Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of students majoring in vocal music and theatre regarding the instruction they receive in their undergraduate curricula on voice health education. Methods: A survey was adapted from a previous study, Beeman (2016), with permission by the author. The survey was disseminated to undergraduate vocal music and theatre majors across the United States via SurveyMonkey®, an online survey tool. Results: Students perceived receiving knowledge on vocal health from their voice teachers, however they reported low levels of vocal hygiene compliance. Additionally, students recognized the connection between the singing and speaking voice, and they were unclear of the role of the speech-language pathologist in voice. Conclusion: The disconnect between vocal health knowledge and student compliance of vocal hygiene strategies, requires further investigation. Utilizing the voice care team, specifically the speech-language pathologist, to educate both the voice teachers and the students on best practices, is imperative.

Good vocal health is a vital concern for those people who use the voice in a professional capacity, such as teachers, singers, actors, clergymen, and lawyers. Research in the area of vocal health reveals the need to determine if specific exercises are beneficial to the voice and if exercises used to train the singing voice might be beneficial to alleviate pathological and/or dysfunctional voice disorders. The purpose of this study was to describe the response of a variety of pathological voices to a selected set of singing exercises. Subjects were selected from the private practice of cooperating physicians who felt that the vocal instruction and exercise program might be helpful to the teachers, students, professional "pop" singers, and housewife-singers who were diagnosed to have muscle tension dysphonia, nodules, recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis, or iatrogenic dysphonia. Instrumentation for assessing conditions before, during, and after exercise included a brief case history, subject interviews, attending physicians' medical charts, flexible fiberoptic video nasolaryngoscopy, video cassette recorder and video tape segments, three physician/observers, and a specific diagnostic procedure which provided a method of assessing organic, functional, and perceptual variables. For the exercise program the researcher chose seven vocalises from the routine designed by Allan R. Lindquest, whose techniques combined those of the Italian school with those of Swedish studios which produced such singers as Flagstad and Bjoerling. The seven vocalises included a warm up "massage" and exercises for separation and blending of the registers, vowel clarity and modification, tone focus, vocal attack, and flexibility. Since all the subjects showed improvement after exercise in the vocal conditions observed in this study, these vocalises and technique may be helpful to alleviate pathological conditions and/or dysfunctional behavior in other subjects. The researcher further suggests that the voice profession investigate the efficiency of other techniques, exercises, and musical vocalises which might bring about positive changes in vocal conditions and behavior.

No description available.

Efter min praktik år 2021 på det gymnasium jag själv studerade vid väcktes det intresse för rösthälsa jag alltid haft, men inte fördjupat mig i. Under praktikperioden träffade jag på ett flertal tjejer med mer eller mindre allvarliga röstproblem och det berörde mig att det fortfarande såg ut så, då jag under gymnasietiden också hade klasskompisar med röstproblem som förhindrade dem att delta i undervisningen. Studiens forskningsfråga formulerades på följande sätt för att söka förståelse angående vad som orsakar unga kvinnors röstproblem: Vilka biologiska och rösttekniska faktorer till röstproblem hos en ung kvinnlig sångerska framträder i forskning som väsentliga att beakta i sång- och musikundervisning? För att besvara forskningsfrågan utförde jag en systematisk litteraturstudie med kvalitativ ansats. Datainsamlingen gjordes från två databaser, JSTOR och EBSCO, vilket slutligen genererade totalt 12 vetenskapliga artiklar. Dokumenten analyserades och kodades först inom två huvudsakliga kategorier och sedan inom tio underkategorier. Resultatet visade att faktorerna är av komplex karaktär och att det oftast är en ansamling av faktorer som orsakar att en ung kvinnlig sångerska får röstproblem, men att konsekvenser av målbrottet och överansträngning var de, i litteraturen, oftast förekommande. Studien är utformad att ge en generell överblick över de biologiska och rösttekniska faktorer som tas upp i den utvalda litteraturen då tidigare forskning ofta är fördjupad i en eller några av faktorerna. En sammanställning, som jag försökt göra här, kan vara mer lättillgänglig och användbar i en musikpedagogs yrkesliv när denne möter en elev med röstproblem och inte har tid eller möjlighet att ge sig in i litteraturen för att börja hjälpa till.

The purpose of this treatise is to investigate the efficacy of vocal warm-ups/vocalises and their role in teaching vocal technique and health for the solo singer. In addition, it will provide a brief history of vocalises and methods of the “Bel Canto” era. Current literature addresses warm-ups for choral ensembles and choral singers. It does not adequately address solo/individual warm-ups and their impact on vocal technique, health and performances. Laryngologists and voice professionals were interviewed to better understand the role of vocalises in the study of voice and professional performance. These interviews were conducted in person, by telephone and via electronic mail correspondence. Voice teachers and singers were surveyed on their current vocal warm-up practices both in the voice studio and in performance. Surveys are to be administered in three ways: 1) hard copy surveys delivered at the National Association of Teachers of Singing National Conference 2008; 2) selected nationally known teachers and singers received via ground mail a copy of the survey; 3) an online survey. This study was directed to obtain answers to the following questions: 1) Is there a standard methodology for vocal warm-ups?; 2) If so, how has this methodology evolved over time?; 3) What is the current use of vocal warm-ups and vocalises by voice instructors and professional voice users?; 4) How does the use of vocal warm-ups and vocalises influence the effectiveness of vocal performance?; 5) Does the use of vocal warm-ups or vocalises contribute to the health of the singer, thus resulting in an excellent vocal performance?; 6) Does practicing vocal warm-ups or vocalises have a positive effect on overall vocal health? This study aims to broaden the current understanding of vocalises and their impact on the teaching and performing of classical voice. / text

No description available.

No description available.

After an intense period of concerts and projects that involved learning large quantities of new music I realized that I often got vocally tired when learning music. I have always been a quick learner but my method of learning has not always been beneficial for my vocal health. In this project I have explored new ways of learning music in which I prioritize vocal health. I have deepened my understanding of the vocal mechanism and experimented with vocal exercises as a part of learning repertoire. Making and listening to recordings of my repertoire and working sessions has helped me to hone my approach. I worked with two pieces of repertoire, spending three weeks on each piece, and focused on different parts of the learning process every week. After completing the work with each piece I chose a few of the recordings to show my singing teacher and a small group of my singing colleagues. This led to meaningful discussions that took my work further. This project has helped me to practice efficiently without becoming vocally tired, created a bridge between repertoire work and vocal technique, and increased the quality of my everyday work as a classical singer.

This study investigated the associations between sleep patterns and singing voice quality in 231 adult singers of various skill levels across the United States. The four-part survey using a general questionnaire on demographics, musical background, vocal health, and three established survey instruments: the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Singing Voice Handicap Index-10 (SVHI-10), and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) found that while scores were worse than normative values for the PSQI and the SVHI-10, a Pearson correlation between the two showed a moderate association. A linear regression also yielded that 8.9% of the variance in SVHI-10 scores could be predicted from PSQI scores. While further research is needed in this area, this study suggests that the amount of sleep needed for an optimal singing voice may be different from the amount needed to feel well-rested for some singers. Moreover, singers may overestimate the influence of sleep on their singing voices.

In this study, I examined the awareness, perceptions of required knowledge, and perceived competency of Texas secondary choral music educators concerning the new musician health objectives included in the revised Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards (TEKS). A secondary purpose of this study was to identify the activities and variables that promote the development of these characteristics and prepare educators to address the standards in their instruction. Using a researcher-designed web-based survey instrument, I gathered data from participants who were actively teaching choir in secondary public schools in the state of Texas (N = 183). As part of the survey, participants reported the highest degree they had attained and field of study, the completion of choral methods and vocal pedagogy courses during their training, participation in professional development, and years of teaching experience. Findings revealed that a majority of participants (53.01%) were not aware of the health-related standards prior to taking the survey. A majority also did not consider each objective as required curricular components (hydration: 69.95%, vocal health: 39.89%, body mechanics: 61.75%, hearing protection: 68.85%, hygienic practice: 69.96%). Participants did rate themselves highly for perceived competency, a measure including adherence to competent practices and views of personal ability. There were no statistically significant main effects observed for any variable on awareness and perceptions of knowledge. I did observe significant main effects of degree level and major, professional development participation, and completion of a choral methods course for measures of perceived competency.