Short Courses & Events / Archive

‘U Can’t Touch This’: Consensual Touch in Teaching Singing

Thursday 6th March 2025, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)

As we continue to navigate the expectations of the use of touch in today’s social climate, the conversations of how we ethically integrate this into our pedagogical approach of teaching voice are alive and important areas of consideration.

Practitioners are required through educational institutions to respect personal space and uphold principles of content around physical touch, often at odds with historical and cultural practices in teaching singing education. This workshop aims to create a space to explore a harm-reductive toolkit that allows singers to benefit from the use of consensual touch in singing lessons without their bodily autonomy being compromised.

As practitioners, we are increasingly aware of how physical contact can positively influence a singer’s teaching and learning experience.  From anatomical accuracy to the efficiency of assessment from one unique voice to another, the results can be transformative.  

Key areas of investigation include:

  • ⁠ ⁠Impact of touch or physical contact in teaching  Vocals at Further & Higher Education as well as private practice.
  • ⁠ ⁠Boundaries around tutor/student physical contact in the teaching and learning of singing.  
  • ⁠ ⁠Considerations of how consent interacts with these findings.  

This workshop considers how consent practices can be integrated into learning spaces, what that means for voice teachers and how it can empower both the artistic and individual voice in the craft of singing and communication.

🏷️ 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

Lucinda Allen

Lucinda has more than 15 years of experience as a voice, singing, and MDH breathing coordination coach. Her private coaching practice, Voice Unlocked, serves clients including performers from West End shows as well as touring artists such as Grammy award winner Lalah Hathaway and UK artists Kelli-Leigh, Newton Faulkner, JP Cooper, and Skin (Skunk Anansie).

CPD Course Logo

Attend this course for as little as £22 as part of the Voice Professional Training CPD Award Scheme.

Learn More

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.

A neurodiversity-affirmative approach to the voice!
Wednesday 29th October 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)

A neurodiversity-affirmative approach to the voice!

Hilary Davies

In recent years, the music therapy profession has begun to consider the application of the neurodiversity paradigm to music therapy practice, in particular In relation to autism, and an increasing amount of literature embracing this perspective has been published. This lecture, delivered from a lived experience perspective, will provide an explanation of the key concepts around neurodiversity - particular consideration will be given to the use of the voice, both one's own but also to the neurodivergent individual’s particular ways of using language, song and vocal sounds.

Creative Articulation
Thursday 30th October 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)

Creative Articulation

Annie Morrison

Most of us have little idea of HOW we speak, or what to do to make speech more muscular. Join Annie Morrison (creator of the 'Morrison Bone Prop') for this two hour session on Creative Articulation, a holistic and haptic approach to the touchings and feelings of the articulators in the dance of speech. Seeing articulation as a purely mechanical skill is detrimental to an actor's process: it is crucial to understand what language is doing on a biological level.

The Belt Voice in R&B/Soul Singing: Vocal Characteristics & Physiology
Tuesday 4th November 2025
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
(London Time)

The Belt Voice in R&B/Soul Singing: Vocal Characteristics & Physiology

Dr Matt Allen

The belt’s got soul! This course offers a deep dive into the vocal artistry and biomechanics of R&B/soul singing, with a particular focus on the belt voice—a powerful and expressive vocal technique central to the genre. Drawing from over 80 years of stylistic evolution, the course explores how R&B/soul singing has shaped contemporary commercial music and investigates the unique vocal traits that define its sound.