Bitchin’ Pitchin’: Teaching the ‘tone-deaf’ singer
Thursday 29th August 2024, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)
This course will dig deep into why some singers struggle to match pitch and how voice teachers can help them develop this skill.
Many beginner singers identify as ‘tone-deaf’ but Amusia only affects around 3% of the population (significantly less than the percentage who struggle to sing in tune). For most poor-pitch singers there are underlying neurological reasons for their struggles. In this course, the neurological processes that must co-ordinate in order for someone to match pitch successfully will be reviewed. These include accurate pitch interpretation, pitch production, internal feedback evaluation and, crucially, pitch translation and the involvement of memory within this sensorimotor loop.
A variety of strategies that can be used to enhance a singer’s pitch accuracy will be shared and demonstrated so that course attendees will leave feeling better equipped to recognise the potential causes of a singer’s pitch inaccuracy and have a list of strategies they can draw from in order to guide singers to accuracy.
Heather Baker
Heather Baker is a Contemporary Voice Teacher based in the North of England and a Founding Director of the Institute for Vocal Advancement (IVA), delivering global training to voice teachers.

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.

Tuesday 5th August 2025
1:00 PM - 12:00 PM
Tuesday 12th August 2025
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Tuesday 19th August 2025
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Tuesday 26th August 2025
1:00 PM - 12:00 PM
Tuesday 2nd September 2025
1:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Tuesday 9th September 2025
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Tuesday 16th September 2025
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Tuesday 23rd September 2025
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
(London Time)
Certificate in Acting Approaches for Singing Teachers

Louisa Morgan
Are you a singing teacher looking to elevate your students’ performances? Join our very own Louisa Morgan, as she takes a deeper dive into acting approaches that singing teachers can use to integrate powerful acting techniques into singing lessons. This 8 session course is perfect for those who want to help their singers connect deeply with the story behind the song. Gain practical tools and techniques that you can immediately apply in your teaching! Come along live for an interactive experience, or watch on playback at your leisure.


Tuesday 23rd September 2025
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
(London Time)
How to Put the Perceptible Breath at a Singer's Disposal

Tanya Aspelmeier
Join the renowned Tanya Aspelmeier in this breath-related workshop specifically designed for the singer and singing teachers. Participants will learn exercises based on Professor Ilse Middendorf's therapeutic breathing method "The Perceptible Breath". This somatic discipline trains a person’s skills of perception to learn about their individual breath, body and nervous system and how they can regulate it by harnessing their own mental powers.

Wednesday 24th September 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Thursday 25th September 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Mitigating Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) Within the Teaching Studio: Theories & Practical Strategies

Dr David Juncos
In recent years, an alternative model for treating MPA has shown great promise among practitioners - training music teachers to use interventions from evidence-based coaching models aimed to treat MPA, rather than continually referring students with MPA to receive psychotherapy like CBT.