Exercises for the voice

Subject: Exercises for the voice
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 15 Feb 08 - 08:04 AM

Does anybody have things they do to their throat before they sing in public? I seem to be able to disable my vocal chords sometimes by picking dodgy keys or singing too load or long. Do simple techniques exist that make a decent performance more likely?

Cheers

Les

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 15 Feb 08 - 08:08 AM

More beer. You will actually be worse, but you will think you're better.

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 15 Feb 08 - 08:21 AM

Thanks Richard, it may be that strategy that has got me where I am now - 5 notes and 0.5 Watts!

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: Jeanie
Date: 15 Feb 08 - 08:27 AM

Lots of good information, advice and exercises are to be found here:

Breathing/Voice Exercises

Personally, I think regular breathing exercises are crucial in increasing and then maintaining lung capacity, which has a knock-on effect when it comes to "singing loud and long" without damage to the vocal folds.

For clarity, the quickest and most effective (and hence most difficult to master, but well worth it) tongue-twister, which can be done anywhere before performing is to practise saying the name "Peggy Babcock" over and over, faster and faster. That's one that I always do before performing (singing or speaking).

It's good to get together with others to do these exercises - good fun !

- jeanie

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 15 Feb 08 - 09:47 AM

'Do simple techniques exist that make a decent performance more likely?'

Join a regular choral group.

Warm up with a few exercises.
Don't push, let the mic do the work.
Don't growl.
Pick the key to suit your voice.
Start off with a song in an easy range.
Drink lots of warm water.
Avoid caffeine, chocolate and alcohol.
Listen to yourself.
Listen to your accompaniment. Its purpose is to keep you in tune.

'90% of intonation is attention.'

Last Saturday I listened to a Scottish woman sing Scottish traditional music. She played a huge guitar too loudly and put a microphone right at the soundhole. Result - she drowned herself out. She strummed non-stop while speaking. (Later, friends told me that they didn't understand one word she said or sang.) She sang half-a-dozen songs, all but one of them slow, slow, slow. Most of them were about Bonnie Prince Charlie or a similar disaster. I thought she would never be done.

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 15 Feb 08 - 12:08 PM

Several things push my buttons and not in a good way (sorry ladies). A major one is pedagogic condescension.

Rule 1. Don't be hard on yourself. If you want to enjoy singing, enjoy it and don't beat yourself up. That way lies stress eczema, nervous ticks, major chemical relaxants, nervous breakdowns, and worst of all, Amy Winehouse.

Rule 2. If other people are critical, see whether they can do any better.

Rule 3. As a corollary of 2 above, don't listen to me, I'm crap. But I enjoy what I do, so now who's better off, me or the schoolteachers?

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 15 Feb 08 - 12:19 PM

I'm generally with Richard. When I an relaxed I get by but sometimes I feel, for no apparent reason, that my voice is a bit sore and I feel the need to clear my throat because it is filling with thick stuff, sorry people, this closes both my range and my volume.

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Feb 08 - 07:12 PM

When you feel the need to clear your throat - don't. Instead, cough gently. That is much easier on the vocal apparatus.

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: GUEST,Shimrod
Date: 16 Feb 08 - 07:07 AM

Les,

I'm sure that there are a lot of very specific techniques out there - and some of them probably work!

I think, though, that one of the most important things to master is to sing from the diaphragm rather than 'restricting your voice to your head'. I hear a lot of people doing this, because I think they think that it gives them more control - it doesn't (!)

You have to 'explore the limits of your voice'. There is a 'factoid' (a 'fact' which everyone believes, but which is probably wrong) which maintains that the average person only uses 10% of their brain power. I think that a lot of would-be singers only use a small percentage of their vocal capacity - because they think that to use their full power would lead to them losing control. In fact, understanding the limits of your voice gives you more to play with and, hence, more control. Singing in public (especially unaccompanied) is difficult - it is 'controlled passion' and you have to be able to communicate that passion to your audience without looking a prat. It's a 'highwire act' and tightrope walking needs practice, mastery of technique and courage.

For a start, try producing the normal vowel sounds (a, ah, oh, ee, i, u etc.) from your diaphragm. Try to produce them as loud as possible but without strain. This involves keeping your throat open as the sounds come up from your diaphragm. If you do this enough, when the men in the white coats throw you into the padded room you will find that you will be able to scream without damaging your voice (Joke! I hope!).

As for the phlegmy problem - I think that that is quite common (my favourite folk club singer from the 1960s/early 70s recently told me that he had suffered from exactly the same problem). A partial answer is to keep hydrated (water - not beer!) - this is very difficult in the over-heated, poorly ventilated rooms that we folkies often have to sing in.

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 16 Feb 08 - 07:18 AM

If you are a scientific frame of mind, get a car mechanic or a man who builds organs to explain this "sing from the diaphragm" business. It sounds like bullshit, but I once had it explained to me by a luthier who understood resonant cavities (like Helmholtz resonators, a bit) and then all of a sudden it made some sort of sense.

It hasn't made me a good singer (yet) but at least I no longer suddenly start shouting (well, not always) at people who are, I am sure, trying to be helpful but only succeed in treading on my best Sunday corn!

It probably is possible to improve - but above all don't get stressed about it!

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: Jeanie
Date: 16 Feb 08 - 04:29 PM

Richard Bridge: Re. your post of 15th Feb 12.08 PM - Les asked for advice on exercises for the voice, so presumably he wished to receive advice, which Leeneia and I gave in response to his question.

If you interpret that as "pedagogic condescension" which "pressed your buttons and not in a good way", then you must have very sensitive buttons !!

- jeanie

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 16 Feb 08 - 06:14 PM

You are not alone: many have done it.

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: GUEST,the broken mirror
Date: 16 Feb 08 - 08:44 PM

you people are messed up u dont use beer to make you sound better. you do breathing exersizes and things out of that sort. richard brige no offense thats not the way to do it. drinking beer doesnt help one is bad for you two it makes you sound stupied if you drink too much of it and 3 your dum!

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: The Sandman
Date: 17 Feb 08 - 06:59 AM

1. take deep breaths,from the diaphragm,this releases more oxygen to the brain ,and helps to calm if the performer is at all nervous.
2.I practice arpeggios.[singing broken chords] I also sing scales
but I do this regularly not just before gigs.I treat my voice like an instrument,I practice for hours on my instruments,and to a lesser extent I practice my voice.
there is another breathing exercise ,That I have been doing for years,I take a deep breath from my diaphragm,and then release slowly. Then I take another deep breath and release quickly[cleansing breath].
have a listen to my voice.http://www.dickmiles.com

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: Tim Leaning
Date: 17 Feb 08 - 07:12 AM

I am a panicker when it comes to performing in public,sometimes I get it right and have a good rather than a polite reception.
I think the main thing you have to be is relaxed.
Not P****D maybe!
If you try and relax take a while to get settled, move your mic,instrument (if you playing one)settle your bum in comfy if sitting etc.
Singing from the diaphragm does seem to work for me if I get relaxed enough to do it.
I found my diaphragm by having some guy who knows about these things put his fist in my gut whil I was stood with me back to the wall.
If you breath in under those conditions you do feel where you need to be getting your singing air from.
I find I can now be relaxed and perform reasonably well in situations were there are no microphones.
Am still working(avoiding like the plague more like)playing with PA and engineers.

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 17 Feb 08 - 07:23 AM

Sehr Geerte Herr Spieglein (look it up)

Try reading - as I said, drink beer, it will make you worse but you will think you were great. The point being, YOU will enjoy yourself.

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: Harmonium Hero
Date: 23 Feb 08 - 04:13 PM

I never understood this diaphragm thing until some time in the '70s, when a woman whose name escapes me was doing a series of singing lessons on the telly (you do occasionally get useful stuff on the telly). I can't remember how she explained it, but it suddenly made sense. Prior to that, I'd only heard people saying things like "sing from THERE!", and pointing helpfully at the general area of the abdomen. I'll have a go at explaining: If you take a very deep breath, until you can't possibly get any more air in, and then hold your chest in that fully expanded position while you breathe out, you should find that you are using your 'stomach' to push the air out. In fact, it's the diaphragm. If you practice using this muscle when singing, rather than deflating the chest, you will start to develop more breath control, and you should also find that you can take bigger breaths. It takes practice though, and you'll probably have to keep reminding yourself to do it.
Regarding the phlegm problem, I always try to start off with a loud, lively song that uses a lot of breath, which seems to clear the throat, and has the added advantage of being easier to do than a quieter song if you are nervous. I find that nervousness really inhibits your singing.
When I was in school, we didn't learn music; we 'did' singing, but only for the first two years, as it was a boys' school, and of course, after about the age of 13, people's voices were going all over the place. We got the 'sing from THERE' sort of advice, which didn't exactly constiute singing lessons. The music teacher did, however, come up with one piece of information, which I've never heard elsewhere; he claimed that opera singers (or maybe it was one particular singer), before a performance, would let saliva trickle down the throat, to lubricate the vocal cords. I have tried it, but there comes a point where the urge to swallow takes over, or else I end up coughing and spluttering. You could give that one a try!
John Kelly.

Subject: RE: Warming up, changing vocalises
From: Dan Zipperer
Date: 23 Feb 08 - 05:49 PM

I alway try to warm up the bod,thereby meaning the support system, in a comfortable range, and from the start the onset or articulation is key. Never persist in thing that don't seem to be coming with difficulty, as this is a indication of some unknown and unfelt problem which through experience one might immediately identify, but mostly the lack of nerve endings obscure mistakes, an heuristic that is not to be downplayed.               

The result of persisting with familiar exercises which are not producing in the usual way is my description of a parallel in voice of the condition which FM Alexander referred to as "endgaining", something which must always must be avoided. At such a point in rehearsal, an analysis of potential errors should be made, but more importantly, a different strategy should be adopted: by this I mean a new vowel, a careful approach to the onset, and an analysis or perhaps a new approach to breathing, and even a contrast in the approach to dynamics and the force that required for support. There is ironically a point at which less support effort coincides with greater flexibility and the more natural feeling which rewards us as singers, and we are often pleased by this state, however the recollection of that feeling is almost always only partial and mostly unreliable. Flexibility should lead one to be encouraged, but one should at the same time recall this principal and self-remind that the energy source (the breath) is to be renewed at each available opportunity.

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: GUEST
Date: 24 Feb 08 - 04:00 AM

The first thing we were given to practice in The Critics Group was a set of 4 open vowel(ish) sounds to find your natural physical voice so that you were able to get an unrestricted sound. I was surprised at the difference between the sound I had been using and the one I finally achieved. That was not necessarily the one I wanted to use, but it threw my field of options wide open.
Regular practice of the vowel sounds tended to keep my voice in good shape throughout the time I was singing.
You have to be careful how you use the exercises; overdo them and you can damage your voice.
You also have to choose where to practice them. Ewan and Peggy did them every day, and I was told by a hotelier once when I visited them when they were in Manchester, "oh yes, they're in the room with the strange noises".
There is a story in Luke Kelly's biography by Des Gerrihey, of Luke staying with a couple in Grimsby, who broke the bathroom door down when they heard oos, ees and ahhs coming from within - Luke doing his voice exercises.
When members of the C.G, were on tour, or when we were working intensively on something like 'The Festival of Fools', everybody carried a tin of Vocalzones (still available at Boots I believe). It said on the box "as used by Enrico Caruso".
Still got a few tins lying round the house; they taste like lumps of tar, but they work a treat.
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 24 Feb 08 - 05:53 AM

Thanks folks, much good advice that I can understand,

Cheers

Les

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: Rasener
Date: 24 Feb 08 - 06:14 AM

Water instead of beer might make you queer, but as i understand it, is the best thing for your throat. When I used to teach, I found that coffee & tea were terrible for the throat, filling with thick stuff (as les said), but if I stuck to water,I never had problems.

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: AnCailínÉireannach
Date: 24 Feb 08 - 07:34 AM

Always found if I gargled luke warm water before a competition and also just sing a scale, it clears my throat and I'm usually ok to go. Totally agree about breathing from the diaphragm, always find if I'm running out of air in a line, just a little tug in of the stomach will help to just get that last word out without sounding like you are gasping.
For teaching children, I use little ditty songs for warm ups such as Kookaburra and Speed Bonny Boat, they enjoy them and it warms up voices and works on diction and breathing too

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: Folkiedave
Date: 24 Feb 08 - 07:50 AM

Also if you are at a festival look out for Shan Cowan (of Martin Graebe and Shan Cowan) Frankie Armstrong, and Chris Coe all of whom do workshops.

I booked Ewan and Peggy for a concert and they were the first folk singers (in fact any singers) that I heard doing vocal exercises before performance. I believe Ewan used to sing "Highland Muster Roll" as his first song - to test his voice angainst the acoustics.

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 24 Feb 08 - 08:27 AM

Give up and learn some excuses for the voice ...

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: Folkiedave
Date: 24 Feb 08 - 09:00 AM

It's down now!

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: Suegorgeous
Date: 24 Feb 08 - 09:53 AM

Jim

"Vocalzones....... work a treat."

...at what, what's their function?

Sue

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 24 Feb 08 - 02:48 PM

Sue;
They're extra strong throat lozenges that double as tarmac.
Great for getting you through a heavy session without tearing your throat to pieces, but don't do much for the taste of the drink.
Ask Sandra next time you see her.
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: 8_Pints
Date: 24 Feb 08 - 06:48 PM

Are there any exercises that can extend my vocal range downwards?

Invariably when I sing on a Friday I feel very limited, but by the time the week-end reaches Sunday I usually find that I can sing two or three notes lower.

This offers much greater scope for harmonies and allows more power without being forced.

Bob

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: Jeanie
Date: 25 Feb 08 - 04:02 AM

Bob (8 Pints): here's an exercise for bringing the vocal range downwards that I was taught by a voice teacher from the Central School of Speech & Drama (i.e., strange as this exercise may seem, it is *kosher*):

Talk for a little while with your tongue sticking right out and downwards, as far as it will go. You will feel how this widens and extends the mouth cavity (even though it will be hard to make yourself understood and you have to resist the temptation to laugh...) Then, keep talking and slowly bring your tongue back in, whilst maintaining the openness within your mouth cavity. Feel and hear the difference this has made to the pitch of your voice.

Somehow, this widening/opening exercise puts the inside of the mouth into the more relaxed position that nature intended for a person's voice. Another good thing to do is lots of yawning.

- jeanie

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 25 Feb 08 - 06:42 AM

There are some mental exercises that are good for getting through the receipt of singing advice.

1. Repeat to oneself "This sounds like gibberish, but it MIGHT be useful if I can only figure out what they are trying to tell me"
2. Repeat to oneself "If I cannot understand what they are saying, it is not my fault, and I need not feel diminished. It is their job to explain."
3. Repeat to oneself "It is possible that they actually understand what they are doing, even if they cannot explain it. If I can set the timing on an old car's ignition by listening, maybe they can do something similar with voices. All I have to do is to discover the meaning hidden in their words."

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: Suegorgeous
Date: 25 Feb 08 - 11:50 AM

If I have time (and a private place) before I perform, I do the following:
standing up: shake to loosen limbs, then various stretching exercises
sitting down:
5 mins - take several slow deep breaths, breathing as deeply as poss and slowing right down
5 mins - still slow and deep, low humming on out-breath
5 mins or longer - vocalize "maaaa" on out-breath
5 minsscales of some kind (if short of time, do them as a kind of up and down whoop)
2 mins - talk gobbledegook, stretch tongue, pull monster faces, massage face, particularly round jaw.

If little time/private space, I do as much as I can of these without making a complete fool of myself.

Works for me!

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: GUEST,TJ in San Diego
Date: 25 Feb 08 - 03:50 PM

I have found myself in a career that requires a good deal of public speaking, sometimes outdoors, sometimes unamplified, often with crowds of anywhere from 100 to 1,000 or more. One of my earliest experiences was speaking to a group of 300+ in the back parking lot of a corporate headquarters - no mike. There was a freeway nearby and lots of ambient noise. THAT was when I learned to project from the diaphragm, to reach the folks in the back. That experience, along with many others since, really helped in singing as well. The other major factor, along with breathing, is water - lots of it. Keep well hydrated. You don't realize how much moisture you lose in singing and speaking.

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: PeadarOfPortsmouth
Date: 25 Feb 08 - 05:59 PM

Quick related question...

I'm going to be joining a friend for a few gigs around St. Paddy's Day this year. Up until now, my singing is usually limited to a few songs in sessions, usually two nights a week maximum.

For these gigs, however, I'll be singing a greater number of songs, and for longer periods of time, over four consecutive days...culminating in two gigs on the holiday itself.

We will have a PA system, so I'll be able to conserve a bit more than normal, but any recommendations (other than what's listed above) on things I can do either
1) to prepare my voice in advance for that weekend, or
2) to preserve it during that weekend.

Afterall, I don't want sound like Lou Rawls by Monday night's performance.

Subject: RE: Exercises for the voice
From: Jeanie
Date: 26 Feb 08 - 03:54 AM

Richard - you have a point there ! Trying to understand and learn voice exercises from written instructions is as difficult as it would be to try to learn yoga or car driving from a book. The very best thing is to learn in a class with a teacher.

- jeanie