"Throaty Sounds": Cross-linguistics, Health, & Pedagogy!
Thursday 6th November 2025, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)
Glottal stops, vocal fry, creaky voice, and more! There are many types of “throaty sounds” that we make in spoken languages and simply in vocal expression. Many practitioners have historically expressed strong views about the health or use of throaty sounds: considering them risky or unhealthy, as well as displeasing.
Yet -- throaty sounds appear in many languages and language families worldwide! Speakers use them every day to communicate. A cross-linguistic comparison of throaty sounds in languages can yield new insights for voice and speech professionals to consider. Some beliefs about throaty sounds can be re-examined, which can affect approaches for voice training and voice care. Together we can reconsider the narrative around glottals and vocal fry, find new language to discuss the sounds, and support our students' use of speech!
This course will explore:
(1) which sounds are produced and articulated in the throat,
(2) where do we hear these sounds in various languages, and
(3) how to reconsider previous negative assumptions about the health of sounds themselves.
Dayle Towarnicky
Dayle Towarnicky (she/her) is an Assistant Professor with the FSU School of Theatre in Tallahassee, Florida, where she teaches and coaches voice, speech, and accent. Dayle researches intersections between voice and speech practice and linguistics.
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 14th October 2026
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
(London Time)
Thinking Outside the Voice Box: Adolescent Female Voice Change
Dr Bridget Sweet-Manternach
Join Dr Bridget Sweet for this 2 hour session as she unpacks this fascinating topic. The purpose of this course is to bring attention to adolescents who experience an estrogen-dominant voice change and to encourage new and holistic ways of thinking about [assigned at birth] female voices. While considering physical changes during adolescence, we will unpack basic vocal anatomy and physiology and then discuss what happens to the vocal mechanism during voice change for females vs. [assigned at birth] males.
Monday 19th October 2026
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday 20th October 2026
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
(London Time)
Introduction to Vocal Acoustics for Spoken and Sung Voice
Gökçe Kutsal
This course is designed to break down the fundamentals of acoustics for both spoken and sung voice in a beginner-friendly, accessible way — so you can easily understand and apply these concepts to your teaching or research.
Tuesday 20th October 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Practical Magic*: The Art & Science of Balancing Voices with SOVTs and VFEs
Melanie Tapson
Through live demonstrations, group practice, and peer coaching, you’ll learn how to teach SOVTs and VFEs with clarity and precision, integrate their principles to support vocal health, recovery, and stylistic flexibility and troubleshoot challenges and adapt exercises for individualized results.