Interactions between voice clinics and singing teachers: A report on the British Voice Association questionnaire to voice clinics in the UK

Abstract

Singers with vocal problems are among patients who present at multidisciplinary voice clinics led by Ear Nose and Throat consultants and laryngologists or speech and language therapists. However, the development and care of the singing voice are also important responsibilities of singing teachers. We report here on the current extent and nature of interactions between voice clinics and singing teachers, based on data from a recent survey undertaken on behalf of the British Voice Association. A questionnaire was sent to all 103 voice clinics at National Health Service (NHS) hospitals in the UK. Responses were received and analysed from 42 currently active clinics. Eight (19%) clinics reported having a singing teacher as an active member of the team. They were all satisfied with the singing teacher's knowledge and expertise, which had been acquired by several different means. Of 32 clinics without a singing teacher regularly associated with the team, funding and difficulty of finding an appropriate singing voice expert (81% and 50%, respectively) were among the main reasons for their absence. There was an expressed requirement for more interaction between voice clinics and singing teachers, and 86% replied that they would find it useful to have a list of singing teachers in their area. On the matter of gaining expertise and training, 74% of the clinics replying would enable singing teachers to observe clinic sessions for experience and 21% were willing to assist in training them for clinic-associated work.