TrueVoice (ZOOM Edition)
Your voice is your power! And that power need not be stifled by social pressures toward binary categorization. Regardless of gender expression, cultivating a voice that expresses your identity with support and sustainability – without apology or compromise – is within your reach!
Join vocal coach Ryland Shelton for a workshop presentation on the basics and tools of TrueVoice, for all your vocal goals, whether they are feminine, masculine, or non-binary. The workshop will cover range expansion, resonance exploration, consistency and sustainability that will put you in touch with the sources of your voice’s power and possibility, and the tools to use them on a daily basis. TrueVoice can be used whatever your vocal goals are, you can participate in the group presentation!
In this 90-minute online workshop, you will learn how to unlock the voice that is yours – the voice that you want the world to hear, and that you hear when you think of yourself. From there, you will safely stretch the boundaries of participants’ vocal ranges using musical technique, and conscientiously develop aspects of your given instrument to achieve the voice that aligns with your self-identified gender. By using the unique connection our brains have with music as opposed to the connection they have with speech, entirely new possibilities for using the voice open up. Although we do use music technique in this work, this is not a performance class.
The goal is to discover new possibilities and to lay the groundwork for creating new habits that support an everyday speaking voice that is unapologetic, confident, expressive, and 100% you. Ryland will provide some tools and exercises that you can use to continue your own work on your voice. We’re here to find your TrueVoice!
NOTE: There is a lot of information offered in this class, so we encourage you to take notes to get the most out of this class. You can use pad & paper, voice memo apps, etc. Whatever is most comfortable for you!
INSTRUCTOR
Ryland Shelton (he/him) is a Los Angeles-based vocal coach who specializes and excels in training the performer in sustainable vocal practice while maintaining and highlighting their individuality. Trained in vocal performance at NYU, his innovative & intuitive technique and his consistently successful results with entertainers have given him a reputation as one of Hollywood’s strongest coaching resources.
TrueVoice, his ground-breaking vocal development program empowering the trans* community with authentic speaking voices via the unique relationship the brain has with musical technique, is one of his proudest achievements. Since its founding in 2017, Ryland has presented TrueVoice in trans-feminine, trans-masculine and non-binary group workshops for LGBTQIA+ rights and visibility organizations around the country, and has worked with private clientele across the North American continent.
TrueVoice Vocal Development began in 2017 by vocal coach Ryland Shelton as a way to help a friend find her voice. After a conversation between Ryland and his friend, Sonja, about barriers holding her back from using her voice as a trans woman, Ryland decided to experiment with his knowledge of vocal technique and resonance to work with Sonja and strengthen a voice that felt representative of her identity and gender, while still authentically coming from her instrument. The success of their work together inspired Ryland to create group workshops around his newfound technique.
The first group workshop of TrueVoice Vocal Development took place at Trans* Lounge at the Los Angeles LGBT Center in April 2018. Since then, TrueVoice has continued to expand its work for the trans* community to include trans-feminine, trans-masculine and non-binary focused programs, Master Classes for return participants to more finely tune skills learned, as well as curriculum designed for youth and for leaders & allies.
To date, TrueVoice has conducted more than 20 group workshops and speaking events, amounting to hundreds of participants, at venues including Trans* Lounge, One Iowa, CenterLink National Conference of LGBT Centers, Models of Pride Youth Conference, and more. For news, press coverage, client testimonials and more, please visit: https://www.truevoicevocaldevelopment.com/.