We all have an integral sense of voice being the bridge of art and science and this study day certainly delivered on both counts. From the comprehensive medical talks of Dr John Costello (Respiratory physician) and Mr Ed Blake (physiotherapist) to the artistic exploration of the singing voice with Janice Chapman and imaginative use of breath with Jane Boston.
Contents
- Introductory Flyer
- Course Feedback from Amanda Carr (SLT), Roger Saxby (physiotherapist) & Claire Wonnacott (SLT) – Bristol
Introductory Flyer
We are delighted to offer this Autumn Study Day drawing upon a wide range of knowledge and practice from four expert individuals. It will be of value to all voice professionals including speech and language therapists, voice teachers, singing teachers and performers.
An Inter-Disciplinary Approach
Nutford House, Brown Street, London W1H 6AH
Saturday 14 November 2009
We are delighted to offer this Autumn Study Day drawing upon a wide range of knowledge and practice from four expert individuals. It will be of value to all voice professionals including speech and language therapists, voice teachers, singing teachers and performers.
The programme will include:
Dr John Costello, Consultant Physician, King’s College Hospital, London
'From Lungs to Larynx': a physician’s explanation of how lung diseases can profoundly affect vocal effectiveness. Includes work on vocal diagnostics, damage prevention and general vocal health advice.
Jane Boston, Voice Teacher and Head of Artistic Research and Development, RADA
'Breath into Voice': a voice teacher’s exploration of breath to free the imagination and body of the speaker and enable a deeper reach into the mind / imagination of the author. An experiential workshop.
Ed Blake, Masters qualified Physiotherapist, Harley Street
'Assessing Abdominal Muscle Activity whilst Voicing': theory associated with muscle tension dysphonia at both laryngeal and abdominal levels and practical demonstration in the use of real time ultrasound to assess abdominal muscle activity.
Janice Chapman, Singing Teacher, Guildhall School of Music and Drama and The Royal Academy of Music
'Breathe, Sing, Enjoy': breathing is natural and singing is athletic ... so how do we get from one to the other? Why does it make us feel so good? An inter-active workshop.
Course Feedback from Amanda Carr (SLT), Roger Saxby (physiotherapist) & Claire Wonnacott (SLT) – Bristol
We all have an integral sense of voice being the bridge of art and science and this study day certainly delivered on both counts. From the comprehensive medical talks of Dr John Costello (Respiratory physician) and Mr Ed Blake (physiotherapist) to the artistic exploration of the singing voice with Janice Chapman and imaginative use of breath with Jane Boston.
Dr Costello started the day brilliantly making a very detailed medical topic interesting and relevant with his warmth and natural speaking ability.
Jane Boston's enthusiasm was tangible as she led us through using breath to explore the imagination and body for reading text aloud– Nutford House didn't know what hit it when a 30 strong chorus of Beowulf erupted!
All three of us had been drawn to the day to hear Ed Blake as our voice therapy service is developing joint working with physiotherapists. He certainly didn't disappoint – his talk was thorough, clear and inspiring. He described his use of a real-time diagnostic ultrasound as both an assessment and biofeedback therapy tool with people with dysphonia. Although his work was with performers the application to other client groups was immediately clear. Understanding the role of the transversus abdominus and how to activate it was a fantastic lesson and I suspect we shall all be more careful in our teaching of "abdominal/diaphragmatic/central breathing" as a result. The next challenge will be funding such a great piece of kit!! We recommend that any who missed this, try to get copies of his talk and his references.
Janice Chapman delivered as always with a wonderful finale of using puffy cheeks as a helpful deconstriction technique when singing and we joyously sung out the day to Jerusalem (jam omitted)!
Many thanks to Yvonne Morley and the VCN team from our own little interdisciplinary team for a day we enjoyed so much. Lots for us to take forward – a true sign of a really great course!