 2026
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
(London Time)
Certificate in Executive Voice Coaching and Communication
Louisa Morgan
This five-day course is designed for professional coaches who want to extend their practice into executive coaching, leadership communication, and professional corporate voice work.
Friday 2nd October 2026
12:30 PM - 2:30 PM
(London Time)
Muscle Tension Dysphonia in the Singing Voice!
Dr Claire Thomas
Join Dr Claire Thomas for a practical 2-hour workshop for singing teachers and voice practitioners! Building upon the previous course to create a practical teacher pathway in order to recognise what is happening, reduce unnecessary effort, transfer coordination into singing, manage load and recovery and know when to refer back. Not one size fits all, but a guide to making informed choices with voice users. Based on a five-year investigative project, the course equips singing teachers with the knowledge and practical tools needed to confidently understand MTD, and support singers experiencing MTD beyond their initial therapeutic input.
Tuesday 6th October 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Inspired Not Bound: The Promise of Science-Informed Voice Pedagogy
Lynn Helding
Lynn Helding defines Science-Informed Voice Pedagogy in her upcoming book Practicing Science-Informed Voice Training as, “A type of hybrid singing voice pedagogy that unites science and art by researching current voice science, translating it, combining it with extant historic voice knowledge, and transmitting it to singers.” Join Lynn Helding as she seeks to understand human behaviour of both sides of the “Science versus Art” debate via research from the fields of cognitive science and behavioural science, focussing particularly on lessons learned due to several societal shifts.