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WELL-TUNED WOMEN

Growing Strong Through Voicework

Edited by Frankie Armstrong and Jenny Pearson

An innovative introduction to the power of the voice, to increase self-esteem and well-being.

Celebrated folk singer Frankie Armstrong is also one of our leading voice trainers, whose work is grounded in the voice's capacity to empower the individual. Here, with therapist, writer and storyteller Jenny Pearson, she has gathered essays from leading women artists and voice trainers around the world to offer a range of approaches and contexts for personal growth through awareness of the voice.

They include:

Patsy Rodenburg, director of voice at the National Theatre, on how men in positions of power now want to learn the vocal strategies women have been using for years.
Joan Mills, who describes how women's voices have been repressed throughout history.
Kristen Linklater, discussingthe potential for 'freeing the natural voice' from the effect of women's social conditioning.
Olivea Dewhurst-Maddock, on the connection between voice and healing.
Ysaye Barnwell, of Sweet Honey In The Rock, on the political voice of song.
Cicely Berry, voice coach of the RSC, who shows how women can find their voice through speaking the language of Shakespeare's heroines.

Through anecdote, examples and exercises, the artists and teachers in Well-Tuned Women have assembled an essential guide for all those interested in liberating themselves through song, spech and sound.

Frankie Armstrong

was born in Cumbria. She has been visually impaired since she was sixteen. She worked as a social/youth worker and trainer for over 20 years. She is a renowned singer and a pioneer of voicework based on traditional styles of singing. She lives in Cardiff.

Jenny Pearson

is a traditional storyteller and drama therapist, trained on the Sesame course at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She runs storytelling and myth workshops and works with traditional stories in clinical settings. She began her working life as a journalist and has co-written and edited seven books, including Frankie Armstrong' s autobiography As Far as the Eye Can Sing (The Women's Press, 1992). She lives in London.

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