The Breaking Free Conversation

Join our hosts as they take us through their thoughts on breaking free. As you’ll hear, the conversation develops into whether we break free from, or break free in to new habits, behaviours and spaces.This episode is a precursor to the breaking free conference listed below. Booking through the vocalhealth.co.uk website.Breaking FreeOne-Day Vocal Health Education Conference9th March, 2025Friends House, 173-177 Euston Rd., London NW1 2BJBreath Support: Breaking Free From One-Size-Fits-All Breath TrainingBreath training has been considered an important component of voice pedagogy for hundreds of years. But what is breath support and does it vary by style, volume, or location in the range? In her keynote speech, Ms. Obert will share what she learned at the intersection of respiratory medicine and otolaryngology during her years of working in a busy voice disorders clinic. She will make the case for teaching singers to work with a variety of breath strategies and teach three of them to the audience during the session.Timbre Shaping: Embracing the “villains” of the vocal tract!The pharyngeal constrictors and tongue are often portrayed as villains, but their role in shaping timbre is vital and frequently misunderstood. In this lecture, Ms. Obert will share her pioneering research into how these structures can be used to enhance high frequency energy to empower singers to create the sounds they want to make.