BVA ARCHIVE: Book review from 'Communicating Voice'
Review by: Katherine Behenna, Specialist Speech and Language Therapist/ Voice Teacher
The Accent Method: A Rational Voice Therapy in Theory and Practice
Thyme-Frokjaer and Frokjaer-Jensen.
Speechmark Publishing, 2001
This practical book and accompanying CD of exercises will be welcomed by all practitioners of the Accent Method. Produced by the renowned Kirsten Thyme-Frokjaer and her husband, the book provides a clear explanation of the theory and clinical application of Svend Smidt's method of pulsed voice exercises while the graded exercises on CD promote confidence and proficiency in the practical nuances of the technique.
The book provides comprehensive but nonetheless accessible sections on the processes of respiration and phonation before then considering the applications of the method to voice disorders. Finally, the reader is invited to participate in a series of increasingly detailed and specific voice exercises. The exercises on CD describe complex variations in detail and give ample chance for practice. Overall, the text is easy to read, quirkily illustrated in parts to make breathing exercises accessible and fulfils its aim of teaching a practical method, although readers are nevertheless still encouraged to attend a training course if possible. I would recommend it to all those voice practitioners who have attended an Accent method course and would welcome a refresher, or to those who would like an introduction before attending a full course.
