Do you love or hate straw exercises?
In this video, I will share with you five tips on how to make straw phonation work for
you so that you can release more tension and strain from your voice.
Stay tuned.
Hi!
I am Katarina, speech language pathologist and here on this channel, I share practical
tips about using your voice in a healthy way.
So, if this is a topic that interests you, consider subscribing to this channel and hitting
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If you know me a little bit, you know that I love straw exercises.
I have been using straws in my practice for a long time and therefore, I know that people
either love straws or hate them.
Which category do you belong to?
Write love or hate in the comments below.
People who love them find a lot of benefits from doing vocal straw exercises on a regular
basis.
And it does not matter if their goal is to release tension or strengthen the voice.
People who hate straw phonation exercises have not figured them out yet and when they
use straws, they either cause them more tension or they don’t feel any benefits and they
are quick to dismiss them as not working.
In this video, I want to show you what you should be focusing on when doing straw exercises
so that you love them.
And if you already love them, I’ll show you a few tricks so that you find even more
benefits for your voice.
If you never tried straw exercises, you can watch my other videos on how to start with
straw phonation.
I will post a few links to those videos at the end of this one.
But now, here are my 5 tips on troubleshooting straw phonation:
Tip #1 Size matters
This is the most important principle you should consider when doing straw exercises.
Straws of different lengths and widths will have different levels of resistance.
You need to find the right fit of resistance for you based on your goals, your skill level
and your voice.
Straw exercises can serve a lot of goals.
The two main goals that I address with straws are releasing tension and strengthening the
voice.
Generally, when you want to release vocal tension with straw exercises, you want low
resistance, which means that you should opt for a shorter and wider straw.
For example, you can use these types of exercises at the end of the day full of talking, or
after a vigorous singing practice.
When you use a straw with a low resistance, you are using minimal effort but your vocal
folds can still reap the benefits of equalized pressures above and below the vocal folds,
a gentle vocal fold closure and an improved shape of the vocal folds.
If your goal is to strengthen the vocal fold closure, choose a straw that has a high resistance.
That would be a straw that is long and thin.
High resistance in the straw will require more vocal effort but the straw exercises
will still help you optimize the sound production due to equalized pressures, better vocal folds
posturing and vocal fold closure.
These types of exercises are good for people who can already produce sounds without tension
or pain and for people whose goal is vocal endurance and strength.
Now, if you have a fancy straw like me, you can alter the resistance easily.
Or if you have a choice of straws, you can choose the one that suits your current goal
the best.
But if you only have one size straw, there are a few ways you can change the resistance.
If you submerge the straw into a cup of water, you increase the resistance.
The deeper the straw is in the water, the higher the resistance.
Alternatively, if you have a straw that can be squished or bent, you can increase resistance
by doing just that.
On the other hand, if you want less resistance and you only have one size straw, cut it in
half to shorten it.
Or make your own straw from a piece of paper.
Be creative and find what works for you.
Tip #2 Easy on the vocal folds
If you are experiencing vocal strain or even pain, the most important part when doing straw
exercises is to pay attention to ease of phonation.
Always ask yourself: how does it feel at the level of the vocal folds?
For many people who struggle with vocal tension, the default motor patterns are so strong that
constriction and tension is present even with straw exercises.
So here are a few tips on how to decrease the amount of discomfort.
As I said before, try a different straw size.
If that does not help, try just blowing through the straw without making a sound.
Some people find it relaxing for their voice.
If you are making sounds, make the softest and gentlest sound you can.
That will take pressure off of your vocal folds.
Or before you blow into the straw, blow out most of the air from your lungs so that you
work with low lung volumes and low breath pressures under the vocal folds.
Or move your head from side to side or rotate your head to release tension from the neck
muscles that can be adding muscle tension when making sounds.
One last tip to troubleshoot this problem is to think of something funny while doing
the straw exercises.
Laughter is a natural way to widen your throat so when you think of something funny, your
throat gets bigger which goes against the constriction you may be experiencing when
producing sounds.
Just try that.
If you are experiencing vocal strain, tension or even pain when speaking, and you are ready
to work with me towards a free, strong and confident voice, you can apply to our Vocal
Freedom System coaching program.
Check out the links in the description below this video.
Tip #3 Take a baseline
Many people abandon straw exercises because they don’t feel the benefits.
So how do you know if the exercise is doing you any good or not?
The answer is: take a baseline.
Taking a baseline means making a short informal assessment of your voice before you do straw
exercises and then comparing it to your voice after you do the exercises.
It’s a quick way to know if there is any change in your voice.
How do you assess your voice?
Simply count from 1 to 10, say the days of the week or read a short passage from a book.
If you are a singer, sing a short cut from your song.
Notice how your voice feels and how easy it is to use your voice in that moment on a scale
from 1 to 10 where 1 means that it is really hard to make a sound and 10 is the easiest
voice you can have.
Then, do your straw exercises for a few minutes and once you are done, assess your voice in
the same way.
Count from 1 to 10 or say the days of the week or read the same short passage from a
book.
Or if you are a singer, sing the same cut from your song.
And compare your voice.
Is there a change in the ease of production?
Or is there anything else that changes in your voice?
Sometimes, your voice can be stronger, clearer, more stable or resonant.
Sometimes, the change will be very small – just one number towards an easier voice.
But that is ok.
If you take a baseline, you will know if the exercises are working.
On the other hand, if your voice feels more tired or harder to produce after you’ve
done your exercise, you will know that you need to change something.
Do you need a different straw size?
Do you need to take off some pressure or blow less air through the straw?
Taking a baseline will help you become aware of what is going on at the level of the vocal
folds.
Tip #4 Don’t overcomplicate things
Some people give up straw exercises because they think they have to be musical.
You can use straw exercises in the simplest way possible.
You can just blow air through the straw into a cup of water to release tension or to practice
steady airflow.
You can just sustain simple sounds in your comfortable range.
You can use a straw to hum a melody of a song you know.
Or you can make sirens with a straw.
It does not matter how easy or complicated your exercise is.
The most important part is that you pay attention to the sensations that come with this exercise.
Is the sound easy?
Where do I feel vibrations?
Do I feel the back pressure?
Is the flow continuous and steady?
Am I pushing too much air through the straw?
These are the questions you should be asking.
Tip #5 Consider you
I often get asked how often and how long you should be doing straw exercises.
And there is no one answer.
The answer is: it depends.
So my last tip is to consider you, your needs and your voice.
If the exercise feels really good, do it as often and for as long as it feels good.
If you enjoy straw exercise with water, do those.
If your voice can handle a long and thin straw, go for it.
If you like making sirens with a straw, spend more time on those exercises.
If just blowing through the straw releases more tension, then do that every day at the
end of the day.
You have my permission to be playful and do what feels good to you.
You don’t need to follow strict rules just because someone told you so.
The only thing that I ask from you, is to pay attention to your voice and how it feels
when you do the straw exercises.
Don’t do them just for the sake of doing them.
In this video, I was talking about straw exercises as a way to release tension and build a strong
voice.
But there are more things to consider when dealing with vocal strain.
I made a video, in which I walk you through 7 steps that lead to a strong voice without
tension.
If you want to know what voice, body and mind considerations you need to take to truly free
your voice, click the link in the description below this video.
If you have any other questions about straw exercises, just let me know in the comments
below.
If you found this video helpful, click the like button and share it with your friends.
Check out my other videos with straw exercises right here below.
I’ll see you soon.
Bye.