The Vocal Instrument

Radionoff, Sharon L.

Jun 2008 · Plural Publishing

About this ebook

Within the body lie all the elements (anatomy, physiology and the connection between the mind and body) which are needed to produce sound. Every instrument has a frame. The unique thing about the human vocal instrument is that the body skeleton is the frame. The purpose of this book is to help the voice professional understand this instrument and know how to take care of it. This book defines common problems and discusses how to fix these problems based on the specialization of the voice professional. 

About the author

Dr. Radionoff had early exposure to many kinds of music through church/community choirs, concert/marching band as well as piano study and performance. Her love for music and teaching grew as she studied music in college. Although voice was her main instrument, she continued studies of trombone and piano and performed in recitals, operas, musicals, choirs, bands and orchestras. Upon graduating with her BME from Eastern Michigan University, she became a Middle School/High School band director. During this time, she attended an MENC conference at the University of Michigan where she heard Dr. Robert T. Sataloff lecture on “Care of the Professional Voice.” This one lecture fueled her passion and changed the course of her life and as they say, ‘the rest is history.’ This passion provoked her into knowing not just how to get desired vocal results but what allows these results to occur in the healthiest way. This zeal for voice care continued through her master’s degree study at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and upon graduation she taught a variety of choirs, directed musicals and taught a full studio of voice students at Co-Lin Jr. College and then Southwestern Michigan College. She also directed community and church choirs.

Six years after their initial meeting, Dr. Sataloff invited her to complete a professional fellowship at the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital Arts Medicine Center in Philadelphia, PA. Post fellowship and Ph.D coursework, she became the singing voice specialist at the Texas Voice Center with Dr. C. Richard Stasney. While there she conducted her dissertation research and was awarded her Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 1996. She has taught undergraduate and graduate vocal pedagogy, vocal pathways and studio voice students at University of Houston and vocal pedagogy at Rice University. Currently she is Singing Voice Specialist and Director of the Sound Singing Institute as well as being a team member at the Texas Voice Center.

As a Singing Voice Specialist, Dr. Radionoff has a unique viewpoint in the field of Arts Medicine. Her education and experience as both teacher and performer as well as her motivation to know the why and the how, have created a platform of practical knowledge which enables her to empower singers to find healing and fulfillment.