In this video, I am going to show you how to do lip trills the right way.
I will also tell you why you may have trouble doing the lip trill exercise and how to fix
it.
And you can practice them with my accompaniment at the end of this video.
Are you ready?
Let’s start.
Hi and welcome back.
If we haven’t met yet, my name is Katarina and I am a speech-language pathologist from
How 2 Improve Singing and on this channel, I share tips on how to sing in a healthy and
efficient way.
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Lip trills, lip bubbles, lip buzzing, lip rolls.
Many different names for the same exercise.
First of all, why would you want to do a lip trills exercise?
This type of exercise is a so called SOVT exercise.
SOVT stands for semi occluded vocal tract and it basically means that there is a partial
narrowing in the vocal tract.
Why would you care?
Because this narrowing creates back pressure that helps your vocal folds to vibrate more
efficiently and easily.
There are other benefits to SOVT exercises that I explained in this video.
If you missed that video, you can watch it by clicking here or I will also link to it
at the end of this video.
Another reason to include lip trills exercises into your daily vocal routine is to learn
how to control airflow during sound production.
If you ever tried lip trills, you know that if you use too much or too little air, the
lip trills will fail.
So, let’s try them together.
We will start with lifting your cheeks to relax your facial muscles.
Then, blow air through the lips to set them into vibrations.
That is fairly easy, right?
Now, repeat it but sustain a neutral sound “uh” while blowing the air through the
lips.
Like this.
If you have trouble doing the lip trills, here are two reasons why: too much tension
or problems with the airflow.
First, your lips, cheeks or jaw may be too tight.
Relax the facial muscles, give yourself a quick massage, release the tension in the
jaw or move your head from side to side to get rid of any tension you may have.
Lifting the cheeks with your hands should also help relax your facial muscles.
Second, to achieve just the right amount of air going through the vocal folds and lips,
start with a small amount of air and slowly increase the effort until you set the lips
into vibrations.
If you are using too much air, ease up on the amount.
Play around with the effort to get this right.
You will also need to adjust the airflow as you go up or down in your vocal range.
So, if you have trouble, always think: Am I pushing too much or too little air through
the lips?
Once you know how to do this comfortably, practice lip trills on a 5-note scale.
Continue up the scale by a semitone.
The accompaniment starts low and goes up high through several octaves, so do the lip rolls
in a range that feels comfortable for you.
Are you ready?
Let’s start.
That was a
good vocal workout!
I hope you like this exercise as much as I do.
Let me know in the comments below.
Before you go, click the like button and share this video with your singing friends and don’t
forget to check out my other videos right here below.
I will see you in another video.