"The appliance of voice science"

Vocal Process was recently the focus of a feature article in the prestigious LINK magazine, the voice of music education in the UK

Under their 'Music and Health' section, the Summer edition of LINK magazine concentrated on the voice science aspects of the company. The full-page article discusses the endoscopy video ebooks "Vocal Process embraces the latest technology enthusiastically", and the use of computer voice analysis programmes "a great biofeedback loop". Gillyanne's work on the female passaggio and her internet singing lessons are highlighted "Kayes is in demand all over the world for the techniques in her popular book".

According to the magazine, "Vocal health is a central issue" in the company's course catalogue, and the article goes on to mention our "impressive list of corporate clients". We'll end with their summing up of Vocal Process, which they believe is "revolutionising the way singing is taught". Many thanks to the LINK magazine team for their interest in our work.
 

The last few weeks...

Gillyanne completed this year's in-house Stagecoach training with a teacher's session in North London. The teachers were hungry for user-friendly techniques to help their young singers develop safely. There was particular interest in the "Learn a Song in Fifteen Minutes" routine that appears in the Successful Singing Auditions book. Vocal Process continues to offer special rates on its one-day and three-day courses to Stagecoach vocal teachers via the Stagecoach intranet.

The company's first in-house Computer Voice Training course took place at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Jeremy had the luxury of 5 hours, the MA Voice Studies students and 10 laptops to work with. Each participant was given a copy of a free voice analysis programme, together with sound and spectrogram examples and related articles. The day was filled with noises from all corners of the room as the students tried out different voice onsets and offsets, voice qualities and extracts of connected speech.
Thanks to Joe Windley for including this day as part of the course curriculum.

In June Jeremy gave a Musical Theatre Masterclass at St Edmund's School in Canterbury. The students were keen to discover how to improve both their singing and their audition success, so part of the masterclass was a question and answer session on audition techniques. Many thanks to Katharine Lewis for organising the day.

And in July Jeremy journeyed to Aberdeen for two days of coaching and masterclasses, as part of a week-long musical theatre training organised by Karen Cockrill. The one-to-one sessions were intense with repertoire ranging from Chicago and Sinatra songs to folksong and Gershwin. The children's masterclass covered projection, acting through song and singing within a comfortable volume. The adults' music included Bacharach, Kelly Clarkson and jazz standards, and the session focussed on belting, "legit" singing and voice/body integration.

Integrated Voice^TM

Module One of the unique Integrated Voice^TM programme returns in October. A number of you have already requested the course programme details, and there is still time to view the entire programme from the website. You can also read our Integrated Voice^TM Frequently Asked Questions page. Remember that you need to have taken a three-day intensive course with Vocal Process to qualify for an interview. Qualifying courses include Core Training, its predecessor Voice Styles Intensive, or the new Singing and the Actor Training.

Pamela Hall, one of the previous Module One participants, had this to say about her experience of the programme:
"I have more confidence in my teaching because I have increased knowledge of the vocal instrument in terms of its physiology, development and mechanical potential. I am much more creative with my students in terms of the exercises I give them, using a blend of speech and song, text and pitch, energy and movement.
"The students themselves love the immediacy of the approach in that they can see that a certain vocal posture will produce a certain sound (and may help them reach those 'high' notes!) or that a particular vowel placement enables them to find a more projected voice or a certain accent.
"My own technique has also improved, through increased awareness and control; also through having to internalise and disseminate the information to my students."

Pamela is now completing Module Two of the programme, and, in addition to her acting and singing schedule, is working as a voice and singing teacher in the further education sector.

If you are interested in furthering your knowledge on the Integrated Voice^TM programme but have not yet taken a three-day course with Vocal Process, you can book a place on the new Singing and the Actor Training in October, ready for the next Module One in 2007.
 

Demo CD advice from Vocal Process - a new resource

Demo CD reviews - Jeremy has already advised on and accompanied a number of demo CDs for West End performers. Now is the chance to get his advice on your own demo CD. Jeremy's background as a performance coach, musical director, vocal expert and professional CD reviewer makes this an ideal resource for improving your chances of work or CD sales.

Following the masterclasses at the musical theatre week in Aberdeen, one of the participants asked Jeremy to critique her demo CD. A few days later she received a detailed letter with comments on each of the 15 tracks, and a general overview of her vocal and performance strengths, together with advice on vocal techniques and possible alternative repertoire. In his advice Jeremy suggested several recording artists for inspiration on repertoire and style, and gave a number of technical tips  for a more varied and flexible performance. Vocal Process is renowned for its straightforward and accurate technical advice, and the report included references to relevant exercises in Gillyanne's Singing and the Actor book and sound examples on the Audio Guide.

If you are currently working on a demo CD and want to make sure that your recording budget is being spent wisely, Jeremy is happy to review rough-cuts or pre-demo recordings by arrangement.

Vocal Process also provides follow-up in the form of a private session with Jeremy (for repertoire, style and performance advice) or Gillyanne (for input on vocal technique). For those unable to attend in person in London, the session can be taken over the internet using Skype.

The new package (review and follow-up session) costs £100, or £60 for the review alone. Obviously there are only a few of these packages available each week, so if you are interested in creating or upgrading your demo CD or getting a professional opinion of your work, contact Gunvor to book an appointment

Jeremy is a CD and music reviewer for several magazines including The Music Teacher, Early Music Today, and Classroom Music.
 

---

The Developing Voice

This month the Vocal Process website contains two free downloadable resources on the Developing Voice, created by Jenevora Williams:

Jenevora has provided us with a copy of her Frequently Asked Questions article aimed specifically at boys who want more information on how their voice will develop. The document is in straightforward language and answers the primary concerns of boys about to go through vocal change. You can read the pdf file by clicking here.

We continue to receive excellent feedback from Jenevora's course The Developing Voice. A feature of the day was a detailed powerpoint presentation complete with sound files of adolescents going through various stages of change. Jenevora has released part of that presentation to the Vocal Process website (she is keeping the sound files for the course!). The presentation is in pdf form and gives 16 pages of clear and concise information on the differences between child, adolescent and adult vocal development. Click here to download this superb teacher's resource.

---

The next Looking at a Voice video ebooks...

"The 'strobe' sequence is fabulous!" [SL]

The comments are still rolling in for the UK's first endoscopy video ebook series. Last month, the first charitable donations went out to the British Voice Association and the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine. Vocal Process is donating 10% of the total income from the sale of these endoscopy videos to registered charities.

Constriction and Release, the latest addition to the series, is now available to download. This seems to be the topic that interests the most people - we have certainly had the largest number of requests to see this manoeuvre on film.

This video ebook shows clear footage of the false vocal folds moving independently of the true vocal folds. Thanks to Tom and Sara Harris for their expert filming. The ebook also contains some extraordinary close-up video footage of the true folds being held together without phonation while the false folds are moved apart and together. The stroboscopy footage shows the effects of constriction and release on the movement of the true vocal folds, and was filmed at Moshe Harrell's clinic in Tel Aviv. As with all the Vocal Process video endoscopy ebooks, the physical structures are clearly identified, with a detailed voiceover describing what you see and hear.

Downloading is simple and the video ebook is available immediately after payment. To purchase your copy, click on this link to go straight to the special page on the website.

Looking at a Voice, the UK's first downloadable endoscopy video ebook, is still available on the website to download for an introductory price of £5, and 50p goes straight to charity.

Modal to Falsetto 1 - Making the Change is also available, and 75p of each £7.50 video ebook is being donated to the BVA and BAPAM.

 

---

Article

This month we welcome Dr Donna Soto-Morettini, Head of Musical Theatre at the RSAMD, as guest writer for the Vocal Process eZINE. Andrew Lloyd Webber and producer David Ian have joined forces with the BBC to find a new young talent to star in the new West End production of The Sound of Music. Dr Soto-Morettini was one of the casting directors for the television programme, auditioning hundreds of hopefuls for the role of Maria. In this article she shares a few of her favourite things to look for in an auditionee.

How DO you solve a problem like Maria?

We spent our days sitting next to our assistant producers in dark rooms watching an endless stream of candidates and as they sang we watched both them and the monitors to assess that unpredictable relationship between the ‘in-person’ look and the look on camera. We were also judging, from very short, unaccompanied excerpts, whether to put someone through to the next round or not. And after the third day or so the tech crews in the various simultaneously running rooms launched a bet on who would hear “I Could Have Danced All Night” the most times in a single day – winner to receive a box set of My Fair Lady.

So (apart from “I Could Have Danced All Night”) what did we see? In fact it was an extraordinary mix. We saw a very talented woman about 50 years of age who had no experience or training whatsoever, but who really had a great ‘open’ quality about her audition and a rich, haunting vocal sound. We saw an amazingly talented 17 year-old coloratura who simply didn’t seem to understand what kind of gift she possessed. We saw young girls who very clearly had no idea what the role of Maria required and who buckled immediately when asked to sing the first two lines of The Sound of Music in the original key…

What it is that separates the stand out audition that gets the whole panel excited from the one that is ‘just okay’? This intensive experience emphasised for me the importance of three things: attitude, vocal impression and performance quality – although in practice it’s very hard to separate the last two.

For the rest of this article on vocal impression, performance quality and sculpture, please click on this link.

Many thanks to Donna for this article. The next ezine will include an excerpt from Donna's new book Popular Singing (A&C Black £16.99 inc CD)

---

And finally,

Remember to visit Jeremy's blog at http://www.singingcoach.blogspot.com for thoughts and insights into the life of a performance coach - comedy songs, popera, nuns...

 

---

If you do not wish to receive further correspondence from us, please email privacy@vocalprocess.co.uk