About Session
Essential Techniques for the Older Singer
My doctoral research gave statistically significant evidence that vocal competency in mature female singers can be maintained. My postdoctoral work has focussed on developing the findings into a teaching programme for singers over 40 and on. The programme includes tenets from musicology, bel canto, research and experience.
The training falls into 3 phases:
1. Prehabilitation
a. Prehabilitation is proactive training — building strength, flexibility, and coordination so that age-related changes have far less impact when they do occur.
b. Singers learn strategies to enable them to incorporate this work into everyday life, using their voices as frequently as possible.
2. Habilitation
a. Ongoing training to maintain vocal function at its best. This is where technique becomes embedded and is applied consistently in all singing activities.
b. The method involves training the singer to incorporate technique alongside learning music.
3. Rehabilitation
a. Sometimes life gets in the way. Illness, stress, grief, or a long break from singing can all affect the voice as well as on-going age-related changes. This phase is about restoring what’s been lost — gently, expertly, and with full understanding of each singer’s individual circumstances.
These comprehensive strategies enable singers to have a real understanding of how their voices work and how to use them efficiently.
