Singing With Your Whole Self: An Introduction to Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement
Thursday 20th July 2023, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)
How does one develop an internal feel for what sounds good? How do you learn to use all of yourself when singing? What is the relationship between the felt (kinesthetic) sense, effort, and good sound?
The intention of every committed voice teacher is to guide the student to find the freest, most beautiful, expressive sound and to develop that voice until it becomes consistently accessible.
The Feldenkrais Method is a self-discovery process using movement Its aim is to produce an individual organized to perform with minimum effort and maximum efficiency. Efficient organization is developed using the “organic” learning style of our early childhood; the way we learned to hold our head up, crawl, and so on. As such, it is an open-ended developmental learning process which, like making music, offers infinite possibilities for refinement. The movements are simple, gentle, pleasant, exploratory, and fun. They are usually repeated a number of times to clarify and enhance performance. The focus is always on the how to of the movement, not the how much, how fast, or how hard. The movement always starts where the person is now. People are asked only to perform what they can do comfortably; they are discouraged from moving outside their comfort range.
During our time together, we explore fundamentals of the Feldenkrais Method, including how its originator, Moshe Feldenkrais, developed this approach and what constitutes Awareness Through Movement (ATM).
This is an interactive, experiential course in which participants will learn about the method and be led through several ATMs (some short mini-ATMS, others a portion of a full ATM).
Workshop Description:
- Introduction and overview of the Feldenkrais Method
- Initial focus on body, breath and voice
- “Pre-test” before Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement experience
- Participants are guided through selected ATM lessons (Mini-ATMs and excerpted full lessons)
- “Post-test” discoveries and discussion
- If time, volunteers may receive a short ATM lesson specific to individual needs
- Question/ answer discussion and conclusion
Elizabeth Blades
Elizabeth Blades holds both Doctor of Musical Arts and Masters of Music Degrees from the
Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY...
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.
Thursday 26th June 2025
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Tuesday 1st July 2025
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There are evolving expectations for vocalists, who now need to perform in a variety of styles beyond traditional classical music. In this two-part course, Page Stephens argues that voice teachers should incorporate contemporary repertoire and techniques into their lessons to help singers grow in expressivity, flexibility, and economic opportunities. The course will cover industry trends, cultural pressures, and economic benefits of contemporary music, and provide tools for integrating new music into vocal education. Interviews with professionals will highlight the strengths and weaknesses observed in the field, and strategies for teaching new music will be discussed.
Wednesday 2nd July 2025
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
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The identity politics of accent learning!
Jenru Wang
Jenru Wang has an MFA in Voice Studies with distinction from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London - in this session, he will begin to explore the complexities accent coaches might face in their work, examining the intersection of language, identity, and cultural sensitivity. Participants will explore how to navigate challenging situations in different contexts and understand what to do—and avoid—when working with diverse clients and materials.
Thursday 3rd July 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
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Vocal “Decathletes” – inside the hidden world of Session Singing!
Kim Chandler
What is a session singer? Officially it’s a freelance, short-term “singer for hire” brought in to be part of a live or recorded musical project. However, it’s more generally understood to be the “behind-the-scenes” singer who is regularly booked for paid recording work. The type of work (and pay) varies a lot. Session singing is a side of the music industry that is largely hidden from the public and isn’t easy to find out much about, even online. Join Kim Chandler as she unpicks this topic, based on 35 years of session singing!