Short Courses & Events / Archive

What Has The Last Two Decades Of Research On Singing And Health Taught Us? A Personal Reflection

Thursday 19th May 2022, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)

The last twenty years has seen a remarkable growth of research on the possible health and wellbeing benefits of singing.

This course will chart this development, revisiting the early studies at the beginning of the century and charting progress since then towards the conduct of significant randomised controlled trials on singing for people with serious health conditions, including COPD, mental health, Parkinson’s and dementia.

In addition to such quantitative controlled studies consideration will be given to the essential contributions of qualitative research to understanding how singing works.

The course will help students develop the skills needed for critical interpretation of research studies, and the potential translation of their findings into practice.

Professor Stephen Clift

Stephen Clift is Professor Emeritus, Canterbury Christ Church University, and former Director of the Sidney De Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health...

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.

Music Theory Fundamentals for Voice Pedagogues
Tuesday 5th May 2026
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday 12th May 2026
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday 19th May 2026
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday 26th May 2026
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday 2nd June 2026
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday 9th June 2026
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
(London Time)

Music Theory Fundamentals for Voice Pedagogues

Dr David Cane

Voice pedagogy has advanced significantly in the last decades in relation to knowledge of the vocal apparatus (anatomy and mechanics), acoustics, and performance psychology (to name just a few subfields) – this is a wonderful thing! Nonetheless, musicianship and the foundations of music theory are still relevant to the teaching and coaching of singers and this course aims to empower voice teachers and coaches with skills to support the fundamental musicianship development of their students.

Staging A Coup: History meets science for the coup de la glotte!
Tuesday 19th May 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)

Staging A Coup: History meets science for the coup de la glotte!

Kourtney Austin

Historical vocal pedagogy, voice science, voice health, and performance practice come together in this presentation from Kourtney Austin! The session addresses the historical context for teaching the onset as a fundamental skill, along with a review of a recent publication examining the acoustic effects of different types of onset, and practical studio implementation of onset training. The aforementioned publication is the first known research to objectively measure the acoustic implications of the coup de la glotte, and delineate it from the hard glottal attack.

Letting the Text Live: Reading Aloud with Expression!
Thursday 21st May 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)

Letting the Text Live: Reading Aloud with Expression!

Louisa Morgan

This 2-hour interactive session is designed to help you make more deliberate, expressive choices in your speaking of the written word. It will involve plenty of practical exploration and will cover tips and techniques for working with the voice to lift the text off the page. Work with me to refine nuance, precision, and expressive range. We’ll explore a variety of text samples to cover a wide range of real-world situations, so you can get a feel for the different styles and approaches. If you want your spoken text to sound purposeful, engaging, and unmistakably yours, this session will invite you to play with some tools to do just that.