Do you feel like someone is strangling you when speaking?
Here are 3 vocal exercises to stop straining and start making sounds with ease.
Do these exercises daily and free your voice of strain and tension.
I will also discuss one huge misconception about these exercises, so 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
that bell notification icon so that you don’t miss any of my future videos.
Let me show you three vocal exercises that will make your voice feel better right away
and you don’t need any equipment to do them.
These exercises are known to take stress away from your vocal folds and make sound production
more efficient and easy.
Can you guess what kind of exercises they are?
These exercises belong to a group of exercises called … drum roll please … you guessed
it SOVT.
If you’ve seen some of my other videos, you know that I talk about SOVT exercises
a lot.
They are the most amazing exercises for your voice, especially for those people who are
struggling with vocal issues.
One of my favourite SOVT exercises is straw phonation, so making sounds with straws.
But today, I want to show you some quick and easy exercises that don’t require any equipment
whatsoever.
Not even a simple straw.
And if you are seeing for the first time, let me introduce you to SOVT exercises, or
otherwise known semi occluded vocal tract exercises.
I don’t know who came up with this terrible name.
Probably some scientists.
But the name is pretty accurate.
It means that there is a partial closure or narrowing somewhere in the vocal tract.
Sometimes, this narrowing is at the front of your mouth, sometimes it’s further back
in your mouth.
This narrowing is what makes these exercises so amazing.
This narrowing or partial closure causes a build up of pressure in the vocal tract above
the vocal cords.
This pressure is reflected back at the vocal folds and it helps them work more efficiently
and easily.
It’s like exercising in the pool.
Exercising in the pool feels easier, right?
In any case, the pressures below and above the vocal cords are equalized, which creates
an optimal environment for the vocal cords to vibrate freely.
They vibrate with less effort, less impact and the vocal cords assume a more balanced
position.
So, as simple as these exercises may look, they allow you to make sounds without straining,
with less vocal effort but more efficiency.
In my past videos, I talk a lot about the benefits of SOVT exercises for a singing voice,
but of course, the same benefits apply to a speaking voice too.
Actually, these exercises were first used in voice therapy for speaking voices, and
only later they became popular among singing teachers and singers.
But let me address one huge misconception about these exercises.
They are magical, in my opinion, but they will not solve all vocal issues.
It is important to acknowledge that the character of these exercises takes the pressure off
of the vocal folds, repositions them and makes them work more efficiently while you are doing
the exercises.
There is some transfer of those benefits to your voice shortly after the exercise.
But if your vocal mechanism is habitually inviting tension when using your voice, whether
it’s speaking or singing, the tension will show up again and again.
If this is your case, SOVT exercises are a great start but the next step is retraining
the motor patterns.
If you are experiencing vocal strain, tension or even pain when speaking, and you are ready
to work 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.
Ok.
Before we do the three exercises, let’s take a baseline.
It means to do a short informal assessment of your voice before the exercises and then,
we are going to compare it to your voice after the exercises.
It’s a quick way to know if there are any changes in your voice.
So, let’s do that.
Count from 1 to 10 or say the days of the week.
If you are a singer, sing a short cut from a song.
And notice how your voice feels.
On a scale from 1 to 10, how easy is it to use your voice right now?
1 means it is really hard to make a sound and 10 is the best and easiest voice you can
have.
Pause this video and do it right now.
Great, you are back.
Let’s start.
Exercise 1 The motor sound
The motor sound or the V sound is a fricative.
This is a speech sound that is produced by moving air through a narrowing created between
the upper teeth and the lower lip.
First, just sustain the sound on a comfortable pitch in your speaking range.
Say V as in the word van.
Feel the vibrations, feel the air coming out of your mouth and also pay attention to how
much air you are using for sustaining the sound.
It’s not a lot of air, right?
You can use this sound for any vocal exercise, such as slides, sirens, arpeggios or scales.
We are going to make things very easy and we are going to just hold the sound for as
long as you can.
Great.
Now pause the video and do it 4 more times.
Exercise 2 The NG sound
I love the NG sound because it is a neutralizing sound, meaning it keeps the larynx in the
mid position at any pitch level.
The NG sound uses a high tongue, which means that the tongue is out of the way, the larynx
has a space to move and the tongue cannot push the larynx down.
Plus all of the benefits of a semi occluded vocal tract sound, where the narrowing is
at the back of the mouth.
We are going to use sirens to move our voice through a range of pitches - from low to high
and then back down to low pitches again.
Like the siren of an ambulance.
First say the word “sing” and prolong the last sound NG.
Don’t use the word song or sung.
Use the word sing because it will bring your tongue into a high position.
Excellent.
Just sustain the NG sound in your comfortable range.
The sound is small, there is no pushing.
If you want, make the sound sweet and winy, it will help you move through your vocal range.
And you don’t have to go super high or super low.
Make it comfortable for you.
When we speak, we use intonation, which is basically talking on different pitches.
Therefore, I like sirens.
Once you have the Ng sound, start your siren.
Move up in the range a little bit, then come down, then go up again and repeat a few times.
Isn’t this fun?
Exercise 3 Hand over mouth sound This is the easiest way to create semi-occlusion
in your vocal tract.
All you need to do is to cover your mouth with your hand, while making a sound.
It looks like this.
First, say ooo in your comfortable range.
Then, cover your mouth and keep making the same sound.
You may even feel the back pressure that is suddenly created in your throat.
Let’s now sustain sounds at three different pitch levels.
You can imitate my pitch or you can choose your own pitches.
Let’s go.
Now, we are done with the exercises and it is time to test your voice again.
The same way as you did at the beginning of this video.
Count from 1 to 10 or say the days of the week.
If you are a singer, sing a short cut from a song.
And notice how your voice feels now.
On a scale from 1 to 10, how easy is it to use your voice right now?
Any changes?
Let me know in the comments below.
If you are dealing with tension, 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.
And if you found this video helpful, click the like button and share it with your friends.
Check out my other videos right here below.
See you soon.
Bye.