Managing Vocal Health: The human instrument (textbook)

A voice is only as good as its health – and, especially in training, where the voice is inherently stressed, there is no more important set of distinctions to notice and respond to than maintaining vocal health.

In Managing Vocal Health, a text written by a variety of professionals (otolaryngologists, speech therapists, singers), you guide your students on a tour of what can go wrong, how to notice the difference, and what to do to take care of their voices. The media components of the platform completely come into play in understanding the health of the voice, where diagnosis make sense with visualizations from our animated videos: Breath, Vocal Folds, Vocal Tract, Resonance, and The Human Voice, which gives you smooth continuity from the much-loved media material to hands-on teaching material. All of it adds to a sense of mastery.

Click here to view the Table of Contents for Managing Vocal Health.

This text begins with a discussion of vocal health and moves quickly into the issues of maintaining vocal health – such matters as hydration, sleep, even a chart of prescription drugs and their effects on the voice. Who would have thought how ibuprofen can affect the voice?

The discussion goes on to include vocal fatigue and healthy practicing and performing, including keen observations on warming up. These discussions help you give your students a well-rounded view of taking care of their voices while they train – a benefit made much more relevant with the integrated media views of the voice.

The text then moves into how to know when something is wrong, when to refer a student to an otolaryngologist, when to wait, what to expect when you do, and how to prepare for the doctor.

It discusses the many different kinds of examinations and what they reveal. It explores the range of vocal problems, their causes, and the different therapies and surgeries that are available for them – all important information for vocal pedagogy students to know.

What follows in the final third of the text are eight case histories, fully developed, from a wide range of voices and careers, including an outdoor theater performer; a studio, stage, and lounge singer; a musical theater performer; a rock band singer; an adolescent singer; a classically trained singer; a multitalented entertainer; and an operatic superstar. Each case describes the evaluation, the interventions, and the return to performing. With such a wide variety – typical of singers in almost always unique careers – you give your students an informed, well-written, and relevant set of stories to hold in mind, grounding them in rich awareness of vocal health while teaching voices.

To see how Managing Vocal Health fits into the larger multimedia learning platform, click on the following link:

Multimedia Learning Platform