Music is Movement! With Dr Bonnie Draina

About this episode

Dr Bonnie Draina discusses the importance of body mapping for singers and her experience with misdiagnosed vocal issues.

One new thing I learned this season is that body mapping is just as important for singers as it is for instrumentalists. Also, it is so important to get a correct diagnosis when recovering from an injury! My guest this week has experience in both. Dr Bonnie Draina is a renowned vocal pedagogue and performer. In addition to this, she is an expert in body mapping for vocalists, and literally studied the craft with Barbara Conable herself (who developed body mapping). We talk about her experience with illness that led to a misdiagnosis of muscle tension dysphonia of the larynx. Later on, after pursuing recovery from that malady, she received a correct diagnosis of singers dystonia. We talk about how dystonia manifests itself for singers, how to develop correct vocal pedagogical jargon, and much more! Enjoy!

People in this episode

Host: Clark Lovell

Guest: Dr Bonnie Draina

Topics covered

• body mapping
• vocal pedagogy
• singers dystonia
• muscle tension dysphonia
• vocal health

Keywords

• body mapping
• vocal pedagogue
• singers dystonia
• muscle tension dysphonia
• vocal health
• diagnosis
• recovery

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• The THREE Things Music Educators NEED to do for their injured musicians · May 5, 2026 · 14 min
• Become a Performing-Arts ATHLETE! With Dr Emily Gee · April 28, 2026 · 1h 5m
• The Biggest Mistakes Music Teachers Make with Injured Musicians · April 21, 2026 · 17 min