let me introduce you to powerful voice  strengthening exercises for singers  

improve vocal cord closure and vocal power  smooth transitions between registers extend  

your vocal range and learn how to sing  without straining sounds good let's start

hi and welcome if we haven't met yet I am Katrina  speech-language pathologist from how to improve  

singing and here on this channel I share tips on  how to use your voice in a healthy and efficient  

way so if you don't want to miss any of my future  videos consider subscribing to this channel and  

hitting that Bell notification icon so you want  to know how to strengthen vocal chords without  

straining you may be surprised what I am going  to tell you in this video the voice exercises to  

strengthen vocal chords are drumroll please draw  exercises have you heard about straw exercises if  

not no problem I am going to give you some basic  information so that you can start improving your  

voice today straw exercises or straw for nation  have many benefits for a singing voice here are  

some examples straw exercises are excellent  vocal cord closure exercises so you may use  

them to eliminate unwanted breath Ernest straw  exercises encourage legato or smooth singing  

because they require a steady air flow during  straw exercises your vocal cords are aligned  

well therefore these vocal chord exercises help  erase breaks in voice my favorite benefit is  

sound production without muscular and vocal  effort you don't need to press or strain your  

muscles to sing therefore these exercises are  wonderful for strained vocal cords but they are  

very useful for singer who wants to learn how  to not strain your voice when singing now you  

may be asking oh is this possible well here is  the short answer straw exercises are so called  

as opt exercises or semi occluded vocal tract  exercises these are exercises during which the  

a partial closure or narrowing in the vocal tract  when you produce sounds with an open mouth without  

narrowing the vocal cords have to resist the  pressure that is created below them but if you  

create narrowing in the vocal tract in the case  of straw exercises the narrowing is at the lips  

back pressure is created there's back pressure  above the vocal cords then encourages better  

vocal cord position and vocal cord closure sounds  complicated but it really is not if you push too  

much air through the vocal cords two things can  happen the vocal cords either cannot resist the  

pressure and they leak air and you will sound  breathy or the vocal cords resist this pressure  

by tightening which results in pressed for nation  and vocal strain so straw exercises are a great  

tool for singers who use either too much or too  little air when singing so what do you need for  

this exercise a straw or several straws of  different ways I would encourage you to use  

fully biodegradable environment-friendly straws  made of paper straw or bamboo or you can also  

use reusable straws made of metal glass or silicon  I also saw singers using bucatini pasta which is  

spaghetti like pasta with a hole running through  the middle I personally use straws made out of  

actual straw and because they are completely  natural they already come with different ways  

if this is your first time doing straw exercises  then experiment with different ways of straws the  

smaller the diameter the more challenging task  because the back pressure created by this thin  

straw will be larger so pause this video and go  and find yourself a straw I'll wait right here

good you are back now let me show you a very basic  straw exercise and if you stay until the end I  

will tell you where to get more straw exercises  put the straw in your mouth and make a good feel  

of with your lips around the straw don't let the  air escape through the nose or mouth and if you  

are not sure if air is escaping through your  nose you can plug it and vocalize in this way

use the bell ooh one vocalizing during straw  exercises this vowel will encourage neutral  

position of the larynx because the sound with  a straw will never be as loud as the sound with  

an open mouth focus on the sensations where do  you feel the vibrations can you hear and feel  

the airflow through the straw how much air  do you need can you feel the back pressure  

how does it feel now inhale through the nose  and then phonate through the mouth and straw

choose a page in your comfortable speaking  range and sustain the sound notice that you  

will be using much less air than during  vocal exercises with an open mouth put  

a hand in front of this draw and feel the air  coming out if you don't feel the air you are  

cutting it off at the level of the vocal  cords also make sure that the air is not  

escaping through the nose if it does pinch  your nose and sustain the sound in this way

try to make the sound as a resonant as possible  

feel the vibrations in your lips  in your soft palate in the straw

this is a very basic exercise but  you can use straws for four nating  

on any pitch high or low or for  practicing scales and arpeggios

or even for practicing your repertoire  especially challenging parts of your songs

now if you want more straw exercises click this  link to learn more straw for nation doesn't sound  

like much but believe me it's a wonderful tool  used in speech therapy for strengthening fragile  

voices and nowadays straw exercises are becoming  more and more popular among voice teachers and  

singers for building healthy and strong voices  and the reason is simple they really work and  

that is all for now if you like this video click  the like button and share it with your friends and  

of course don't forget to check out my other  videos right here below I will see you soon