Defining Trauma-Aware Voice Pedagogy with Recommendations for Practice

Abstract: There is increasing interest in how to define and practice trauma-informed voice pedagogy. Voice teachers sometimes feel a need to react to trauma-related responses during lessons or to contextualize interactions between trauma experience and voice use, yet clear guidance on defining and implementing trauma-informed voice teaching is not routinely available. This paper includes an overview of trauma-informed practice and discusses implications for voice pedagogy, specifically singing teaching. It offers recommendations for singing teacher practice, with the aim of identifying and underlining teacher responsibilities regarding reasonable and ethical trauma-aware approaches to voice pedagogy.