Vocal health toolkit

Choir directors are often the first port of call for a young singer when they encounter a problem with their voice but it's not always easy to know what to say. This session will equip you to offer up-to-date advice but, even more importantly, will teach you how to work with children to keep their voices healthy as they go through puberty. We'll look at whether it's worth doing vocal warm-ups and cool-downs, what sort of difference staying hydrated can make, and whether it's alright to eat dairy on the day of a concert. In this session, Olivia Sparkhall will cover some vocal anatomy and explain what to look out for with teens going through voice-change, how the monthly cycle can affect girls, and how to help boys through the different stages of their vocal development.

Drawing on his extensive experience of supporting the development of teachers to lead whole school singing, Dr Charles Béquignon-MacDougall returns to abcd to guide us through vocal health for teachers and students in the classroom. The session will explore healthy practices for ensuring vocal longevity and cover exercises for developing vocal stamina, identify some of the most common vocal issues when it comes to school singing and the problems sometimes experienced by those leading it, and offer practical solutions and approaches to use the very next day.

Conductor and vocal coach Joanna Tomlinson leads a session for amateur singers and choral directors on how to look after your voice. We will not only look at day-to-day vocal health, but also consider what to do if there's a vocal problem. We'll look at exercises and how to sing well in rehearsals to protect your voice. We will also consider how conducting gesture affects the way the singers use their voice.

In this training session, Dr Jenevora Williams will outline the changes in the voice as singers move through into their golden years; help your singers to learn about how to reduce effort and increase stamina, how to maintain a healthy singing voice for a lifetime, and how to avoid vocal illness and injury. Get the best results from your choir with expert advice on healthy voice use, coupled with some simple exercises and vocal awareness to help your singers.

Buy all four sessions of the course for a reduced price. You'll receive a link to the playlist of the sessions, along with course resources.