Hyperadduction: A Preventative and Therapeutic Approach to Voice Teaching
Tuesday 9th January 2024, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM (London Time)
“Hyperfunctional vocal behaviours are considered to be a primary cause of the most common voice disorders: throat discomfort, vocal fatigue, nodules, polyps, oedema, inflammation and haemorrhage of the vocal folds.” – Freeman and Fawcus
Speech pathology has long been the therapeutic route for treating hyperadductive speakers. Other practices like physical therapy, The Feldenkrais Method®, Alexander Technique and yoga practices have also assisted practitioners in the alleviation of hyperfunction in the body.
This workshop is designed to provide voice teachers and professionals with strategies to counter hyperfunctional vocal behaviours (such as constriction and overexertion of the muscles around the larynx) and thus enable ease of vocal fold functioning. Self-awareness, muscle-release lengthening and awareness stretches, laryngeal massage, neck-release and alignment, athletic-aspirated onset, silent inhalation, and SOVT exercises/practices are the chief tools for addressing this ongoing vocal trend.
As vocal pedagogy evolves, we must challenge ourselves to constantly grow and adjust to the modern expectations of the different genres we hope to be qualified to teach. Utilizing an approach that puts health and longevity before aesthetic is a good way to begin the journey of embracing diversity within our scope of instruction.
Dr John Seesholtz
Dr. John Seesholtz, baritone, is the cofounder of the Canciones project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of Latin American music throughout all stages of academia and former Director of Vocal Pedagogy at the University of Colorado.
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.
Thursday 1st May 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Thursday 8th May 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Thursday 15th May 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Thursday 22nd May 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Thursday 29th May 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Trauma-Informed Voice Professional Certificate with Dr Elisa Monti
Dr Elisa Monti
This five-part certificate course is designed to help participants learn the theory and practice of trauma-informed approaches. The concepts and activities included are tailored to meet the needs of voice specialists who want to acquire more specific tools to navigate the space with their students and colleagues.
Tuesday 6th May 2025
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
(London Time)
Mindfulness and Voice: Exploring the Intersection through Peer-Reviewed Literature
Catherine Brown
Despite strong interest, only a handful of peer-reviewed studies have examined the relationship between mindfulness and voice. Emerging research indicates that mindfulness can help voice users learn to respond to stress more effectively and may help them manage performance anxiety. In this course, we will examine several types of peer-reviewed literature: a) mindfulness studies that indirectly relate to voice work. b) We will review research that examines mindfulness as it relates to voice-adjacent fields (e.g., music performance anxiety and stammering/stuttering). c) We will look at the few published studies that have directly investigated the relationship between mindfulness and voice and d) we will examine directions for future qualitative and quantitative research.
Tuesday 6th May 2025
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Wednesday 7th May 2025
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Friday 9th May 2025
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
(London Time)
Acceptance & Commitment Coaching for Beginners: An Overview and Guide for Using it to Address Common Performance-Related Problems of a Psychological Nature (3-part course)
Dr David Juncos
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy or Coaching (ACT) is an empirically-supported psychotherapy & coaching intervention for a variety of common issues facing student and professional musicians from across the world. Some of these include performance anxiety, perfectionism & self-criticism, procrastination, and work-related stress & burnout.