"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.
Thursday 19th February 2026
8:30 AM - 10:30 AM
(London Time)
It’s not a virus! Reconceptualizing and De-pathologizing Music Performance Anxiety
Rebecca Herman
Performance Anxiety is one of the most widespread and debilitating challenges facing musicians across all ages, nationalities and musical genres. Despite decades of research and the development of numerous interventions, we do not yet have an established way of supporting performers experiencing performance anxiety. Aimed at performers, teachers, researchers and students, this presentation will first summarise the current state of play in performance anxiety research, before exploring alternative ways to think about performance anxiety, drawing on new research outside of performance psychology...
Thursday 19th February 2026
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Thursday 26th February 2026
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
(London Time)
Performing Pain: Vocal Health in Emotional Roles!
Louisa Morgan
How connected are acted emotions to our real-life emotions? Are they expressed differently? Do they feel different in the body? This 2-part course with Louisa Morgan looks at the potential impact of acted emotion on vocal health, why we should consider it as voice practitioners, and how to care for our performers needing to work with it.
Tuesday 24th February 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Incorporating CBT principles within vocal health and voice care
Dr Luke Aldridge-Waddon
Join Dr Luke Waddon as he introduces the principles and techniques within cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) in relation to the voice and voice care. He will discuss psychological factors relevant to the development and maintenance of voice disorders and how these might be approached from a cognitive-behavioural perspective. He will describe theoretical concepts and therapeutic components often used within CBT and consider how these might be applied when working with voice users.