Breathing Exercises When you control the breath, you control the voice.

Inhale through the nose on a six count; exhale slowly with a closed mouth. Repeat four times. Inhale through the nose on a six count; exhale slowly with an open mouth. Repeat four times. Inhale through the nose on a six count; exhale slowly on a hum. Repeat four times. Inhale through the nose on a six count; exhale slowly on a hum into Ahhhhhh. Repeat four times. Progressive Breathing Great for calming nerves. Focus only on the slow inhale and exhale. Inhale on a two count. Exhale on a two count. Repeat on a four count, then six count, then eight count, then ten count Relaxing the Jaw A tight jaw works against you. Make as wide a face as possible (wide open mouth, wide eyes). Then scrunch as tightly as possible. Alternate four times. Yawn on a descending scale. Chew imaginary bubblegum. Yawn on a descending scale. Chew thick peanut butter. Yawn on a descending scale. Chew stale toffee. Stick the tongue all the way out, the tip pointing down. Stick the tongue all the way out, the

tip pointing up. Stick the tongue all the way out, the tip pointing to the left. Stick the tongue all the way out, the tip pointing to the right. Make as big a circle as possible with the tongue. Adding Sound Buzz the lips. Choose a song everyone knows and hum the melody through buzzed lips

Sing several times up and down the scale. Do it smoothly with each note blending into the other. Do it staccato with each note clearly separated. Work the vowels. Say the sounds quickly from left to right. Keep good tone and make sure each sound is different. Repeat 4 times.
MOO MOH MAW MAH MAY MEE BOO BOH BAW BAH BAY BEE TOO TOH TAW TAH TAY TEE DOO DOH DAW DAH DAY DEE NOO NOH NAW NAH NAY

NEE

Repeat these six times. Keep the sound short.

HA HA HA HEE KA KA KA KEE GA GA GA GEE YA YA YA YEE RA RA RA REE PA PA PA PEE TA TA TA TEE WA WA WA WEE ZA ZA ZA ZEE

Tongue Twisters Say these ten times as quickly as possible. Toy boat An annoying noise annoys an oyster The sixth sick sheiks sixth sheeps sick Six thick thistle sticks What gall to play ball in this small hall A hotch-potch, moss-blotched, botched scotch block Around the rough and rugged rock the ragged rascal ran.
1. Glides Through a Straw Blow air through a small stirring straw while phonating glides up and down through your range. The backpressure created by the resistance of the straw presses down on the vocal cords and helps decrease puffiness, a major source of vocal trouble.

2. Lip Trills This is a variation of the straw exercise. Gently blow air through closed lips, keeping them relaxed, and sing an uh vowel underneath. Your lips should start to trill. The resistance of the bubbling lips helps maintain cord closure, an important element of good singing. 3. Creaky Doors This is a great exercise to help build the coordination needed to maintain proper cord closure. Make a little edgy sound, like a creaky door or a rusty gate opening. Do a scale on this sound using very little air. The idea is to not let the sound get breathy or squeezed. 4. Ngs Make the ng sound from the word hung. This sound is produced with the tongue and soft palate together. This again provides backpressure, while also making the transition between the lower and upper registers (chest voice and head voice) easier. 5. Nasty Nays This is done using the word nay on a bratty or Wicked Witchtype sound. This exercise also assists in cord closure, while the exaggerated sound makes it easier to ascend into the upper register without cracking or flipping. 6. Hooty Gees This is the opposite of the previous exercise, and it's quite useful for a singer experiencing excess tension. Using a dopey cartoon voice (think Yogi Bear), say the word gee. You should feel your larynx drop. The g consonant should also help with cord closure due to the backpressure it creates, so you can experience accessing the upper register with a stable larynx and closed cords. This coordination is extremely important in good, healthy singing. Once this exercise is comfortable, you can drop the dopey imposition and sing on a more natural sound. 7. Coo Coos This exercise is great for working the upper register. The coo can be made to sound hooty, like an owl, for extra ease in working high notes. 8. Aahs This is very useful for singers who are weak or breathy in their lower register. The sound is on the aah of cat and can be exaggerated by sticking the tongue out slightly. Do this in your lower register in a five-tone scale (12345 to 54321 of the major scale). Use very little air, as you don't want any breathiness in the sound. 9. Googs and Mums

These are best used once the voice is experiencing proper cord closure and ease of production. The word goog (the vowel sounds like the oo in good) has both a hard consonant for cord closure and a vowel that will help stabilize the larynx. Be sure to maintain the vowel in the upper register, as vowel widening (gaag) can cause tension. The vowel and consonant of mum provide a bit less help than goog, making this a slightly more advanced exercise. 10. Ooh-Oh-Uh-Ahs Going from a more closed or narrow vowel to a wider one on a sustain is a great way to balance resonance. The more closed vowel will help you get into your upper register. Gradually open to the wider vowel while keeping the resonance in the same place. If the tone gets shouty or strained, go back to the narrow vowel to get the voice balanced again.

2. Face Massage. Massage your face with your fingertips as well as with the palm of your hands. Apply light pressure to your jaw and nasal-labial folds, also known as your laugh-lines. Make sure you also massage your forehead. Since you'll be touching your face, make sure your hands are recently cleaned to prevent clogging your pores with dirt and debris. 3. The Hummmmm This is one of the most effective vocal warmups, and I personally do this before any speaking engagement. Sit with your back straight, and take a deep inhale that expands your diaphragm. During your exhale, vocalize the sound, "Hummmmmmm" until you have no more breath. Repeat five times. 4. Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha This is a great exercise to help give control into your voice and breathing. Stand with your shoulders resting and your face pointing forward. Place your hand on your abdomen, and breathe in so your abdomen expands (also known as diaphragm breathing). During your exhale, make static "Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha." noises. With every "Ha," push in your abdomen to force the sound out of you. Note: this is not an extended note, but rather staccato. 5. Guh Sit or stand comfortably, and repeat the sound "Guh" five to ten times. Do this in the same manner as the above exercise. 6. Pah Sit or stand comfortably, and repeat the sound "Pah" five to ten times. 7. Kah Sit or stand comfortably, and repeat the sound "Kah" five to ten times in a staccato fashion.

8. Buh Sit or stand comfortably, and repeat the sound "Buh" five to ten times in a staccato fashion. 9. Me, Me, Me, Maaahhhhh Standing or sitting, repeat the following phrase "Me, Me, Me" performed in a staccato fashion, and finally follow with an extended "Maaahhhhhh" as your exhale your full breath.

Hum while chewing its a great exercise!

May 21st, 2012

We hear good feedback from folks about this exercise, and we find it very helpful. Give it a try! 1. With your lips closed, start to hum. 2. Then make chewing movements, as if you were eating, and keep humming the whole time. 3. Now use your hands to feel the vibration in the front of your face, your nose, your cheeks, and gently allow your hands to move to your neck and throat, and perhaps even onto your belly so that you can feel how your voice resonates in different areas of your body. Using the chewing hum can warm up the different areas where your voice will resonate. Once again, when your voice resonates, it bounces around a certain area of your body, whether thats up in your face, nose or head area, your throat, or your chest or belly. Now to begin to identify where your voice is resonating, lets concentrate on specific sounds that tend to resonate in different areas. Certain sounds we create generally vibrate more toward the head, while others, because we use different muscles to make them, may vibrate lower, toward the belly. If you can learn to control where you choose to place your voice, you can begin to use it in more powerful and interesting ways.

Reading short story with loud voice and whispering every day.

Vocal Exercises to use at home

Doing these vocal exercises daily will not only help your voice but keep you young looking as well!! All of these vocal exercises must be said out loud. Repeat each one twice a day. A DVD is available - please click button on the left.

Tongue agility Work the tongue hard 1. Two little toddlers playing table tennis 2. Twenty two players taken out for a treat 3. Fifteen metre tracks are shorter than fifty meter tracks 4. Adults who play table tennis are extremely fit Consonant sounds Sound all the consonant sounds in each word, especially the 't' and 'd' sounds at the ends of the words. 1. Badminton racquets are lighter than cricket bats 2. Isnt it time you tried the high jump 3. You need to attack if you want to win 4. Hitting tennis balls while sitting down is terribly difficult

Resonance Hum the m and n sounds 1. Now is the time to introduce netball 2. Swimming is fun in the summer months 3. My martial arts instructor always smiles when he wins

4. Mini tennis is fun for small children

Lip agility 1. Betty plays competitive badminton 2. Weightlifters acquire many muscles 3. Boys love to play billiards 4. When I play polo I usually win

Vowel Sounds Open the mouth as wide as possible for all the vowel sounds i (eye) Open your mouth wide enough to put three fingers in it vertically. 1. My smile is wide as I cross the winning line 2. I cried when they scored a try 3. Im too frightened to try and jump that high 4. I try to smile even while I am losing

o (oh) Make a circle with your lips 1. Throw it slowly into the yellow box 2. Follow the arrows to avoid the snow 3. My coach is called Joe 4. Go and show Flo a Judo throw

a (ay) Your mouth should change shape as you say this sound. 1. Im afraid you didnt make the relay team

2. Croquet is played at eight 3. There isnt enough space in this place for a race 4. Stay there Jay and pick up the weight

a (ah) Open your mouth wide enough to put three fingers in it vertically. 1. Martial Arts wont harm my arm 2. Stay calm, dont argue, Ill spar with you 3. My car can go fast 4. I cant lift the bar very far with my bad arm

Fun tongue twisters 1. She sells sea shells on the sea shore 2. Whether the weather be hot or whether the weather be not 3. Peter Piper picked a piece of pickled pepper 4. Red leather yellow leather

Tongue Twisters for Kids

She sells seashells on the seashore. Flash message. Flash message. Mix a box of mixed biscuits with a boxed biscuit mixer. A proper copper coffee pot. I saw Esau sitting on a seesaw. Esau, he saw me. Toy boat. Toy boat. Toy boat. Lovely lemon liniment. Six thick thistle sticks. Six thick thistles stick. Good blood, bad blood.

Three free throws.The instinct of an extinct insect stinks. Comical economists. Comical economists. Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches? Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked? One-One was a racehorse. Two-Two was one, too. When One-One won one race, Two-Two won one, too.

She sells sea shells by the sea shore. She sells sea shells at the sea shore; At the sea shore she sells sea shells. She sells sea shells on the sea shell shore. The sea shells she sells are sea shore shells, Of that Im sure. If neither he sells sea shells, nor she sells sea shells, Who shall sell sea shells? Shall sea shells be sold? Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers A pack of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, Wheres the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked? A skunk sat on a stump, The stump thunk the skunk stunk, The skunk thunk the stump stunk. The last of these was originally part of a collection that included every letter of the alphabet. Peter Piper is the only popular surviving tongue twister of the series that is still commonly recited today. Some newer tongue twisters are designed to make people stumble in speech and say words that they do not intend to, or that are not present in the actual saying: One smart fellow he felt smart. Two smart fellows they both felt smart. Three smart fellows they all felt smart. I am not a pheasant plucker, but a pheasant plucker's son. And Im only plucking pheasants

Til the present pheasant plucker's come. Unique New York Mrs. Obbly Doobly had a square cut punt. Not a cut punt square but a square cut punt. It was round in the middle and square in the front Mrs. Obbly Doobly had a square cut punt. I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet I sit. Some have developed into jokes by taking advantage of the slur of one word into another, characteristic of most tongue twisters. For example: If a shepherd had thirty sick sheep, and one died, how many would be left? The answer is 29, which is obvious when you are reading the joke. When someone speaks the question quickly however, it sounds as if he is saying thirty six, and so the amusing, incorrect response would be 35. Another combination tongue twister-joke is a knock knock joke. Knock knock. Whos there? Im a pile up. Im a pile up who? Dont be so hard on yourself. Again, the written version of this joke isnt very humorous, but the phonetic result when Im a pile up who? is spoken quickly is the punch line!