In this modern scientific age, we know a lot about how the voice works, but what really matters to the singer is “How do I get it to work really well?” Fortunately, there is a long tradition of voice training that developed intuitively, in the 17th century, based on results and experience. 

The Bel Canto period of Italian opera that flourished from the mid-18th to the early 19th century is based on that system of vocal pedagogy. Beautiful voices have been around for a long time, which proves that an intuitive, results-based approach is valuable. Science and knowledge can inform intuition, but it is the singer’s direct, intimate connection with their voice that makes singing possible and enjoyable.

Cornelius L. Reid was a 20th century voice teacher who researched the old methods while also grounding his approach in anatomy, physiology and acoustics. While scientific understanding tells us a great deal about how the voice works, we are still left with questions of how we get it to work optimally well. Methods that try to manipulate the vocal organs consciously seem to have very limited success. 

Breathing techniques are often used to activate the muscles that “open the throat”. This can bring quick and dramatic results for some students. It did for me, but after a few years spent working that way my throat still wanted to constrict on high notes. Once I began to address issues within my voice’s “registration”, those constrictions began to fall away. It’s not that breathing techniques are wrong. They just don’t take care of everything.

On the other hand, since those little muscles in the throat work mostly below our awareness and control, we may resort to somewhat poetic language that is intended to influence our singing. These more metaphorical approaches can be useful, but Reid’s more direct methods address the central issues of vocal production in the larynx (aka the voice box) and the pharynx (throat). He tackles the thorny problem that control of the larynx and throat is mostly unconscious. 

What, then, are the tools we can use to reliably improve the strength and coordination of these instinctive vocal organs?

Functional Voice Training is a name that has been given to the school of thought that arose from Reid’s work. In order to give you a concise and accessible description of this, I offer the following set of articles. This is not an exhaustive treatise, and there is an endless variety of exercises, tips and tricks that we can apply according to the student’s individual voice. Here, I have mentioned a small slice of what’s possible. There are other resources available for those who wish to explore further.

Admittedly, this set of articles still gets a bit technical at times. I’ve done my best to keep it readable with a balance between detail and relatability, but there may be holes in my descriptions that could be explained better. Please help me improve this resource with your comments when points aren’t clear, don’t make sense, or simply need more context and information.

I have drawn heavily from the writings of Cornelius Reid, plus the five years I spent studying with Ken Nielsen, one of his colleagues, in Calgary, Alberta. Ken was a wonderful teacher, dedicated to effective vocal pedagogy, who could give you a real voice when others had failed. Sadly, he never wrote a book.  

My current vocal guru is André Clouthier, a fellow student of Ken’s who has become a singing master in his own right.

I’ve also included many of my own subjective observations and hypotheses. Needless to say, any mistakes in this text are completely mine.

With this introduction, let us begin…