- Uncovering the Voice Foundational Course #1 Summer 2023

Awakening to the Breath

My name is Shannon Boyce and whether you love to sing, or long to sing, I would like to invite you to join me on a journey to discover the transformative healing power of singing.

As a trained singer, teacher, and founder of A Supple Voice singing school, I bring a creative mix of anthroposophically inspired singing (Werbeck Singing - The School of Uncovering the Voice), insights from traditional vocal pedagogy, and a creative understanding of healthy embodiment to support you in singing your soul into life. I also support Waldorf Teachers who find that singing is not their strongest skill set to feel more confident in singing to bring into the classroom.

A Supple Voice singing school offers a series of transformative foundational singing courses taught conveniently online. The first course starts with how to develop an understanding of the breath and how to work with it appropriately for the consciousness of the times we are living in today. This then leads to an understanding of the musical sound in foundational course number two, and then onto an understanding of integrating the speech sounds into singing in foundational course number three. Plus, more advanced courses to widen and expand the voice, understand the polarities in the voice, and reflection in the voice.

Shannon Boyce certified Uncovering the Voice teacher,

will offer Foundational Course #1

“Awakening to the Breath”

online this summer starting June 19th 2023.

Read below for more details.

New Students are welcome!

No previous experience is required.

All are welcome, whether you love to sing or long to sing.

There are multiple sessions offered to cover different time zones.

This course is offered live online to those who are interested in exploring “Uncovering the Voice”, an artistic impulse first developed by Mrs. Valborg Werbeck-Svärdström under the guidance of Rudolf Steiner.

In this work, the singer and the process of singing are viewed holistically, inviting the singer to pursue a deeper self-awareness through moving with confidence and joy toward discovering his or her own voice, with the aim of the natural opening and balance of the voice.

It is a gentle process, and the voice is never pushed along but develops slowly through the engagement and active participation of the singer, who gains a deeper understanding and manifestation of the truly free voice.

A wide range of specific singing exercises will be developed together with a comprehensive study of Chapter 8 of Werbeck's book, "Uncovering the Voice: The Cleansing Power of Song". Werbeck calls this chapter, "Exercises to Forget the Breathing". Click Here to see her book.

The course will be offered online over 4 weeks broken into 12 lessons. All lessons are also recorded and available for later viewing should you need to miss a live session or if it works better in your schedule to take the course through watching the videos.

The course includes

♫  Three 2-hour online group lessons per week a total of 12 lessons over four weeks. See the schedule below. There will be a 15-minute break during each lesson.
♫  To help accommodate multiple schedules and time zones, there are two sections of the course.
   ♫ Section I is from 7:30am-9:30 am Eastern time
   ♫ Section II is from 7:30 pm-9:30 pm Eastern time.
   ♫ For deeper study and practice, one is welcome to repeat a session if your schedule allows and you
will have access to all the lesson recordings.

Week One - June 19 (Monday), 20 (Tuesday), 21 (Wednesday)
You choose 7:30-9:30 am Eastern Time and/or 7:30-9:30 pm Eastern Time
Week Two - June 26 (Monday), 27 (Tuesday), 28 (Wednesday)
You choose 7:30-9:30 am Eastern Time and/or 7:30-9:30 pm Eastern Time

♫ NO Class July 4th (US Holiday) ♫
Week Three - July 3 (Monday), 5 (Wednesday), 6 (Thursday)
You choose 7:30-9:30 am Eastern Time and/or 7:30-9:30 pm Eastern Time

Week Four - July 10 (Monday), 11 (Tuesday), 12 (Wednesday)
You choose 7:30-9:30 am Eastern Time and/or 7:30-9:30 pm Eastern Time

All Group lessons are recorded for you to watch if you need to miss a live class, take the course asynchronously, or review a lesson for extra practice.

♫ Two private 45-minute lessons, to be scheduled over the four weeks.

A link to the lesson calendar for scheduling your two sessions will be available to you on the confirmation page when you register.

All private one on one lessons should be scheduled at least two weeks apart and be completed by July 14, 2023. With 24 hours notice, provisions can be made for rescheduling as needed through out the course should something come up. Hey life happens.

♫Includes Group Membership to the growing exercise library on Sound Cloud.
Recordings of the exercises so you can practice on your own.

Tuition Cost $695
Sliding scale available for those living in other parts of the world with a different level of economy than the USA.

Payment plans available.

FAQs

1. What if I can’t attend all sessions?
All lessons are recorded and posted on a private password-protected website where you can view them later in the week for extra practice or make up a session you may have missed.

2. I'm interested, but I’m not sure about doing this online and committing to the full program. Can I have an introductory lesson first?
Yes! Take a free self-paced mini-course or a free online group lesson live with Shannon.

(Check your spam folder if you don't get the email right away.)

FREE GROUP LESSON DATES (Registration link will show up in your timezone.)

Sunday Afternoon, May 7, 2023 at 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM New York EASTERN TIME

Wednesday Evening, May 17, 2023 at 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM New York EASTERN TIME

Sunday Evening, May 21, 2023 at 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM New York EASTERN TIME

Wednesday Afternoon, May 31, 2023 at 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM New York EASTERN TIME

Sunday Evening, June 4, 2023 at 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM New York EASTERN TIME

Saturday Morning, June 10, 2023 at 7:30 AM - 9:00 AM New York EASTERN TIME

Saturday Afternoon, June 17, 2023 at 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM New York EASTERN TIME

Sunday Afternoon, June 18, 2023 at 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM New York EASTERN TIME

Sunday Evening, June 18, 2023 at 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM New York EASTERN TIME

3. Online fatigue is real and two hours seems like a long time, will we be singing the whole time? How will you address this issue?

We will not be singing for the whole two hours. The sessions will go by very quickly as we will be spending part of each lesson reading together and studying Werbeck's book. There will be one 15 min break for each lesson.

While online fatigue is real, the singing exercises bring a counter-balancing effect which helps to build up your life forces. You will also be specifically instructed on how to work with this and use your electronic device strictly as only a tool to counteract and prevent online fatigue. Students are guided on how to set a boundary between themselves and the screen in front of them.

4. How does online singing work? What are the benefits and what are the drawbacks?

At its core, the benefits of this online course are the same as if you attended live in person. You will receive the same rich content that Werbeck has to teach us and learn the healing benefits of The School of Uncovering the Voice exercises. My objective as a teacher working with students online is to maintain the integrity of the work as no different than if we were working together in the same physical classroom.

The biggest drawback is that we don't get to be in the same room together balancing our listening to each other. So the listening experience will be different. However, I have been teaching online this way for over 5 years and I have found ways to help students still deepen their listening experiences even in their own living space being online at home. An added bonus is that those who could never give up a week's worth of time to travel and attend can now learn the exercises from the comfort of your own home and save on travel costs.

Testimonials from other online students

"I am so very grateful to Shannon Boyce for her thorough and thoughtful guidance through a unique and profound way of experiencing a return to what really must be our inborn connection to our true, natural voice. With her compassionate way of teaching and her years of experience as well as her passion for Werbeck's way of understanding what singing is on all levels of being, she helped us feel our way back to a profound human gift that is there waiting to be rediscovered."

"I have noticed a change in my breathing. Not only is my breathing more natural, deeper in a non pushed way, but I notice that I really trust that the breath will be there now, which makes me more relaxed when I'm singing."

"This course could not have come at a better time. It provided so much hope and joy in singing during a time where singing together in person has not been possible. Shannon is an enthusiastic and clear teacher. Highly recommended."

"The strength of this course is not only the material, but also Shannon's obvious dedication to the work. It's so helpful that she has clearly practiced the material for so long and integrated it so well, but that she also makes it clear in what she says while teaching and that she considers herself to be on the journey with us. That attitude makes me feel psychologically like the work is possible for me too. Also, her sense of humor is gold!

"I felt at some point that my voice had become more stable. There is more buoyancy in my singing, a new lightness. There is enough air to reach higher tones without straining."

"Shannon's metaphors and the way of describing the feeling we were looking to relax into were all a wonderful window into what we were being introduced to. The exercises themselves are just amazing! Shannon years of study allows her to bring the exercises in a living, breathing way! "