Canvas is a popular Learning Management System used by universities (and secondary schools) to provide an online scaffolding to help a student connect with the syllabus, materials and assessment for a class.

Though voice study is famously subjective, personalized and often proprietary, our current research in voice science has opened the possibility of shared understanding and quantifiable objectives. That means a LMS like Canvas can be a perfect fit for a voice studio! 

For me, it’s a home for vocalises, diction PowerPoints, practice tips, photos of happy singers— and a feature that has opened my eyes every single week: the Discussion Boards. Students are asked to post at least once a week. By finding a way to formulate questions about technique, performance anxiety, rehearsal etiquette, summer programs— really, I think they all work out some of their own best answers by the time they finish writing down what they’re wondering about. But that doesn’t shut down dialogue with studio mates, or musings by me. 

With the students’ permission, I’ve selected a number of their posts and ordered them by broad topics listed below. Maybe you’ll recognize versions of some of your own questions and answers; I hope you’ll recognize what a strong sense of community we were able to nourish as a studio.