What Every Singing Teacher Should Know About Vocal Health: Fact-finding and Myth-busting (Part 2)
Tuesday 12th March 2024, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)
Singing teachers are on the frontlines of vocal health.
As vocal athletes, singers are at a higher risk for developing voice disorders. Singing teachers are in an optimal position to educate students about vocal health. Informed, evidence-based education can help prevent students from developing voice problems. However, spreading misinformation can perpetuate vocal health myths and possibly contribute to developing voice problems and/or delaying appropriate voice care.
As expert monitors of sound, singing teachers are also often the first to identify a possible voice problem in a student. Knowing the signs of a voice disorder and making appropriate referrals is another way that singing teachers can make significant contributions to vocal health.
With this role comes great responsibility: it is incumbent on the teacher to make sure the vocal health information they are passing on to their students is accurate and up-to-date, and not based merely on hearsay or opinion. Singing teachers can play a major role in dispelling common myths and misinformation about vocal health.
This workshop will cover a number of topics related to vocal health education, including:
- What the singing teacher should know about voice anatomy, physiology, and the basics of voice disorders
- Vocal hygiene
- Medical factors and the voice, including upper respiratory infections, pulmonary conditions, allergies, laryngopharyngeal reflux, long COVID, musculoskeletal injuries, temporomandibular disorder (TMD), and others
- Optimizing efficiency of the speaking voice
- Vocal pacing:
- Balancing voice rest and vocal conditioning
- When to recommend complete voice rest
- The singing teacher’s role in identification of dysphonia and making appropriate referrals to the vocal health team:
- Ending the 'blame game': abolishing the concept of 'vocal abuse'
- Working with singers who have or have had a voice injury
- Common vocal health myths and how to dispel them
Full course dates and times:
Thursday 7th March 2024 (5:00 PM - 7:00 PM UK time)
Tuesday 12th March 2024 (5:00 PM - 7:00 PM UK time)
Leda Scearce
Soprano Leda Scearce has been featured in leading roles with the National Opera Company, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Long Leaf Opera Festival, Triangle Opera...
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 16th December 2025
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
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In this session, Professor Helena Daffern will explore the fascinating science behind choral sound, offering choir singers and directors valuable insights into achieving a cohesive and expressive ensemble, no matter what their standard. The concept of choral blend will be examined —what it is, how it can be cultivated, and the roles of intonation and vibrato will be analysed. The decisions that have to be made around intonation when tuning thirds or dealing with modulations over the course of an a cappella piece will be explained in the context of existing research and different singing styles such as barbershop singing and solo voice ensembles.
Tuesday 16th December 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Unclenching the Jaw: Options from the Physio Lens
Walt Fritz
“Jaw tension” is one of many potential problems facing the singer, and can cause a direct negative impact on the performance in both direct and indirect ways. The underlying cause of jaw issues is attributed to numerous factors (technique, posture, strength, range of motion, etc.), making it often difficult to identify common denominators. Join Walt Fritz as he examines the evidence supporting stretching, strengthening, and manual therapy interventions to address jaw-related concerns in vocal performers, taking into account their unique needs.
Thursday 18th December 2025
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
(London Time)
Improving Lyric Italian Diction for Classical Singers
Professor Conroy Cupido
Join Professor Conroy Cupido as he offers an in-depth exploration of the most frequent pronunciation errors made by classical singers in Italian lyric diction. Designed for both emerging and advanced singers, the course provides a structured and practical approach to mastering Italian pronunciation as used in opera, oratorio, and art song.