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VOCAL SKILLS AND HOW TO IMPROVE

5. IF YOUR VOICE IS TOO BREATHY

  • The voice can sound breathy if you are using the muscles of your throat to control your voice.
  • This habit tightens your throat and interferes with the action of your vocal folds.
  • Make sure that you are using the resonance of your voice properly.
  • Use breath support through a relaxed throat. 

 

Exercise: Find resonance in different parts of your body

Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your weight balanced on the centre of your feet.

Start humming with your lips closed but not pressed together and your teeth apart.  While you hum, do all the actions below to stimulate the feeling of resonance through your body.  Listen to the sound and you will hear the changes.

Chest

Firmly pat and message around the chest area. 

Lower ribs

Rub and massage the lower ribs at the front and the sides.  See if you can get a sense of your voice dropping into your lower body.

Lower Back

Rub, pat and massage the back of your lower ribs and the top of your pelvis.  Loosening resonance into your lower back has a very powerful effect on the quality of your voice.  Can you hear it?  Can you feel it inside you? 

Abdomen

Bounce and shake the humming down into your abdomen. 

Legs and Feet

Shake the humming out of each leg and foot. 

Spine

Shake and bounce the humming through your spine.

Stand still again.

Face

Drop your head down towards your chest and hum into your face – the forehead, nose and lips.  Gravity will help to release the sound. 

Lift your head as you hum.  Imagine bringing the resonance up too, keeping it forward in your face and then releasing it out into the space ahead.

Move the face muscles around and move your voice around so that you are sliding through different notes.

Head

Hum into the top of your head using a high-pitched, gentle voice. 

Exercise: Resonance through the whole range of your voiceStill humming, slide down slowly and smoothly through your voice from the highest note to the lowest. 

 

  • As you slide, gradually, think the sound forward and away from you in the distance.
  • Repeat several times.
  • Allow a few slides, try speaking something – you could just count to 10.

 Opening the voice – releasing the sound and exploring your range.

 

Throat stretches - Yawning

Yawning is a great way to stretch all the areas involved with speech: the throat, tongue, lips and face muscles. 

 

Stifled Yawn

Try another yawn but this time don’t open your mouth – as if you were trying to stifle the yawn.  Do you feel that big stretch at the back of your mouth?

 Exercise:  Throat resonance – single notes

 

Stifled Yawn

  • Try another yawn but this time don’t open your mouth – as if you were trying to stifle the yawn. 
  • Standing straight again, let the breath fill the sides of your ribs, and be aware of the movement of the diaphragm down into your abdomen.
  • Separate your top teeth from your bottom teeth with your lips together. 
  • Hum gently into the throat space on a comfortable note. 
  • Try this on several different notes.

Exercise: Throat resonance – slides

Slide the hum down through your voice, starting with your high child’s voice.

  • Repeat several times

Exercise: Throat resonance – speech

 

Simply count aloud or speak some words, feeling the resonance in your throat, especially in the vowels,

 

Exercise: Using the floor for resonance

 

  • Lie face down on the floor, with your forehead on your hands or arms.
  • Hum gently on a comfortable note.
  • Focus that note and then others into your face,
  • Focus some notes into your chest.
  • Focus some notes into your abdomen.
  • Let gravity help you to release the sounds and resist any desire to push your voice forward.

Exercise: Resonant words throughout the body

 

  • Count to 10 aloud and focus the resonance into your forehead.
  • Count to 10 aloud and focus the resonance into your nose.
  • Count to 10 aloud and focus the resonance into your lips.
  • Count to 10 aloud and focus the resonance into your chest.
  • Count to 10 aloud and focus the resonance into your abdomen.
  • Count to 10 aloud and focus the resonance on to the top of your head.
  • Repeat and try to feel the resonance in al the areas at once. 
  • You should now feel that your voice is fuller and more colourful.
  • Count to 10 in a ‘sing-song’ way swooping and sliding around all the notes of your voice.
  • Use the whole range: high middle and low notes.
  • At the same time, imagine the resonance of your voice moving all around your body.