How To Start Singing Again After A Long Break - Recondition Voice Quickly with 4 Exercises
Haven’t sung for months or years? Here’s how to start singing again after a long break.
Here’s 4 exercises to quickly recondition your voice. And you can help me recondition
an historic building. What am I talking about? Watch!
Hi, I’m Chuck Gilmore, International Vocal Coach and Founder of Power To Sing.
For amazing vocal technique to build a powerful and confident singing voice, please subscribe
and hit the bell to get notified when I post a video every week!
Today’s video is different. I’m going to give you something of great value to help
restore and recondition your voice. In return and I’m going to ask a personal favor of
you. I’m going to ask for your help to recondition a structure of historical significance. My
daughter, Jessie, and her partner, Dave, own this building and need our help. More about
that later.
After months or years of not singing, I’m going to give you four vocal exercises to
quickly recondition your voice. I’ll teach you these exercises using this historic building
as my studio.
I’ll assume you sang a little or a lot, months or years ago and now you want to get
your voice working again. Your voice feels “out of shape”. It’s been too long since
you’ve used it to sing.
Just like your body reconditions with the right exercises, the right vocal exercises
can get your singing voice to come back again. Your singing future is bright.
Our bodies are like this building. It was a gem when it was built and remains a gem
now...just older. And like our voices, wear and tear on this building takes its toll.
For example the front porch is sinking with age. It’s like losing your high notes.
Maybe you weren’t “born” with high notes, like this building wasn’t “born” with
a ramp for easy wheelchair access.
Your voice is beautiful, but like this building, it needs some reconditioning.
Here are four powerful exercises guaranteed to recondition your singing voice so you won’t
be embarrassed. Soon you’ll be able to start singing again with confidence.
To make this simple, I’ll demonstrate the exercises for you now. At the end of the video
I’ll give you a download link so you can get all the exercises on your phone or computer
for easy practicing.
Exercise One - Bubble Lips - 1 ½ Scale
Why This exercise is deceptively effective.
First, it helps stretch and thin the vocal cords in a controlled and safe manner and
shorten them as well.
Second, it trains the vocal cords to adjust from your low voice, (Chest Voice) to your
high voice (Head Voice) without straining, cracking or breaking into falsetto and back
down again.
Third, it keeps the larynx down in a neutral position. This enables you to sing higher
without straining and allowing the vibrations to shift easily from chest to head voice and
back down.
How
Say “uh” as you place your fingers along your jawline and lift your cheeks up. This
takes the weight of your cheeks off of the lips so they are free to bubble without tension.
Now blow air through your lips while lifting your cheeks and saying “uh”. [demo]
Use the 1 ½ scale as you do the bubble. It sounds like this: [demo]
Because you’re reconditioning your vocal cords, if it’s too high, you can come in
or stop whenever you feel you should. Also don’t do it too loud. Just medium volume.
Bonus Exercises: Do the same 1 ½ scale only this time use a tongue trill. It sounds like
this. [demo] If you can’t do the tongue till...use the word “goo”. It sounds like
this. [demo] Notice it goes hooty as I sing higher. It shouldn’t pinch for strain like
this. [demo]
[ On balcony filmed from below]
Exercise Two - Ney’s Octave Repeat Scale
This is another powerful reconditioning exercise. It does many things at the same time. First,
it reduces the heaviness of the chest voice and second, it deepens the head voice so it
doesn’t go into falsetto. Third, it connects the tone when singing from chest to head voice
and third, it creates an even tone between all the notes from bottom to top and back
down again.
Do this exercise medium soft, and add an exaggerated sound like this using the Octave repeat scale.
[demo] You can gradually increase the loudness over time slightly, but not louder than medium
loud.
The download will take you through a series of Ney’s.
Bonus Exercises: Do the Neys on the 1 ½ scale like this. [demo]
Exercise Three - “E” - Arpeggio Scale
Using the E vowel and a slight hooty sound, this scale sounds like this. [demo arpeggio]
Say “oo” as in “new” and with your “oo” lips, say “E”. Allow the “E”
to have a hooty sound as you sing higher like this. [demo]
Bonus Exercises: Do the same scale, only this time use Bubble
Lips. It sounds like this. [demo] Then do the arpeggio scale using “Oh”. It sounds
like this. [demo]
Exercise Four - Mum
Using the Octave Repeat and the 1 ½ scales, say “mum”. The Octave Repeat Scale sounds
like this. [demo] The mum on the 1 ½ scale sounds like this.
General Instructions for All Vocal Recondition Exercises
1. Don’t push your voice hard. Come in or stop singing when you need to. You don’t
recondition your voice by pushing to extremes. 2. At first, sing these medium soft. Over
time you can increase the loudness to medium to medium loud.
3. Discontinue any exercise if you feel any discomfort.
4. Limit your total time daily to 30 minutes a day. You may find it more effective to do
15 minutes twice a day. 5. There is no one best time of day to practice.
Find what works best for you.
So what is the Clubhouse and why do we need your help. I’ve love to show you around.
Over a century ago in 1913, this architectural masterpiece was commissioned by the Ladies’
Literary Club of Utah, a group of well-educated and ...well-off women! who met regularly to
cultivate knowledge in history, science, arts, literature, and politics.
While women all over the US formed these kinds of social clubs, the Salt Lake City group
was the oldest women’s club West of the Mississippi River (est 1877) and they remained
active right here in this Clubhouse until 2013, just a handful of years ago.
In 2016 this incredible hall was purchased by my daughter Jessica and her partner Dave.
Through the support of their creative community, they’ve renovated its features and opened
it to the public for events, performances, weddings, workshops, recitals, etc
Sounds great, right? So what’s the deal? I’m glad you asked! This month, October
of 2019, the Clubhouse is competing nationally for a grant which would allow them to build
an ADA wheelchair ramp...
(Chuck: What’s ADA? Jessica: American Disability Act
American Disability Act wheelchair ramp. The wheelchair ramp is required…)
...and to restore the sinking and deteriorating front porch, and tend to some of the historic
preservation projects required to keep this beautiful building standing another 100 years
and to make it accessible to all people for the first time in history!
Out of almost 200 historic sites across the country (all related to women’s history),
Clubhouse is now 1 of 20 finalists for this $150,000 grant! In order to win, they need
our help! Every day until October 29th, we need YOU to get online at VoteYourMainStreet.org
to VOTE for Clubhouse in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The voting link is included in the PDF for the exercises HERE, (up in the corner of the
video) and in the description area below this YouTube video. If it’s past October 29,
2019, I’ll post the results on the download for the exercises so you know the outcome.
So the voting link and the exercises you can get on the same PDF.
Until then, VOTE daily at VoteYourMainStreet.org. YOUR VOTE IS SO NEEDED AND VALUED! Thank you!
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I’m Chuck Gilmore with Power to Sing and this is my daughter, Jessica. . You can sing
higher with beauty, confidence and power.
I’ll see you inside the next video.