Sue Jones 1 , Dane Chalfin 1 , Philip Jones 1

1 University Hospital of South Manchester, Speech, Voice and Swallowing, Manchester

Elite vocal performers have very particular requirements with regard to vocal health as they are particularly vulnerable to vocal injury. Lifestyle and vocal demands can lead to sudden vocal difficulties which can threaten their careers. Pressure to continue vocal use despite vocal problems is frequent.

It is essential that these performers have access to expert medical, therapeutic and vocal rehabilitation professionals when they experience vocal difficulties.

In addition many benefit from regular vocal "check-ups" to ensure they remain in good vocal health.This presentation outlines the integrated approach developed at University Hospital of South Manchester, England.

The Elite Vocal Performer Clinic has been developed as an extension of a suite of voice clinic services. It is run by a Consultant Voice Therapist and Vocal Rehabilitation Consultant but has regular input from a Consultant ENT Surgeon as required. Performers can be seen as part of a routine clinic or on an emergency basis as required. Many performers presenting to the clinic have required therapy and/or singing rehabilitation which has been delivered either consecutively or concurrently. Others have required surgical intervention followed by a therapeutic approach.

A small series of cases which have involved the skills of all these professionals in managing elite vocal performers will be presented along with outcomes of these interventions. The importance of working as an integrated team in managing performers successfully is emphasised.

Raija Perko 1

1 University of Jyväskylä, Department of Early Childhood Education, Jyväskylä

Pan European Voice Conference PEVOC8, Dresden 26.-29.8.2009

 

Proposal

 

Raija Perko

Department of Educational Sciences/ Early Childhood Education

P.O. Box 35

FIN-40014 University of Jyväskylä

Finland

Abstract

Raija Perko

Modeling inner mechanisms of leading voice-instrument - voice coaching future pre-school teachers

This presentation aims to introduce practical knowledge of the used voice education strategies while developing voice training courses in teacher training and open new understanding of the mental processes of voice production as a subjective experience. There has not been so much research on mental aspects of voice production as physical aspects in researching human voice. One as a useful tool in modeling and voice coaching  future pre-school teachers I have used Neuro-Linguistic Programming.

I have gathered research material since 1996 while developing voice training courses as a part of my postgraduate studies. In my research on voice coaching one point of view is modeling inner mechanisms of leading voice -instrument. In the process of developing voice coaching the most important factors have been: self reflecting, working with teacher students, studying NLP, and my mentor Vilho Kekkonen who is 100 years old diploma singer, the oldest still concertizing tenor singer in the world after Guinness record book.

The strength of NLP is in the idea of modelling. One can investigate the structure of thinking and if needed to make changes in it.  Robert Dilts (1998) one of the main developers of NLP says that one of the purposes of modeling is to help people to do what they know and to know what they are doing.  NLP is based upon an idea that the processes of human learning, memory, and creativity are a function of programs - neurolinguistic programs that function more or less effectively to accomplish particular objectives or outcomes. We interact with our world through our inner programming.  Dilts´ theoretical model of Logical levels was one of the tools I used modeling and interviewing the leading of a voice-instrument, focussed in speech. 

Future pre-school students´ subjective experiences of individual voice coaching lessons described as it has   been very  useful, important  and  good to get tools to develop  own voice.

 

Geert Berghs 1 , Marianne Avaux 2 , Nena Creylman 2 , Felix de Jong 2

1 singing teacher, , Bussum

2 Lab.Exp.ORL, Dep.ENT, Head and Neck Surgery, Leuven

A professional singer’s life can last a period of over 40 years. It begins most commonly in adolescence and can carry on well over the age of 60. After some 20 years, however, many singers notice a loss of vocal quality, due to the inevitable process of ageing. But some have to quit professional singing before 50, others perform well even over the age of 65. Professional choirs have to deal with groups of elderly singers, who do not perform as they should, but cannot be dismissed, because of social security laws. Singers in free lance choirs know that one day they will not be asked anymore, even after 20 years of hard work, and find themselves jobless. One would like to identify the incidence and severity of vocal problems due to ageing, and know how to influence them. To address this problem a pilot study was done in 50 singers of the Groot Omroepkoor (Dutch Radio Choir). Phonetography, singing voice analysis (PRAAT-analysis), and audiography were carried out, and  a questionnaire was filled in  about further vocal education, weight, life style, etc.

We found that phonetogram parameters as ‘lowest intensity’ and ‘frequency range’ and the ‘Disphonia Severity Index’ correlated  significantly to age, as did the ’Body-Mass Index’. These findings can lead to identifying adequate parameters for the ageing voice, useful in larger groups of professional singers and can give an impression of vocal ageing variables in this group.

Kim Chandler 1

1 London College of Music, Faculty of the Arts, London

Many private singing tutors worldwide are embracing and integrating the objective measurement and biofeedback of various aspects of the singing voice offered by the use of various scientific apparatus into their singing lessons: e.g. spectographic analysis, frequency measurement etc. This author has begun to employ the benefits of using a portable decibel (sound level) meter in the training of  contemporary, professional vocalists who struggle with adjusting either hyperfunctional or hypofunctional voice use in regard to singing acoustically with excessive or restricted volume respectively.

It has been this author's experience that hyperfunctional and hypofunctional singers do not necessarily respond sufficiently to verbal instructions from their teacher to sing more quietly or loudly (a subjective instruction) as these types of clients are often quite out of touch with the reality of what they are doing whilst they are in the process of singing. Despite being only in the early stages of employing this particular strategy in singing training, this author has already discovered that the objectification of the volume being sung afforded by the use of a decibel meter has so far been highly effective in changing more quickly the relative volumes being sung than verbal instructions alone have previously.

For example, an instruction by this author to a singer to hold the decibel meter at a consistent distance from the mouth (e.g. 30 cms) and sing a particular passage from a song at "...at no louder than 85 db" for instance seems to enable the singer to change the sung volume almost immediately to the level desired by the teacher due to the singer having a specific goal and an objectified read out to follow. It is suggested by the author that this particular affordable and easily portable piece of scientific apparatus may have a unique place in this regard in the private singing studio, and is yet another example of the efficient integration of science and vocal pedagogy.