Grasping at Straws

 with Dr Lynn Maxfield and Dr Kari Ragan

PURCHASE RECORDING HERE
This event is free for VHE Members and £25 for non-members. 30-days access to the catchup recording is available.
Please note: VHE Members will receive a zoom link via email 24 hours before the event, please check your junk mail. If you have any issues, please email sally@vocalhealth.co.uk.
Purchase RECORDING here!

Grasping at Straws

With Dr Kari Ragan and Dr Lynn Maxfield

Grasping at Straws: A Systematic Approach for Choosing the Winning SOVTE

There is a natural segue to selecting a particular Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract Exercise (SOVTE) through an organizational template of the five voice systems: respiration, phonation, registration, articulation, and resonance. Various diameter straws, tubes immersed in water, Acapella PEP Therapy Device, lip trills, puffy cheeks, pigeon, tongue trills, raspberries, anesthesia mask, fricatives (e.g. /v/, /z/), and nasal continuants (/ŋ/, /n/, /m/) are all examples of SOVTEs.

The principal focus of this interactive workshop will be to demonstrate the diagnosis of a vocal inefficiency based on what a teacher sees and hears and connect that assessment with the choosing the appropriate SOVT. Some SOVTEs, such as voice fricatives /v/ and /z/ could be more effective to help with respiration challenges while nasal continuants /m/, /n/, or /ŋ/ may bring focus to resonance.

Understanding when and how to use a particular SOVTE is imperative to a successful outcome. They are not one size fits all.

Dr Lynn Maxfield

Lynn Maxfield, PhD, is the Associate Director of the National Center for Voice and Speech where, in addition to research activities, he coordinates and teaches at the NCVS’s trademark Summer Vocology Institute. He is also an Assistant Professor (Lecturer) in the University of Utah School of Music, where he teaches courses in voice pedagogy and vocology.
His research has been published in numerous voice-related journals and he currently serves as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Singing, overseeing the “Mindful Voice” column.

Maxfield holds a PhD in voice pedagogy and an MA in voice performance from the University of Iowa. Prior to joining the NCVS, he taught voice and voice science/pedagogy at Eastern Connecticut State University, Knox College, Monmouth College, and Carl Sandburg College.

His opera credits include Tamino and Monastotos in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Sam Polk in Floyd’s Susannah, Orpheus in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, and Guglielmo in Donizetti’s Viva La Mamma.  A champion of new music, Maxfield appeared in an Eastern-Iowa tour of Eric Chasalow’s 2007 opera, The Puzzlemaster and participated in the premier of several new orchestrations of the 26 Italian Songs and Arias by Galesburg, IL composer Daniel Godsil.

Dr Kari Ragan

Kari Ragan is a voice pedagogue, Singing Voice Specialist (SVS), author, and soprano, recognized for her contributions to vocal pedagogy and voice science. She received the prestigious Van L. Lawrence Fellowship in 2012, awarded jointly by The Voice Foundation and the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) for excellence in teaching and voice research. Dr. Ragan holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in vocal performance from the University of Washington, and both a Master and Bachelor of Music from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

Since 2010, Dr. Ragan has been part of the University of Washington’s voice faculty, teaching a range of subjects including vocal pedagogy and diction. She also works with the UW Laryngology Program as an SVS, helping rehabilitate injured singers. Her independent voice studio has thrived for over 40 years, where she specializes in cross-training singers across various genres. Her students have achieved success in opera, musical theatre, and major vocal competitions.

Dr. Ragan is a frequent presenter and workshop leader for numerous esteemed organizations such as NATS, the Pan American Vocology Association (PAVA), and the International Congress of Voice Teachers (ICVT). She co-founded the Northwest Voice Conference and has held leadership roles in several professional organizations. Additionally, she is the author of A Systematic Approach to Voice: The Art of Studio Application, published in 2020, and will serve as voice faculty at the St. Andrews Pedagogy Course in Scotland in 2024. Since 2011, she has moderated NATS Chat, a popular online platform for voice professionals.