The article "The Speech Pathologist, the Singing Teacher, and the Singing Voice Specialist: Where’s the Line?" by Marina Gilman, John Nix, and Edie Hapner, dissects research findings related to the study of who should be responsible for treating or rehabilitating an individual with a vocal disorder. The research was conducted by sending a survey to the NATS mailing list and a separate survey to 156 speech pathologists.
Speech-language pathologists have the technical knowledge and the accreditation to work on voice disorders but not all work with singers. In fact, only about 2/3 of the surveyed pathologists had vocal experience (music degree, two or more years of private lessons, or professional experience).
On the other hand voice teachers have all the vocal experience but no accreditation, no standard. They don't even have to be apart of NATS. However the biggest reason they can't be considered a singing voice specialist is because they don't have training in pathology.
So what exactly are the qualifications to be a singing voice specialist? Marina Gilman, John Nix, and Edie Hapner believe that "the singing voice specialist should be someone who has knowledge of voice technique, understands the vocal demands of professional singing, and possesses a comprehensive knowledge of voice disorders, including how the disorders impact vocal fold vibration, resonance, and overall function, in addition to clinical management skills". So do any members of the above groups have all of these skills? I think not.
In order to fix the confusion of who is a specialist and who is not it must be decided: what the definition of a singing voice specialist is; what their qualifications must be; and how someone will be certified. And for the well being of all singing voices it is high time to reopen this topic and come to a consensus of what it means to be a singing voice specialist.
This is an interesting topic. I feel like I'm not that upset with the fact that there is a strong divide between Speech-language pathologists and voice teachers. I think the pathologists can use their knowledge and skills to diagnose issues in singers, and voice teachers can continue to use their training to help singers use their voices in a healthy manner. Sure, it would be awesome to have both of those people in 1 body, but I don't feel like it's all that necessary.
ReplyDeleteThis is quite true. When I went through voice problems, the clinic offered trained pathologists for speech therapy. I never had to go because my speaking voice was declared healthy, but I still think it is important to have someone trained as a singer as well to give any therapy of speech.
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting topic. I guess the best thing could be for a person with vocal problems to get advice from all areas, and compile the information given. Hopefully none of the information received will be contradictory!
ReplyDeleteWhile the speaking and singing voices are related, I think it is okay for there to be a sort of divide between the two topics. When someone is sick, they often go to a general doctor and are sent to specialists for a more in-depth diagnosis. So is the same with vocal health. If someone is to develop vocal nodules, for example, from unhealthy singing, a voice teacher cannot make them go away. The speech pathologist deals with the medicinal side, and the voice teacher is responsible for aiding the person in proper technique.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, if I were getting help from a vocal pathologist, I would want him/her to at least understand the differences between speech and singing, to be able to address issues that might not be present in a non-singing patient. I don't think the pathologist would need to be a voice teacher per se, but they would have to have at least some knowledge in that regard for me to feel comfortable.
ReplyDeleteInteresting article. I wish I knew more about the pathology side of the spectrum. I think it might be difficult to teach a voice student effectively if they had a speaking impediment and I didn't know anything about how it effected their speaking voice.
ReplyDeleteI personally think that if I was going to put my entire focus on teaching solo voice, I would want to put a lot of energy into understanding vocal pathology. While it's obviously not required to be a voice teacher, I feel like it makes you a more well-rounded teacher when you understand the mechanics of what's going on all around.
ReplyDeleteI would love to find a grad school that combines all these topics. Where to people go to school to specialize in Vocal Performance, Vocal Pathology, ENT stuff etc.? Is the NCVS in Utah the only place? I guess you have to specialize in a lot of things to really be best at your job but then your career would be very lined out for you.
ReplyDeleteI think it's okay that there is a divide between voice teachers/specialists and speech-language pathologists. Both are very technical areas of studying and are yes, sometimes related but are both very different and I find it better that a professional is more well versed in one area. However, it would be nice if they just knew absolutely everything of both fields but that would just require way too much of one person.
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