What is Somatic Voicework™ The LoVetri Method?
Somatic Voicework™ The LoVetri Method is an organized
method of vocal training for Contemporary Commercial Music
(CCM) styles, (those styles that used to be called “non-classical”)
based upon somatic (physical) awareness and aural discernment.
The training is presented in three Levels that must be done in
sequence.
Level I is called “Basic Application” and includes the following:
Introduction to functional principles of voice science and
medicine. There will be a vocal health lecture by a nationally
recognized Speech Language Pathologist specializing in care of
the professional voice. The main objective of that lecture is to
instruct teachers how to keep the voice healthy for speech and
singing. Level I also addresses terminology, and its appropriate
use; and the attitude, intention and appropriateness of the
interaction between student and teacher. Level I states that the
teacher must have a clear intention for the vocal exercise when it
is given. The teacher must know (a) either what is missing and
needs to be added or (b) what is wrong and needs to be
corrected, such that the student’s singing will somehow improve.
It rests on vocal function, vocal health and on traditional
pedagogy, but it is also meant to help singers be marketable. Our
next Level I offering is January 15-17, 2022 and is being offered in an Online Format. To register, click here: https://
bwcommunityarts.bw.edu/teacher-education/lovetri-institute/lovetri-institute-january-session/
Level II is called “Advanced Application." The main objective of Level II is understanding how to use vocal exercises functionally,
and is largely devoted to exploring how singing exercises work….what they do and why. It further examines aural perception as
applied to singers of various ability levels and style choices, and how training must integrate small details in each session into the
larger goals of the vocalist over time. It enhances the teacher’s ability to evaluate the students in terms of vocal behavior and
aptitude. In Level II, the teacher acquires greater skill in choosing exercises that are appropriate and adjusting them to meet the
students’ needs efficiently. There is also greater exploration of the many CCM styles and the related vocal issues that impact them,
separately from health. This level gives parameters for age-related groups of singers, and addresses lesson protocol and progress.
There is always a presentation by a bodywork specialist with experts of different disciplines each year. We have featured medical
massage, Pilates, Chiropractic, Movement therapy and BodyMapping®. A new discipline will be presented in 2022.
Level III addresses “Repertoire, Problem Solving and Voice Medicine.” It features a noted music theater expert from New York
City, typically a Broadway Music Director/Conductor, who will conduct a master class in audition skills with chosen participants.
This level also may include lectures by experts on jazz or gospel, rock or blues or folk music. Level III includes a 3-hour medical
lecture by a nationally recognized laryngologist or Speech Pathologist specializing in the professional voice. Each year we have a
new expert.
Level III also touches upon specific performance skills for any style, and provides an excellent and quick approach to teach pitch
matching for those with that issue. It promotes interdisciplinary interchange, i.e., the need for fellowship with Speech Language
Pathologists and Medical Doctors. It also supports the idea that teachers should acquire the ability to read, understand and
possibly even undertake voice science research which would be of interest to those in all voice disciplines. It goes into all aspects of
Level II in greater depth. There are optional evening courses as well. Although others have tried to imitate the course and its
materials, this is the original CCM training. The course Levels are available for CEU credit in the United States.
We offer special extended sessions for graduates of Level II and III (only) which this year include "Soul Ingredients®" a
certification course in the method of Dr. Trineice Robinson-Martin addressing gospel and R&B. This course runs concurrently
with the Levels and fills quickly. Early registration is recommended. During Level I, we will offer a special course on Working with
the Trans-Voice and Gender Diverse Voice Users by Dr. Anita Kozan, SLP, a specialist in this area.
This year because we are still dealing with COVID issues, we are keeping the reduced course fee for new participants and a steep
discount for reviewers. No hotel, no plane tickets, no meals, no car rental. Stay home and join us from the comfort of your favorite
chair. We begin on July 9 and end on July 17, 2022.
The full three-tier program is informative, friendly and fun. There is a warm atmosphere and an openhearted approach to
developing vocal artistry. In close cooperation with Baldwin Wallace University's Conservatory, in the Community Arts School,
the entire program will be given on Zoom. Registration is open now. To date, over 5,000 people from all voice disciplines have
attended at least one Level of Somatic Voicework™ and people from 43 states and 18 foreign countries have attended the courses
in various locations throughout the USA, in Vancouver, Canada, in Toowoomba, Australia and in Rio and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Please
go to: www.somaticvoicework.com or www.bw.edu/lovetri or call +1-440-826-2365 for more information.
What Is Underneath and Behind Somatic Voicework™ The LoVetri Method?
Somatic Voicework™ seeks to bring the voice, the person,
the emotions and the mind together. It seeks to illuminate
the path of vocal artistry by conveying objective information
about vocal production based on what is currently known
and understood in medicine and science. It supports inter-
disciplinary exchange. It is an open system. All premises are
subject to improvement and personal adaptation. It honors
and respects the styles of music called Contemporary
Commercial (CCM) and believes that all styles of music have
value and worth. It honors the BIPOC and LBGTB+
communities.
Somatic Voicework™ rests on respect for the body and
allows it to take its time adapting to various stimuli while
new responses emerge. It works with compassion, allowing
artists to face difficulties, overcome issues and recover
abilities even in the face of a diagnosis of pathology or
damage. It treats every singer, young or old, famous or
unknown, talented or talent-not-yet-tapped, the same. It
allows teachers to say, with perfect integrity, “I don’t know. Let me ask.” It recognizes posture and breathing, physical
coordination and kinesthetic conditioning, aural acuity and visual feedback and asks only that singers address all
aspects of singing function through reasonable, consistent and sustained training and practice.
Somatic Voicework™ teaches “whole people” not larynges or throats or vocal folds, not time slots (the Tuesday noon
tenor, “what’s his name” or the “A5 soprano with the wobbly middle voice, Something-or-other Smith”). It
incorporates physical, emotional and personal stressors as being factors in living an artistic life and does not diminish
singers for having to address these things while training and/or performing. It recognizes that we are not mental health
professionals but we are all human beings, and that life can sometimes be messy but it is always worthwhile. It teaches
careful use of language and its impact on students and taking full responsibility for the learning process as the flawed
but passionate people we all are.
Somatic Voicework™ is for those who want to dig deep. It is for those who are not looking for the “10 quickest tips so
you can be on American Idol” or the “12 best ways to get really great high notes by next week”. It is not concerned with
helping people get tenure, being smarter than people who want to squeeze the throat, position the larynx, vibrate the
vocal folds on purpose or with proving that all voices should sing the same way in every circumstance.
Somatic Voicework™ is simple and complicated. It is easy to understand but takes a long time to master. It is available
to anyone who wants to investigate it but can only be completely assimilated by those who use the concepts on their own
voices over time in many ways. It is up to each individual how much or little the concepts in Somatic Voicework™ matter
in their own lives but, as teachers, in order to be both ethical and appropriate, it is imperative that teachers know about
all voices, and all musical styles, not just their own or the ones they sing.
Somatic Voicework™ is a method of vocal pedagogy that grew out of the life of Jeannette Louise LoVetri, known as
Jeanie to her friends and colleagues. It is the result of decades of singing; training for singing; study, scientific and
personal investigation, experimentation of myriad disciplines and philosophies; and thousands of hours spent teaching
singing voice lessons 50 years in June of 2021. She has been blessed in having had the opportunity to work with some
of the world’s most recognized scientists, medical doctors (laryngologists), Speech Language Pathologists and many
celebrity singers in multiple styles. She shares the work with an open heart hoping that it will be valuable to others and
perhaps help them avoid difficulty, struggle, sadness, frustration and self-doubt, all of which she had to endure to learn
what is in the course. It is not presented as “the way” or “the best way” just one way. She invites you to make it your
way, if that would be of use to you.
