Working with Muscle Tension in Singers
Wednesday 2nd November 2022, 6:00 PM - Tuesday 2nd November 2021 8:00 PM (London Time)
Muscle tension dysphonia (MTD) is a voice disorder in which the patient presents with altered vocal quality and/or function that is determined to be a result of maladaptive, inefficient coordination of the vocal system. Although laryngeal examination often reveals significant tension of the muscles in and surrounding the larynx, the maladaptive tension can often include the articulators, muscles of the neck, shoulders, back, abdomen, and/or lower body. The MTD may be primary, in which no structural abnormalities are found in the larynx, or secondary, in which the muscle tension arises as a compensation for an underlying laryngeal pathology. As a functional voice disorder, MTD is most optimally managed by a speech-language pathologist or speech-language therapist.
However, most singers will experience some form or degree of maladaptive muscle tension during their training as a part of normal development of vocal technique. The singing teacher is often the first person to identify the muscle tension. How do the singing teacher and SLP/SLT determine when muscle tension is part of normal acquisition of technique and when it crosses the line into pathology?
In this workshop, the presenter will explore these and other questions, as well as strategies for reducing maladaptive muscle tension in the studio and clinic.
- Untying the Knot
- What is Muscle Tension Dysphonia?
- How is MTD treated?
- When is muscle tension a “normal” part of developing singing technique and when is it a disorder?
- Appropriate referral patterns between vocal health care providers and singing teachers/voice trainers.
- Clinical interventions
- Manual therapy models
- Relaxation and stretching exercises
- Rehabilitative vocal exercises
- Medical treatments
- Strategies and exercises for addressing muscle tension in the studio or clinic
- Core stability and anchoring the larynx
- Tongue tension
- Jaw tension
- Laryngeal tension
- Upper body tension
- Abdominal tension
- Case Studies
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.
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.