I WAS intrigued by your recent article "Music student at Uxbridge College finds his voice through rap" (September 3) about stammerer Ruben Sewkumar and how his practice as a rap singer has enhanced his fluency.

Of course, there are many famous singers who have used singing as a way to halt their stammering and blend into the world of fluency.

Almost all stammerers can sing fluently. There has never been a definitive cause given for this phenomenon, but over 20 years ago I read an explanation which, though unproven, makes sense to me.

This unsubstantiated theory cites that singing and speaking have no correlation because singing is a right-brain function and speaking is a left-brain function. The singing comes from the right side of the brain. This sounds plausible to me and maybe one day this phenomenon will be definitively explained in some way.

Ruben Sewkumar finds himself in good company with singers who have struggled with stammering.

The website of the non-profit charity The Stuttering Foundation (www.stammeringhelp.org) has a Celebrity Corner section with in-depth articles on famous stammerers, which includes many singers.

Some of the singers profiled in the articles are Marc Anthony, Bill Withers, Ann Wilson (lead singer of Heart), B.B. King, Gareth Gates, and even 80's pop singer Paul Young.

Singing has helped many people break free of their stammering bonds. The website of this charitable organisation also provides a slew of free resources that can be accessed by stammerers anywhere.

LAURA PALMER

Houston, Texas