New singing retreat in Wales

Now that we've settled into the new house (we've nearly unpacked all the boxes), we're launching a new series of singing retreats for people serious about improving their teaching and performing skills.

The first one is a Singing and the Actor Training Retreat. The course will take place in our home in Presteigne (see the pictures below) and will run in March from Friday to Sunday. We're starting at 1pm to give you time to get here, and finishing on Sunday at around 5.30pm so you can be home for supper. We're adding some new features to the weekend to chime with our peaceful, nurturing setting.

The retreat will run from March 12-14 2010. Click on this link to read more and to book a place - there are only 8 places available to make sure you get personal attention from us.

Belting Explained in London

And from the quiet to the downright noisy, we've added another Belting Explained day to our London calendar. On April 17 you can discover the belter in you, or ask all those niggling questions about belt (when, where, how, why and what?). We'll be exploring when belting isn't belting, how to move from a classical sound to a belt setup, different types of belting and when to use them, and identifying belt ranges (and how to fake them) in different musical styles.

London, April 17 2010. This course ALWAYS sells out, and we've been running them since 1997, so book now to unleash your belt monster.

Also on our forthcoming courses list...

The Developing Voice in London

The Developing Voice returns with adolescent voice expert Jenevora Williams. This is a must-attend course for anyone working with singing or speaking voice and children. Jenevora will take us through the stages of change for boys and girls, from birth to adulthood. Gillyanne and Jeremy have a vested interest in this course as they are currently working on material (in many different music styles) for Key Stages 1 and 2. Both of them will be on hand for questions and comments.

Saturday 27 March 2010, central London. This is a popular course, so early booking is recommended. This course is eligible for the Teacher+Student discount rate, or you can bring your own young students with you to be worked on in the group (contact us for information). Click here to book on The Developing Voice

Computer Voice Training & Practical Phonetics weekend

We're running another new retreat as part of our Integrated Voice Module One programme. Computer Voice Training and Practical Phonetics have now been combined and will run at our home in Presteigne on April 24-25 2010. Jeremy will be joined by researcher Jude Brereton from the University of York with the latest information on computer voice analysis. Jude, who has an MA in Linguistic Science and an MPhil in Speech and Language Processing will then work with the group on phonetics for singers and actors.

Although we would normally reserve this weekend for our Integrated Voice participants, we are offering just 3 residential places for singers, teachers and actors interested in the nitty gritty of phonetics and voice analysis. April 24-25 2010, Presteigne. Click here to book on the computer analysis and phonetics weekend

How Your Voice Works in Aberdeen

Our touring training day How Your Voice Works travels to Aberdeen in May, sponsored by the Aberdeen Performing Arts. On Sunday 9 May 2010 we'll be working at the Music Room, right in the heart of Aberdeen city centre. You can't book this particular day through our website, but tickets are available from the Aberdeen Box Office on 01224 641122, and you can find out more here.

And if you're interested in hosting our How Your Voice Works day, just drop us an email and we'll send you the hosting pack by return.

With One Voice in London

The final leg of our Integrated Voice Module One programme . With One Voice happens in London on May 22 2010, presented by Gillyanne and the highly experienced spoken voice trainer David Carey. David has an international reputation as a voice and text practitioner, and is co-author of the Vocal Arts Workbook and DVD.

We've recently added one of David's handouts from the With One Voice course to the website, on the history of Vocal Training in the UK. Its appearance on the site is due to a special request from Professor Mary Luckhurst at the University of York, who is co-ordinating a research project on spoken voice with the Universities of Bristol and Manchester, Central School of Speech and Drama, and RADA. The project will have its own website which will link to the Vocal Process website. You can read David's handout by clicking on this History of UK Voice Teaching link, or click here to book your place on the With One Voice seminar.

A quick note:
Many of our courses sell out quickly (the record is six hours for Belting Explained), and our most recent courses, the Vocal Anatomy for Voice Professionals weekend courses, were completely full several days before the dates and we were genuinely turning people away. Please make sure to book in time - we really don't want you to miss out!

The new online coaching calendar is working well, and we're encouraging all our private clients to check our availability online first. You can now find out when Gillyanne and Jeremy are teaching in the West End, and exactly what lesson times are available, by clicking on the vocal and performance coaching calendar link here. It gives hour-by-hour availability for coaching sessions, and is updated daily.

If you see a date and time you would like, please email or call us to book it. You can't alter the calendar yourself (we thought if we allowed all our clients to change the bookings, mayhem would follow!). But a phonecall or email usually reserves the space.

We're already booking into March, and we're also seeing our five Integrated Voice participants for their personal mentoring sessions, so make sure you email us quickly to reserve your lesson time.

We're looking forward to working with you in Marble Arch!

All our products are now back in stock

We had a few hiccups over the last few months with a number of our products selling out. We now have everything back in stock, and have added Gillyanne's newest publication - Singing Express 1 - to our product list.

The Singing and the Actor package is back in stock (the second edition and the Audio Guide). We're now selling the Audio Guide on Amazon, but it's cheaper on our website because UK postage is included!

Successful Singing Auditions is also in stock - we've been in discussion about a new edition, and Jeremy has been approached to write more articles on auditioning.

Out three DVDs - Voicebox Videos, Constriction and Release, and Nasality and the Soft Palate - continue to be in demand, particularly from voice professionals outside the UK. (Only yesterday Jeremy sent purchases to the Netherlands, Spain and France.) Both the Voicebox Videos and the Constriction and Release-The Techniques DVDs are now in their third pressing, and show no signs of slowing down.

And for news on another Vocal Process training DVD, see the end of this eZINE.

Visit the Vocal Process products page to discover more about the Vocal Process product catalogue.

 "Gillyanne finally reveals that J.F.'s a Stepford Husband. The experiment is ongoing and prototype Fisher has a homemade larynx as well as light up fingers for ease of late night piano practice."