A Focus on the Voice: Attention as a Unifying Mechanism Underlying Vocal Training and Mindfulness
Shannon Blanchet, Alice Elizabeth Atkin
voice and speech review September 2, 2023 DOI: 10.1080/23268263.2023.2250242 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key findings | Proposes that attention is a common mechanism unifying voice and speech training for actors and mindfulness, suggesting the two practices may share psychological and neurological mechanisms and benefits. Argues that empirical methodologies should be brought to bear on questions of artistic significance through interdisciplinary research. |
Abstract
Recent decades have generated a proliferation of research into the phenomenon known as mindfulness. This literature gives voice and speech researchers an opportunity to reconceptualize and assess their practices. Voice and Speech Training (VST) for actors shares certain techniques and attitudes in common with mindfulness. Thus, it is plausible that these two practices rely on similar psychological and neurological mechanisms and may produce similar benefits. We provide an interdisciplinary review of the contemporary literature regarding vocal production, VST practices, mindfulness, and meditation, highlighting conceptual and practical connections between them. We propose that attention is a common mechanism that unifies VST practices and mindfulness. We provide an overview of how attention and mindfulness meditation have been conceptualized and summarize recent empirical studies on their possible relationship. Finally, we suggest future directions for how interdisciplinary research teams might investigate the relationship between VST, mindfulness, and attention, and bring empirical methodologies to bear on questions of artistic significance.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical populations | 2003 | Review | |
| Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects | 2007 | Review | |
| Mindfulness Interventions | 2016 | Review | |
| Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation | 2017 | Review | |
| Mindfulness and acceptance: expanding the cognitive-behavioral tradition | 2005 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cites 24
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Mindfulness‐Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness‐Based Cognitive Therapy – a systematic review of randomized controlled trials Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica April 28, 2011
- Intensive meditation training improves perceptual discrimination and sustained attention. Psychological Science June 1, 2010
- Greater efficiency in attentional processing related to mindfulness meditation Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology September 29, 2009
- The psychological and neurophysiological concomitants of mindfulness forms of meditation Acta Neuropsychiatrica April 1, 2007
and 19 more in the library