Vocal Acoustics and Implications for Pedagogy
Thursday 15th May 2025, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (London Time)
Friday 16th May 2025, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (London Time)
Many voice teachers have a firm grasp on the anatomy and physiology of voice production. However, voice acoustics still mystifies much of the singing and teaching population, and for those who do have a working understanding of the scientific principles, applying this knowledge in teaching remains difficult. These two sessions are designed to meet the needs of both groups of teachers, exploring essential elements of singing voice acoustics across multiple genres. The course will be structured so that attendees not only understand the scientific principles of acoustics as they relate to singing voice production, but also understand the practical, “how can I apply this information in an actionable way in my teaching” usage of acoustics.
This “principles first, application immediately afterward” approach will be built into the structure of the course. In a systematic and cyclical fashion, topics will be introduced, the scientific underpinnings will be discussed (answering the question, “what do I need to know”), the relevance of the science to teaching will be described (answering “why should I bother to learn this?”), and application of the science to voice teaching (answering “how will I use this in my teaching?”) will follow before moving on to the next topic. Suggestions will be given on designing voice exercises, developing corrective techniques, and assigning/coaching repertoire. Topics will be sequenced from the general to the more specific level. Care will be taken to consider application options for multiple genres of singing. Ample time will be left for questions during the two sessions.
Professor Nix, the instructor for the course, has been a university pedagogy professor for 20 years as well as an active researcher, and he will bring his extensive experience in relating science to pedagogy to the VSC course.
This is a two part course!
Course Dates & Times:
Thursday 15th May 2025
Friday 16th May 2025
Both at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Professor John Nix
John Nix is Professor of Voice and Voice Pedagogy and chair of the voice area at the University of Texas at San Antonio. His mentors include Barbara Doscher...
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.
Tuesday 3rd March 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Sex differences in VOICE!
Dr Richard Lissemore
This two-hour workshop, led by performer, articulatory phoneticist, and voice physiologist, Dr. Richard Lissemore, will examine in detail the role that biological sex plays in the perception and pedagogy of singing voices. We'll consider how parameters such as anatomy, physiology, articulation, resonance, and radiated acoustics influence the perceptions and pedagogical decision-making of singing teachers.
Wednesday 4th March 2026
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Wednesday 11th March 2026
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Wednesday 18th March 2026
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Wednesday 25th March 2026
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Wednesday 1st April 2026
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Wednesday 8th April 2026
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
(London Time)
Learn to Coach RP and SSBE – a Certificate in Accent Coaching
Louisa Morgan
This six-week course is an opportunity to learn about both Received Pronunciation and Standard Southern British English. Rather than a course in learning how to speak RP/SSBE (there are many brilliant available courses for this already), this course is about learning how to coach it.
Thursday 5th March 2026
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Thursday 12th March 2026
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
(London Time)
Acting Emotion: Perspectives from the Masters
Louisa Morgan
Stanislavski said, “our artistic emotions are, at first, as shy as wild animals and they hide in the depths of our souls.” Michael Chekhov said, our bodies should be like a “sensitive membrane, a kind of receiver and conveyor of the subtlest images, feelings, emotions and will impulses.” And Meisner said we should be “living truthfully under imaginary circumstances.” Join Louisa Morgan in this 2-part course as she explores a range of well-known acting practitioners to investigate what they believed (or believe) about emotion and how they approached it in their work. She'll compare their work to see where they align and where they diverge.