About the LoVetri Institute for Somatic Voicework™ Levels

Upcoming LoVetri Institutes

In most years, the LoVetri Institute for Somatic Voicework™ Levels I - III are offered in the summer, and Level 1 is offered online in winter. (Note: seasons refer to the US calendar.)

Dates and information about the winter session of the LoVetri Institute will be provided soon. Please check back or subscribe to our mailing list to be notified when information is available.

The LoVetri Institute is offered exclusively in partnership with Baldwin Wallace University.

Sessions are held either online or on the Baldwin Wallace campus in winter and the summer of each year. (Note: seasons refer to the US calendar.)

The LoVetri Institute offers three tiered courses, each required before the next, to teach Somatic Voicework™. Learners must complete the courses in order, but you may repeat each level if desired. After completing all three base levels, learners may move on to advanced programs.

Participants must complete each level before proceeding to the next, and advanced programs are available only to graduates of Levels I - III.

Currently, only Level I is offered during the winter session. Levels I through III and advanced programs are offered in the summer session.

Base Levels of the LoVetri Institute for Somatic Voicework™

The base levels of the LoVetri Institute include the following:
(Note that not all levels are offered in every session.)

Level I is called “Basic Application” and includes the following: introduction to functional principles of voice science and medicine. It guides singing teachers to enhance their own qualities as the “building blocks” of The LoVetri Method. It looks at terminology and at objectively describing vocal behavior. It also addresses attitude, intention and appropriateness of the interaction between student and teacher. Level I states that the teacher must have a clear intention for the vocal exercise when it is given. The teacher must know (a) either what is missing and needs to be added or (b) what is wrong and needs to be corrected, such that the student’s singing will somehow improve. It rests on vocal function, vocal health, and on traditional pedagogy, but it is also meant to help singers be marketable. There will be a vocal health lecture to instruct the teacher how to listen functionally, to hear aural distinctions and relate them to responses.

Level I Learning Objectives:

Participants will be able to describe methods for effective communication with singers and singing teachers.
Participants will be able to describe musical vocal production, the way in which stylistic parameters impact voice production, the relationship between speaking and singing voice production, music industry terminology, and industry expectations for voicing style and vocal load.
Participants will demonstrate that they are able to listen “functionally” to singers’ voices both from a vocal health and a musical perspective, including the distinction between hypo- and hyper-functional singing in Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM).
Participants will demonstrate the ability to assess the intention/purpose for any given sung vocal exercise.

Level II is called “Advanced Application” and is largely devoted to exploring how singing exercises work, what they do and why. It examines the age, background, and desires of the students and how those things relate to the teaching process. It enhances the teacher’s ability to evaluate the students in terms of vocal behavior and aptitude. In Level II, the teacher acquires greater skill in choosing exercises that are appropriate and adjusting them to meet the level of ability of the student at any given point. There is also greater exploration of the many CCM styles, examining performance aspects that may impact vocal health. The main objective of Level II is understanding how to use vocal exercises functionally.

Level II Learning Objectives:

Participants will be able to describe teachers’ rationales for choosing specific voice exercises in the singing environment and also how to evaluate the functional appropriateness of those exercises for individual patients.
Participants will be able to evaluate singers’ vocal responses in the context of age, background, past vocal training, and natural aptitude.
Participants will be able to verbalize at least two distinct ways in which specific Contemporary Commercial Music singing styles interact with vocal health.
Participants will demonstrate basic competence in guiding a sample student through a sequence of Somatic Voicework™ singing exercises with supervision by LoVetri Institute faculty.

Level III addresses “Repertoire, Problem Solving, and Voice Medicine”. It will feature a music theater expert who will conduct a master class in audition skills with chosen participants. Level III also touches upon acting for Music Theater and provides an excellent and quick approach to teach pitch matching for anyone with that problem. It promotes interdisciplinary interchange, i.e., the need for fellowship with Speech Language Pathologists and Medical Doctors. It also supports the idea that teachers should acquire the ability to read, understand, and possibly even undertake research of interest to those in voice disciplines.

Level III Learning Objectives:

Participants will be able to verbalize at least two considerations for communicating and collaborating with their patients’ singing teachers to support their progress during therapy and transition back to the lesson environment on discharge
Participants will be able to state at least two potential impacts of vocal disease processes, injuries, medications, and phonosurgery on singing voice function.
Participants will be able to verbalize at least two physiologic voicing demands that are specific to singing at the professional level in the Broadway environment.