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Vocal Authenticity: A documentary approach

Vocal authenticity: A documentary approach explores the ways in which singing and performance activities with marginalised groups can enhance or impede a person’s relationship with their own voice. We define this as ‘vocal authenticity’.

Community singing and acting activities have been shown to have a wide range of benefits from improved respiratory health and cognitive function to better social functioning, confidence and positivity. But do these activities also alter the relationship between a person and their voice for the better?  

We will use documentary filmmaking techniques to investigate this question, interviewing people participating in these activities with a range of Middlesbrough based community arts groups, exploring the impacts on their lives, and working with them to create films and performances evidencing their personal ‘voice journeys’. 

We will also carry out phonetic analyses comparing the speaking and singing voices of participants, measuring how people change their voice to sing as part of an ensemble. We will also consider the attitude of participants to their voice as a part of their identity, analysing the conversations they have around voice to determine their perceptions of their voice, dialect and place within their community. 

Outputs will include film, performance, musical works, and journal articles.

Project team