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4. IF YOU GET SHORT OF BREATH

Exercise: Organising your breathing muscles to support your voice

This exercise will help you to feel the breath carrying sound steadily through your body, supported from deep in your abdomen.

Exercise

Massage the joint of the jaws in front of your earlobes with your fingertips.  You may feel this release into your throat.

 

  • Massage your face, hairline and back of the neck.
  • Relax your jaw and let your top teeth separate from the bottom teeth.

 Exercise

Breathe in and make a long, slow, sustained S.

  • When you run out of breath, allow the muscles that you have contracted as your breath goes out to release so you can breathe in again.
  • Repeat the slow S.
  • Release, breath in and repeat the slow S

 Exercise

Repeat the exercise using a Z.

  • You will probably feel the vibrations of the Z right down into your abdomen.  Enjoy this feeling.  It means you are supporting your voice.
  • Breathe in and make a long, slow sustained Z.
  • Release, breathe in and repeat the slow Z.
  • Release, breathe in and repeat the slow Z,
  • That’s three breaths for each sound.

 Exercise: Speaking from your abdomen and supporting words.

Breath in down to your abdomen.

  • Count to 10 out loud, but not too loudly.
  • Release and breathe in again.
  • Count to 11.
  • Release and breathe in again.
  • Count to 12.

 Exercise: Calling outCall to your mum when she is in another room.

 

Mum! Mum!

Try it again quite loudly.

Now try Stop! Stop!

 

You may feel a slight tightening in the area around your diaphragm and also some sensation lower down, near your groin, as the muscles of support kick into action.

Exercise: Hand pressing for support

Press the heels of your hands together in front of you, just at the height of your diaphragm.

Breathe.  You may feel your breath drawn in very deeply and your rib cage widen.

Take some time with this to allow your body and thoughts to come together.

  • Mum! Mum!
  • Stop! Stop!

 Exercise: Extending the call

Check your posture, breath and space between your teeth.

  • Breathe in through your mouth and call out One from deep support, letting your voice find a pitch a bit higher than normal speech.
  • Breathe in through the mouth and call One, Two in the same way
  • Breathe in through the mouth and call One, Two, Three
  • Breathe in through the mouth and call One, Two, Three, Four

Continue counting in the same way until you have reached the limit of your breath support without tightening your throat.

Exercise: Shouting

Check your posture, breath and space between your teeth.

  • Try this exercise with and without hand pressing (see Exercise 30)
  • Breathe in through the mouth and shout out NO! from deep support, letting your voice find a pitch a bit higher than normal speech.
  • Breathe in through the mouth and shout out NO DON’T in the same way.
  • Breathe in through the mouth and shout out NO DON’T GO!

 

It is very common for people to lose confidence and support at the end of a phrase.

  • Finish the exercise by sliding down through your voice on a hum a couple of times.

 

 

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