A soprano who’s been there
The ENCORE pathway
From clinic to full voice
Hands-on voice rehabilitation that picks up where NHS therapy stops. For singers, actors and teachers with muscle tension dysphonia, strain, reflux, nodules, or a voice that hasn't been the same since surgery or illness.
Tell me your next performance date, and I'll plan around it.
BAPAM Recommended Practitioner
Works alongside ENT & SLT teams
Funding from BAPAM or Help Musicians may apply
FHT Member
CNHC Registered
"I've lost my voice, but I'm not even ill."
"It keeps coming back: every morning, or every few weeks."
"I can't sing as high as I used to."
"My throat goes tight, and my voice shakes when I'm nervous."
"I've been told it's MTD, reflux or nodules, but nobody's told me how to sing again."
"My voice hasn't been right since surgery, Covid or being intubated."
"I've got a performance, an audition or an interview coming up, and my voice isn't ready."
You're not imagining it. A voice can stop working without any infection, because tension, strain and stress can do it on their own. That can be worked with.
Does this sound like you?
Finished your six NHS sessions but not yet performance-ready?
That’s where many of my clients come in. You've probably already had the usual advice: rest, drink water, try steam, do your straw exercises, see an ENT. It's good advice, and it's the same list everyone gets. Your voice needs a plan built around your voice, your diagnosis and your next date.
Tell me your next performance date on our call, and I’ll plan around it.
How the ENCORE pathway works
Six strands, working together and co-ordinated with your ENT or speech and language therapist where needed.
Ease
Hands-on advanced vocal massage, manual therapy and acupressure to ease away unhelpful tension in mind and body.
Nurture
Counselling skills and mindfulness for the stress and anxiety your body carries into your voice. The tension is physical, but the mind controls it.
Hypnotherapy for voice: in final training, launching December.
Causation
Understanding what's behind the problem; whether that's how you use your voice, your workload, reflux or stress, while ensuring anything medical is with your ENT.
Optimise
Opening mind and body for increased efficiency in resonance, breath, power: full-bodied voicing.
Return
Step-by-step retraining of phonation skills, intonation, range, stamina and control, at the pace your voice allows.
Encore, back to full voice
Back to singing, teaching, acting or speaking, with optimised voice, a plan for your next performance, term or big day, and the tools to keep your voice well.
Working with Sian has given me greater confidence in myself as a singer, artist and woman.
“Chiara, opera singer and dancer- years of performance anxiety and intermittent voice loss.
Sian played a massive part in my vocal rehabilitation after vocal surgery.
Jennifer, musical theatre singer- post-surgery rehabilitation
The improvements to my vocal health have been immense after several months of uncertainty and no help from the NHS.
Rebekah, rock and scream singer- after just three sessions
How to start and what it costs
Step One: a free, 10-minute call Tell me what's going on with your voice, and when you next need it. Free.
Step three: your recovery plan Rehabilitation sessions at £95, in person at my Helensburgh studio or online, co-ordinated with your ENT or SLT where needed.
Step two: your assessment Sixty minutes looking at your voice, your life and your work together. £125, including your Help Musicians funding referral.
I don't sell rehabilitation in fixed blocks. Voices heal at their own pace, and I plan around yours.
Funding from BAPAM or Help Musicians may cover some or all of your costs. We'll talk about it on your call.
Is this serious?
Hoarse for more than three weeks and not yet seen anyone? Please see your GP first. Persistent hoarseness should always be checked. I'm happy to work alongside your ENT once you have.
Sian Winstanley as Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Zomeropera, Alden Biesen
I’m a classical soprano who trained at The Opera Studio in Ghent. After my own vocal injury, I retrained as a voice rehabilitation specialist. I bring together vocal coaching, manual therapy, vocal massage, counselling skills and mindfulness, all shaped around you.
I’ve injured my voice too. That’s why I do this.
Meet Sian
Questions people ask me
Will my voice come back?
Many voices recover well with the right help. I can't give you a timeline before I've assessed you, but I can give you a clear plan, and you'll be able to see progress at each stage.
I've got a performance coming up. Can you get my voice back in time?
Sometimes a session before a performance makes a real difference. Sometimes the honest answer is rest. I'll tell you which on our call.
Do vocal nodules need surgery?
That's your ENT's decision. Voice therapy is usually tried first, and if you do have surgery, the rehabilitation afterwards matters a great deal.
Can I keep singing?
It depends on what's going on. We'll decide together, and with your ENT if needed, so you're not guessing.
Is muscle tension dysphonia caused by anxiety?
Stress and anxiety can play a part, alongside how the voice is used. That doesn't mean it's all in your head. The tension is real and physical, and it can be released and retrained.
ENT, speech therapist or you: who should I see?
An ENT diagnoses and treats medical causes. A speech and language therapist provides voice therapy, often through the NHS. I work alongside both, and I focus on getting performers and heavy voice users back to full use. If you haven't been checked yet, start with your GP.
Do you work online?
Yes. Hands-on work happens at my Helensburgh studio, and retraining and coaching work well online.
Want to sing better?
Technique and performance coaching, from classical and musical theatre to rock, pop and folk. Singing lessons £60.
Your voice deserves someone who understands it.
In person at my Helensburgh studio on the west coast of Scotland, or online.