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Vocalogy

Somatic Voicework™

Voice training that begins with how the voice actually functions

The voice is part of the body.

So when we work with the voice, we are not simply listening for a better sound. We are paying attention to how that sound is being produced: how the vocal mechanism is coordinating, what the singer or speaker can feel and hear, where unnecessary effort may be occurring, and what changes when we alter the task.

At Vocalogy, Somatic Voicework™ – The LoVetri Method provides an important foundation for this work.

It gives us a practical, function-based way to train the voice while helping the person using it develop greater awareness of what they are actually doing.

What is Somatic Voicework™?

Somatic Voicework™ – The LoVetri Method is a system of vocal pedagogy developed by internationally recognised voice teacher Jeanie LoVetri.

The method is organised around vocal function and informed by voice science and vocal health. It places particular importance on physical and aural perception, kinaesthetic awareness, self-knowledge and the individual artistic needs of the singer. It is widely associated with Contemporary Commercial Music styles, while its functional principles can also be applied more broadly.

Rather than beginning with an ideal sound that every singer should reproduce, the work asks:

What is the voice doing now?

What does this person need to be able to do?

And what vocal function will help them do it?

That way of thinking has profoundly influenced the way we work at Vocalogy.

Function Before Formula

Two singers may produce a similar sound for completely different reasons.

Two people may also need completely different exercises to develop what appears, on the surface, to be the same vocal skill.

That is why functional voice training requires observation.

01 We listen.
02 We notice.
03 We experiment.
04 We observe what changes.

An exercise is not valuable simply because it is a “good vocal exercise”. Its value depends on what it is asking the voice to do and whether that is what this particular person needs at this particular moment.

This is one reason Somatic Voicework™ fits so naturally within the wider Vocalogy approach.

At Vocalogy, we call this:

Recognition → Understanding → Choice

Before we try to correct something, we first need to recognise what is actually happening.

Three Ways Somatic Voicework™
Changes Voice Training

01

Develop greater vocal awareness

Many people know what they want their voice to do but have difficulty recognising what they are doing to produce it.

Somatic Voicework™ develops both listening and physical awareness.

You may begin to notice differences in:

  • effort
  • registration
  • resonance
  • vowel production
  • breath coordination
  • movement
  • physical sensation
  • the ease or difficulty of a vocal task

The aim is not to become preoccupied with every sensation.

It is to develop enough awareness to recognise useful information.

That makes it easier to repeat what works — and to notice when something has changed.

02

Train function rather than chase sound

It is easy to become focused on the result:

Make it brighter.

Make it stronger.

Make it higher.

Make it sound more powerful.

But trying to manufacture the desired sound can sometimes introduce unnecessary effort.

Functional voicework looks at a different route.

We explore the vocal coordination that makes the sound possible.

Depending on the person and the goal, that may involve registration, vowels, resonance, airflow, articulation or other aspects of vocal function.

The sound changes because the function changes.

03

Create more choices

Good voice training should not make you dependent on your teacher telling you whether every sound is right or wrong.

Over time, you should become increasingly able to recognise your own patterns.

You might discover:

“I have more than one way to sing this.”

“I know now what was making that sound.”

“The coordination works here but not there.”

“Something has changed today, so I need a different strategy.”

That capacity for recognition is important at Vocalogy because:

Recognition creates choice.

The better you understand your instrument, the more options you have for using it.

Why “Somatic”?

The word somatic refers to the lived experience of the body.

Voice training necessarily involves structures we cannot simply watch in a mirror and consciously manipulate one by one.

We therefore learn partly through sound, sensation, movement and experience.

What happens if the task changes?

What happens if unnecessary effort decreases?

What happens when the vowel changes?

What becomes easier?

What becomes harder?

This kind of exploration allows the person using the voice to participate actively in the learning process.

The teacher is not simply correcting a sound from the outside.

The student is learning to recognise more from the inside.

The Foundation — Not the Whole of Vocalogy

Somatic Voicework™ is extremely important to Vocalogy, but it is useful to be precise about its role.

It is one of the principal foundations of our voice pedagogy.

Vocalogy then asks additional questions.

Why can someone access a coordination easily in one situation and lose it in another?

Why does a familiar pattern keep returning?

What changes when attention, environment or performance demands change?

What else about the person may be relevant to how the voice is being used?

Those questions have led Vocalogy into additional areas of exploration, including neuroscience, learning, somatic practice, clinical hypnotherapy and Asian wellbeing traditions, and ultimately to the development of NeuroVoice® and Jin Shin Voice®.

These perspectives do not replace functional voicework.

They give us additional lenses through which to understand the person using the voice.

Technique is necessary. It is not always the whole story.

Somatic Voicework™ at Vocalogy

We may draw on Somatic Voicework™ principles when working with:

  • singers developing greater vocal flexibility
  • performers working across different musical styles
  • beginners learning how their voices function
  • experienced singers refining established coordinations
  • voice-dependent professionals developing more efficient voice use
  • people experiencing recurring patterns of unnecessary vocal effort
  • performers preparing for demanding repertoire or performance situations

The precise work depends on the person.

There is no single Vocalogy exercise sequence that everyone must follow.

We begin by listening to the voice in front of us.

Voice Training and Voice Healthcare Are Different

Functional voice training can support efficient and skilful voice use, but it does not replace appropriate medical or clinical care.

Somatic Voicework™ at Vocalogy is used as vocal pedagogy, not speech therapy or medical treatment.

Persistent hoarseness, pain, unexplained loss of voice, sudden vocal changes or other potential health concerns may require assessment by an ENT, laryngologist, speech-language therapist or other appropriately qualified healthcare professional.

Part of responsible voice teaching is recognising when voice teaching is appropriate — and when another professional should be involved.

Begin With the Voice. Pay Attention to the Person.

Somatic Voicework™ gave Vocalogy something fundamental:

A way of working with the voice that begins with function while inviting the person using it to become an active observer of their own instrument.

That principle remains at the centre of our work today.

Listen. Notice. Understand. Experiment.

Because before we decide what needs changing, we need to recognise what is already happening.

Explore the Wider Vocalogy Approach

Discover how functional voicework sits within Vocalogy's person-first approach — and how Somatic Voicework™, Jin Shin Voice® and NeuroVoice® contribute different perspectives to our work.

Explore Our Approach →