Classes

Voice Classes are here! These have been a delight to present, and I’m pleased to have more and more options. We are currently offering trans voice teacher training, but we also offer:
Transmasc masterclass
Transfemme masterclass
Upper register singing
LGBTQ singing technique
Singing on T

Please contact us to be on the wait list for any of these classes when we offer them next!

https://www.outsavvy.com/event/30509/trans-voice-teacher-training

Trans voice teacher training

An in-depth course about teaching trans voices, whether you’re providing gender-affirming care, singing lessons, acting lessons, or medical care. This course is suitable for trans community practitioners, voice coaches, and SLP/SLT/ENT practitioners alike; we’ll all learn together. We’ll cover the how and the why, with voice techniques, teaching techniques, community knowledge, lesson observations, and practical exercises with feedback throughout. 

Lessons will be on zoom, with recordings of main classes, notes, and further reading available to all participants. There will be further small group practice sessions at various times, to allow participants from different time zones. Upon successful completion certificates of achievement will be awarded.

Bursary spots are available for trans POC, to address their historical lack of representation in both voice teaching and queer spaces. Email londontranschoir@gmail.com 

12 Monday evenings from 7-9pm GMT, starting Feb 2, with extra practise groups. Recordings available!

Main class outline:

Week 1: Introductions, basics, why?

  • Who is in the room? Getting to know each other and setting expectations
  • Why this course? Why today? Setting intentions for the course
  • Side quests, practice groups, and other practicalities
  • Vocal anatomy and function basics, so that we’re all starting on the same page

Week 2: What is a masculine/feminine voice anyway?

  • Group warmup, with a chat about the how and why
  • Breaking down resonance, pitch, vocal fold weight, inflection
  • Listening to different voices and analysing what we hear
  • Understanding bright/dark resonance, with exercises

Week 3: Vocal fold weight

  • Group warmup, with a chat about the how and why
  • Understanding vocal fold weight, with exercises
  • Experimenting with different combinations of bright/dark and heavy/light

Week 4: Pitch please

  • Group warmup
  • How important is pitch in the perception of vocal gender?
  • Practical exercises for raising or lowering
  • Experimenting with different combinations of pitch/resonance/weight
  • Pitch measuring apps, tone deafness, and how to talk about self monitoring

Week 5: How did we get here?

  • Group warmup
  • What T does and doesn’t do to voices in puberty and as adults
  • Nature v nurture; what reads as masculine/feminine in different accents and languages
  • Understanding inflection/prosody in context
  • Experimenting with layering different qualities, analysing more diverse voices

Week 6: Who are we teaching?

  • General awareness about the trans community, trans joy, boundaries for cis practitioners
  • Celebrating trans icons
  • Co-occurring conditions, and how they’re woven into our community practice

Week 7: How are we teaching?

  • Co-occurring conditions, and how they affect learning
  • Technical precision v abstract images; are we all saying the same thing?
  • Managing cognitive load

Week 8: Trauma informed practice, with Tanaka Mhishi

  • How does trauma present itself, and what can we do to help regulate
  • How can we protect ourselves from harm when we empathise deeply
  • Where does our duty of care start, and where does it end

Week 9: Singing voices on T

  • How to sing through a voice change without harm
  • Setting expectations for voice changes
  • Practical exercises for every step

Week 10: Upper register singing

  • Can lower voices learn to sing high safely?
  • Where is the overlap between speaking and singing voice?
  • Practical exercises

Week 11: Side quests

  • Presentation of individual assignments and discussion

Week 12: Wrapping up

  • A short written test to evaluate how well we have explained things
  • Space for final questions
  • Reflection and further goals – what do we still need to learn?

Practical groups:

An extra hour of small group instruction each week where participants will demonstrate exercises learned, practise modifying for different circumstances, and ask for help/feedback as needed

Side Quests:

A 5-10 minute presentation on a related subject of your choice, either chosen from a list provided or independently (please check with an instructor that your choice is appropriate)

Learning material:

Written supplements will be given or recommended for each topic taught, and participants will have an opportunity to watch recordings of 1:1 lessons to see practical outcomes

About your teachers:

Stephen Davidson founded London Trans Choir in 2017 and has been working with trans voices of all kinds ever since. As a trained actor and musician, he brings a dynamic and flexible approach to voice work for all voice types. Through his work with The Tavistock and Portman Gender Clinic, Trans Choir, Love Tank, and with actor/singers from beginner to West End levels, he has worked with every voice type under the sun. A leading authority on transmasculine voice, he released his third book,“The Transmasculine Voice: A Guide To Vocal Euphoria”in 2024

Stephen trained initially as a musician in Canada (BMus UBC, MMus McGill), before moving to the UK in 2010. He has additionally studied the Estill method, a wide range of vocal and musical styles, and is a qualified massage therapist. He is also a trained actor, and has been teaching and directing improvised theatre since 2014 (more about theatre here). He sings in the all trans barbershop quartet The Transposers, and loves to perform. His own vocal journey as a trans man who acts and sings was long and tumultuous, and he loves having the opportunity to help others ease the way.

Mary Moos is a speech and language therapist who has been working in the NHS providing collaborative gender affirming voice therapy sessions since receiving her Master’s from UCL in 2018. She works from a lived experience perspective both as a passionate explorer of voice and as a neurodivergent trauma survivor. With a background as a singer-songwriter, she has particular interests in singing voice and expressing queer identity in voice. She is devoted to helping people develop a positive and empowered relationship with their voices.

She has additionally accrued skills from The Voice Explained (Estill) and Christina Shewell’s Voice Skills, as well as completing a Counselling Skills certificate from City Lit.