Most of us are used to the concept that we go to a voice teacher to find out what we are supposed to do. It turns the brain around a little when you study Estill Voice Training and find out what is possible to do. With a clear understanding of your choices you are better able to confidently control your voice, increase your dynamic range, and adjust voice qualities for expressive or stylistic needs.
By using x-rays, spectrographs, and endoscopic videos where she actually observed the larynx and vocal folds in action, Jo Estill was able to break down the voice into 13 anatomical elements. She was able to clarify how each element effects the sound and power of the voice. The exciting conclusion was how she worked out exercises or "figures" that help us to voluntarily adjust these anatomical elements to get the exact effect we want, within a healthy way of producing a sound.
The most efficient way to learn Estill Voice Training is to attend a Level I & II Workshop where you will learn all 13 elements, how to connect to them, and to combine them into different voice qualities. The information is valuable to Singers, Actors, Speakers, Classroom Teachers, Choir Directors, Voice Teachers. In five days of Powerpoint presentations, videos, activities, break out sessions and open sessions you will receive much more information than you could in a year's worth of weekly voice lessons.
The next opportunity to attend an Estill Voice Workshop Level I & II on the West Coast is August 2-6, in Pismo Beach presented by Judith Dunlore, a Certified Master Teacher and Course Instructor of Estill Voice International.
June 1 2010
THE COUGH DROP AWARD
At the end of each Estill Voice Training Workshop we take some time for the participants to share the important things they learned and how it matches up to their opening expectations. The overwhelming majority always say they are amazed at how much more they learned than what they originally expected.
One baritone at the last summer workshop in Pismo Beach stood up for his turn and ceremoniously presented me with two bags of cough drops. He said that he had come prepared for a week of singing. Singing had always given him soar throats, vocal strain and fatigue. He had been worried about participating for a full 5 days, so he had brought along some “supplies”. He apologized that one of the bags of cough drops had already been opened, but assured me that he had only used one cough drop. He had taken it in preparation for the first session. He said that now that he understands how to anchor the torso to aide in more efficient use of the breath, and how to use the False Vocal Folds to minimize pressure on the True Vocal Folds, he won’t need the cough drops anymore.
Henrietta Carter, Department Chair, Performing Arts Department of Golden West College , summed up her experience by saying:” The Estill Vocal Model reviewed, refreshed, tied together and advanced all of the previous knowledge and skills I had previously gained from a variety of sources”.
Endorsements from credentialed figures are well appreciated, however, the Cough Drop Award is a valued concrete symbol of the effectiveness and efficiency of Estill Voice Training.
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