BVA ARCHIVE
By Linda Hutchison
Viewing the Larynx
There are two advantages to living in Sidcup: 1) it is near France; 2) it is the home of the Sidcup Voice Clinic. And it was there, at Queen Mary's Hospital, that a small, but extremely appreciative group met on Saturday 3rd February. Tom Harris and Sara Harris, who have done so much for the advancement of multi-disciplinary voice work, gave us a splendid afternoon.
The first part of the afternoon was an illustrated lecture on the anatomy and physiology of the voice. With the aid of excellent film they explained what we were looking at and what they, in their clinic setting, were looking for. There were lots of questions which stimulated lots of lively discussion.
Tom cleverly anticipated that our hunger would not be confined to information alone, and so when we had a break for tea, he had very thoughtfully, and generously, supplied sandwiches and éclairs. These set us up nicely for the next fascinating part of the day. People had been asked to say on the application form whether they were prepared to be 'scoped'. In other words, would they allow a flexible tube with a camera on the end of it to be inserted through their nose so that we, and afterwards they, could watch on screen the footage of them singing and performing vocal manoeuvres. Only a few had said Yes up front, but once people saw it in action there were more volunteers than time allowed. As it was, due to the generosity of Tom and Sara, the session lasted an hour longer than originally scheduled.
The afternoon was greatly appreciated by the delegates and there were several requests, in person, and on the evaluation forms, for a repeat of this highly instructive and valuable session.
Illustration from the preface to Manuel Garcia's 'New and Revised' Treatise on the Art of Singing.
Lowe & Brydone, London, 1894.
