The Use of Vibrato in Belt and Legit Styles of Singing in Professional Female Musical Theatre Performers
Tuesday 17th March 2026, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)
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. Whether it’s the lush, operatic sound of South Pacific, the jazzy bite of Chicago, or the rap-driven score of Hamilton, each musical reflects its musical influences while still drawing from shared vocal techniques. As MT has evolved from the Golden Age to today, performers are now expected to master both legit and belt styles. One of the clearest signals separating these styles is vocal vibrato. However, to what degree vibrato is used for different styles by the same performer has not been well studied. 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. This raises an important question: how do professional musical theatre performers employ vibrato in various styles?
This course takes vibrato out of the lab and into real-world performance. Drawing on recordings from five well-known professional musical theatre performers, the study examines vibrato use in live performances. By examining authentic performances rather than controlled vocal tasks, this work offers a rare glimpse at how vibrato functions as a stylistic tool in professional musical theatre singing.
This course 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.
Dr. Alyssa Becker
Dr. Alyssa Becker serves on the voice faculty at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she teaches applied voice, vocal pedagogy, and maintains a private voice studio. She is also the artistic director the Drake University Voice Intensive, a high school vocal training program she co-founded. Dr. Becker combines performance, research, and teaching, with a focus on preparing singers to navigate a wide range of vocal styles.
Attend this course for as little as £22 as part of the Voice Professional Training CPD Award Scheme.
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Tuesday 18th August 2026
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday 25th August 2026
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday 1st September 2026
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday 8th September 2026
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday 15th September 2026
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday 22nd September 2026
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
(London Time)
Musical Theatre Vocal Pedagogy Certificate
Kevin Wilson
Join Kevin Wilson for this six-part certificated course, offering an in‑depth, practical exploration of contemporary voice teaching for musical theatre. Across six focused classes, participants develop a systematic approach to vocal technique, diagnosis, and repertoire selection that reflects the stylistic, physical, and emotional demands of the genre. The curriculum integrates vocal science, embodied voice work, registration theory, and stylistic awareness across the five major sub‑genres of musical theatre.
Thursday 10th September 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Dalcroze Eurhythmics in the Voice Studio
Dr Tish Oney
The Dalcroze Method taught by Swiss music teacher Émile Jaques-Dalcroze (1865-1950) has long been valued as a tool for teaching music in group settings (ensembles, choirs, music classes, etc.) But what about its one-on-one use in the applied voice studio? Join Dr. Tish Oney for this interactive short course and learn about the history and principles of this important method of music education. Through the employ of Dalcroze movements and concepts, singers and teachers explore music in ways that can reduce tension and increase the fun of music making, while encouraging discovery of technical and theoretical skill-building practices.
Tuesday 15th September 2026
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
(London Time)
Games & Gadgets: Building Vocal Skills Through Movement & Play!
Naomi Lewandoski
How can simple tools such as exercise balls, bubbles, stretchy bands, straws, ribbons and even toilet rolls transform the way singers learn? Naomi Lewandoski is a singing teacher, voice educator, performer and workshop presenter with a passion for helping singers explore the voice through movement, curiosity and evidence-informed practice. In this interactive course she explores how games, gadgets, movement and play can help build vocal skills by creating greater awareness of how the body coordinates for singing.