Vocology is the science and practice of vocal habilitation, or vocal training and therapy.[1][2][3][4][5] Its concerns include the nature of speech and language pathology, the defects of the vocal tract (laryngology), the remediation of speech therapy, and the voice training (voice therapy) and voice pedagogy of song and speech for actors and public speakers.
In its broadest sense, vocology is the study of voice, but as a professional discipline it has a narrower focus: the science and practice of voice habilitation, which includes evaluation, diagnosis, and intervention.
Vocology was invented (simultaneously, but independently) by Ingo Titze, and an otolaryngologist at Washington University in St. Louis, Prof. George Gates.[1] Titze defines vocology as "the science and practice of voice habilitation, with a strong emphasis on habilitation". To habilitate means to “enable”, to “equip for”, to “capacitate”; in other words, to assist in performing whatever function that needs to be performed". He goes on that this "is more than repairing a voice or bringing it back to a former state ... rather, it is the process of strengthening and equipping the voice to meet very specific and special demands".[1]
It is not yet its own professional degree, thus it only assists the voice medicine team. Usually a person practicing vocology is a voice coach with additional training in the voice medical arts, a prepared voice/singing teacher, or a speech pathologist with additional voice performance training—so they can better treat the professional voice user. The study of vocology is recognized academically by courses and institutes in India, Italy, United States and Chile.
Reflecting the increased recognition of vocology, the Scandinavian Journal of Logopedics & Phoniatrics and Voice merged in 1996 with the new name Logopedics, Phoniatrics, Vocology.[6] Additionally, a new association bearing the name of vocology (Pan-American Vocology Association) has also been started.
