Episode #021 Four Proven Vocal Workout Exercises to Strengthen Your Voice

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[00:00:00] Alrighty, here we are. Welcome back. Find Your Voice, Rock Your Confidence. I am your host, Sloane Reali. And I believe if this is airing today, it is actually a holiday for a lot of you. You might be listening to this at the tail end of a long weekend or vacation or maybe you're in the car commuting. Today's topic is the Four Proven Vocal Workout Exercises to Strengthen Your Voice.

[00:00:35] So here's my first question for you today. If you struggle with losing your voice, if this is like a regular thing, if you are challenged with laryngitis frequently vocal fatigue, a fear of speaking up, being judged, looking foolish. If you are frequently asked to please speak [00:01:00] up, this podcast is for you.

[00:01:03] So there are the physical challenges that can plague us with our voice, but sometimes, and actually quite frequently, it's both a physical and a mental or an unconscious. thing that we are struggling with. And so I hope to address both of those issues and whether you are tuning in as an emerging artist or a hobby singer or if you are a business professional and you're just looking for some tips you want to up your game a little bit with your voice, this is the place to be.

[00:01:36] Before we jump in though, I love my quotables today. This one is great and also just because I love this artist and I know not everybody feels the same way, but I still love listening to her stuff. So the quote is, be happy with being you. Love your flaws. Own your [00:02:00] quirks. And that is from Ariana Grande. So more on that at another time.

[00:02:05] Today, my rock star friends, entrepreneurs, welcome to the ultimate vocal gym. Today, we're going to pump up your vocal cord muscles. We're going to take your speaking game to a whole new level. If you've ever wanted to captivate an audience. seal a business contract or a deal or command attention with your words, this is the place for you to be.

[00:02:32] So get ready for some vocal workouts that will have your voice sounding smoother and supported than ever. So the first thing today, Is the what we're calling the high note roller coaster. So I want you to imagine that you're on a roller coaster and instead of screaming out of, fear and anxiety and all of the things that roller coasters [00:03:00] bring up for us.

[00:03:01] We're going to ride the waves of that rollercoaster with your voice. So before we jump into this exercise, I just want to review some of you listening, I know I have clients that listen to this. You've heard this a million times. This is an exercise we do to get ourself into state. It's a way that we shake out our sillies.

[00:03:21] Yeah, it is, called a vocal swoop. And for those of you who are new to this podcast, essentially the breakdown of your voice so that we're all on the same page is I teach. I coach and show you that we all have what I refer to as one voice with three vocal vicinities. You've got this low area down in your belly, which is all about breathing and relaxing.

[00:03:49] In order to get down to that part of your voice, we have that other part of your voice, the one that you're using all day every day. This is your speaking voice. This is the voice when you are. If you have [00:04:00] kids and you're at a, a soccer match or some athletic event that's the voice that you're yelling with.

[00:04:06] What tends to happen, one of the challenges, if you're not using your voice correctly or maybe you're at a rock concert you're at some, at a party where there's a lot of activity, a lot of, a lot of sound you're trying to rise over, the mistake, this is a common mistake. When people lose their voice or they suffer with laryngitis, it is because they've been screaming or yelling from their throat.

[00:04:34] So you're trying to communicate from this, that mid part of your body, your regular speaking voice. But it has absolutely no connection to that lower part of your body where your breath and your support and all of that come from. And then of course there's this high pitched place up in the falsetto area, up in that head voice.

[00:04:52] So what I'd like for you to do right now, before we jump into the swoop, is let's just find that place together. And if you've worked with me before, you know how [00:05:00] to do this. You do it with us. Do it with a friend if you happen to be listening or watching on YouTube with with another person. You kind of be the coach for that person that you're there with.

[00:05:10] So first thing I want you to do is let's place both of your hands on your solar plexus muscle. Now, of course, if you are driving while you're listening to this, this is going to be challenging. If you are listening, you're going to have to use your your visual. So I want to place your hands on that part of your stomach, above your belly button, below the ribcage.

[00:05:32] This is what I refer to as your solar plexus muscle. And what we want to do is take a breath through your nose or mouth, past the lungs, down into the solar plexus in a way that as you inhale through your nose or mouth, down into that lower red part of your body, that you're going to inhale your hands forward away from your spine with the inhale.

[00:05:55] Let's try this together. And then on your [00:06:00] exhale, You're going to contract that muscle. Now on the exhale, your hands should now move towards the spine. Let me try that again on the inhale. Your hands should move away from your spine out in front of you. And then on the exhale, as you contract that muscle, your hand should now move toward the spine.

[00:06:28] So what we're really trying to engage right now is that solar plexus muscle. It's also connected to the diaphragm muscle. This is where all of that breath support. That muscle is like an accordion, if you know that instrument. As we inhale, as you're opening up the accordion instrument, it's taking that air into the bellows.

[00:06:47] And then as you exhale, that is a full contraction that is happening. So let's go back to the exercise. So we're going to take that breath, keeping your shoulders relaxed. [00:07:00] The only thing we want to move actually are the hands on that solar plexus, moving forward on the inhale or towards your spine on the exhale.

[00:07:09] That's the only thing we want to move as you do this. Now let's do a few of those breaths together. Just a normal, regular inhale with me, exhale, hands towards the spine. One more right there. Breath in and then exhale hands towards the spine. Now in this next inhale you're going to take the breath, And then we're going to go back to this rollercoaster.

[00:07:39] You're actually going to draw that air and energy up from the bottoms of your feet in your seat. You're going to take that sound, that breath, all the way up. You're going to release that. You're going to draw it from the floor. Sound coming all the way up and then you're going to release it out the top of your head.

[00:07:54] It's going to sound something like this. Listen once. Starts with my breath.[00:08:00]

[00:08:07] This is what I call a full range vocal swoop. So let's try that again. Nice big breath in, exhale, drawing that air and energy up on the floor, up through your body, all the way out through the top of your head. Again, come with me. Ah, Oh, Ooh, Ah. And then one more, last one, best one. Have fun with this. Flay.

[00:08:32] Try not to think about it too much. Nice big breath. Ah, Oh, Ooh,

[00:08:42] Ah. So this is what I call a full range vocal swoop. And I love the imagery of a roller coaster. And it's, it just gives you a visual of you coming in from that bottom of that roller coaster, right? And then as we're [00:09:00] building, you're heading up to the top, top, top, top, top, before you're going to come all the way back down on that ride again.

[00:09:05] This is a great exercise. You could do this ten times in a row if you are preparing to get in front of people or a stage or an open mic or whatever you've got going on with your voice, find some private place that you can before you even enter the rooms, before you hit the stage, before you hit the meeting, and just go do this 10 times to the best of your ability, loud, proud, try not to worry too much about anybody else around.

[00:09:31] It's really a great way to warm your voice up instantly, to change your mental and your physical state, and most important, have fun with this exercise. So the next one, number two, this is what we're calling the dynamic duo. So if you remember the Batman and Robin, that, I think that was their tag word. So what we're going to do now is begin by, we're going to start with the vowel ah, A H, A A H, [00:10:00] Ah, just try that with me.

[00:10:02] Super simple. We're just totally relaxing your jaw. We're relaxing your mouth, your, that hinge underneath your ears, your lips. It's more, more of an A W E. Let's try more of an A W. It's easier to visualize. Start with your breath first. Always breath first. Ah. So we're doing a descending starting in the chest.

[00:10:27] A W E with the breath. Ah, so we're doing this descending. Sound. We're going to change that up just a little bit gradually. With the volume, we're going to bring that down now to a quieter sound. So this is what I actually refer to as a vocal compression exercise. So we're starting a little bit louder and then as the sound continues to leave.

[00:10:58] So one, you've got to [00:11:00] make sure that you've got enough air in that solar plexus muscle, right? Always better, especially for singers. My suggestion is always better to have more air than not enough. If you don't have enough air, and you're singing, what's going to happen is you're going to run out of air and then you're going to fall flat.

[00:11:21] Your pitch is going to be really, really off. At least if you have more air than you need, you're going to be able to support. Support that. And if you still have air at the end of that phrase, you can get rid of it by the end, but, but take as deep and as big of a breath as you can. And now what we're going to do is you are going to give the volume, you're gonna give the energy, but at the.

[00:11:42] And we're going to compress that. We're going to pull back on that a little bit, volume wise. But not because you're running out of breath. So listen up. For example, starts with my breath again. Shoulders stay relaxed. The only thing moving is that solar plexus muscle connected to your diaphragm. Looks and sounds [00:12:00] like this.

[00:12:00] Listen once.

[00:12:08] So we're still doing the descending, but we're starting out with a little more volume, and then we're compressing it at the end. We're getting a little bit more quiet. So this really has a lot to do with your ability to control what is happening with your voice. Let's try, let's try a different sound, a different starting note.

[00:12:28] I'm going to drop down into the lower register of my body, right? That's that area. It's all about relaxation. Listen.

[00:12:39] Take a breath. Hold and sustain that same note. No compression here yet. Just find the note with me. Do your best. Leave the rest. Don't get hung up on, what it sounds like. If you're singing the right note, there's none of that business going on here right now. We're just playing with the sound of your voice and how to control it in different scenarios.

[00:12:59] Try that [00:13:00] again with a nice big breath. Here's the sound. Oh,

[00:13:08] now what we're gonna do, that part of the body, we're gonna start out strong and then we're gonna get quiet at the end. More of a compression versus running out of air. Gonna sound like this. Ah,

[00:13:29] it almost turns into a breath by the end. So take a nice big breath. We're in the lower register. There's a dance between air and energy. This is all about relaxation right now. Let's try that again. Nice big breath.

[00:13:48] Kind of like when I do my singing bowls. When I ring the singing bowl, it starts out loud, beautiful vibration. Everything is moving. [00:14:00] Everything is ringing. But it just, it, as that sound continues without any touch, without me adding anything to it, it just kind of fades away by the end. Now let's go to the other part of your voice.

[00:14:15] That's that falsetto space. For some of you guys, if there are men listening to this and you have never been in that part of your body don't worry, no fret, do your best, leave the rest. In fact, this is one of the funnest things that I do with new clients, particularly with males who have never been in that part of the voice.

[00:14:32] It can actually be quite emotional and very moving because anytime we're, we're opening up another part of your range or your voice that you've never experimented with Transcribed It's, it's, it's your moving energy literally out of the body. In fact, I had a client just last week, a new client.

[00:14:51] He is preparing for a really fun project. He has a men's retreat coming up next month and is brand new to voice. He's [00:15:00] very successful in his career. He's a financial guy and he's been successful at a lot of things. He used to be an athlete. He does great, and he's a hard worker. He's a great student.

[00:15:12] He pours himself into everything that he does. And this is one of those things that he was not as confident. He's never done this. He's so much of this is out of his. Comfort zone. It's so new to him. And this is exactly what happened with with this man. He doesn't know that I'm talking about him on the podcast, so I want to keep him anonymous.

[00:15:33] But this is what he said last week is we're getting into parts of his voice that he has never experienced in his life. And it's all new and it's very fun and it can be, it can be moving. So it's just, also very healing what we do with the voice. So let's go back to that falsetto. Here's the exercise.

[00:15:51] Breath, always, you know it, from your solar plexus. We're gonna draw that air. We're gonna draw that energy like a human straw, right? Imagine you're [00:16:00] like a giant human straw. You're gonna draw this up through your body. You're gonna bring it all the way up. We're gonna move through that Tarzan place. That part of your vocal, that break that doesn't vibrate sound, we're gonna go right through that.

[00:16:14] It's a tiny little event. And we're going to release the air up into the falsetto part, your head voice of, of the voice. Sounds like this. Starts with my breath. Woo! Ah. You could even hear, there was a little click in my own voice. I didn't have enough air moving through my break to get me all the way there with supported sound.

[00:16:41] I'm going to take a little bit deeper breath. Try it with me. Don't be afraid. Try and try not just, we're just it's just an exercise. It's not going to kill you. I've never had any clients ever collapse under my tutelage and, and over two decades now. I guess there's always a first, but we're not going to, we're not going to put that out there.

[00:16:59] So take [00:17:00] that breath, get enough air, draw, imagine yourself like a giant human straw. You're going to bring that all the way up. I'm going to head up to that falsetto. The other piece is make sure to keep that jaw dropped. And your jaw and your lips slightly forward creating that corn shape. Listen again.

[00:17:15] Oh.

[00:17:24] One more last one. Best one come with me. All the

[00:17:36] way back down to the base. Beautiful. So I kind of connected the exercise two with exercise three, which I call the resonance. Rumba. And that is really what we've been doing here with your three vocal vicinities is you've got that low voice, which is about breath and relaxation. You've got your chest voice, your speaking voice, which is about breath and a little extra [00:18:00] energy or athleticism.

[00:18:02] And then you've got that falsetto place, which is a combination also air and energy. But it's a really a dance when you get up there, because what will happen, the physiology of our body. If we give too much energy, too much volume or athleticism, when you are trying to move from your speaking voice into that headspace, you'll never get there.

[00:18:25] Just the physiology of our body and giving that much energy won't allow us to get there. Pass that vocal break into the falsetto. So it really, this is, have fun with this play with it, play with your voice, right? Experiment. There's not really any way. I mean, there are certainly ways that you could hurt your voice.

[00:18:46] And like I said, early on, if you are struggling with losing your voice, vocal fatigue any throat. issues, any discomfort, you are likely not using your voice in a safe and corrective way.[00:19:00] One of the problems that I, I see frequently, one of the mistaken beliefs, I guess, is when people decide that they want to do vocal work, they're going to go watch the YouTubes and they're going to make the notes.

[00:19:13] And they're going to do it all on their, their own, but you don't have anybody giving you that constructive feedback or making suggestions. In fact, just yesterday I was out and about here locally, we have a, a mall that is turned into a, it's really less of a shopping mall anymore, and it's turned into a creative arts mall.

[00:19:33] place. There's we've got a museum in there. There's a high touch thing. We have the Grace Fisher Foundation for kids with special needs. It's all creative and available and made adaptive for anybody to come in and participate. Anyway, I'm I'm in one of these these locations yesterday, and a gentleman comes in who runs one of the museums actually.

[00:19:58] And when he [00:20:00] learned that I was a vocal coach, it's always so interesting when people learn what I do professionally. I've learned to not be so quick to jump in and share all the things that I do, because one, I'm finding it's way more interesting once I put that out there. I'm a professional voice and confidence coach or mentor just to be quiet and see what their feedback or take is.

[00:20:24] Because I do a lot with the voice. Anyway, this particular gentleman was sharing. Oh, he was very funny. He was Very comedic and lots of jokes and, self deprecating himself in his own voice and, in another life he was this, and if he were to come back again he's gonna be that. But it was very interesting to hear his approach.

[00:20:44] He has never worked with a professional vocal coach yet, and he was sharing with me, his perspective of his voice. He had, done some little exercises with his keyboard. He'd plunk out a note for pitch, and then he tried to sing that note, and he would try to do a little... Five note scale.

[00:20:59] Now, I [00:21:00] have no idea if he's doing those correctly or safely, or if he's, if he's causing more harm to his voice or not. But what was interesting is that before he, and he did not express any interest in working with me or anybody else. I didn't, certainly didn't press it, but his approach to singing was really The messaging and the emotion, like he gave way more weight to, if he's going to sing, it's more important for him to express the emotion of what it is that he's trying to communicate.

[00:21:37] And in that conversation anyway, did not give so much weight to technical, methodology, singing and using your voice in a way that is. way to be sustainable and that you're not going to hurt yourself. So I just thought it was, it was very interesting to hear where he put his focus of attention and the priorities around using his voice.

[00:21:58] My [00:22:00] professional opinion, always, always, always start with the mechanics, start with your body, start with your brain, start with connecting all those worlds together. Because if those things are all in check, then. Emoting and getting your message across and the all of the emotions involved in your messaging are naturally going to flow and they're going to flow easily in a way that is supportive to your voice.

[00:22:25] And you don't have to think about those things, right? There, I couldn't imagine, you get up there with this great message or this new song, original work you're going to share, and then your voice doesn't cooperate because you didn't take the time to work with a professional and, or, or, somebody that knows what they're doing.

[00:22:42] If you don't know what you're doing with your voice, I can't say enough. If not me, go hire somebody and work with a professional before you move on to, that's like steps one, two, three, the message and your emotions and all of that. So that's like seven, eight, nine, right? You got to get, you got to lay the foundation [00:23:00] first friends.

[00:23:00] So anyway, okay. Couple more exercises here. The power house punch we're calling this, which is really, Nothing more than vocal affirmations here, right? This is, this is a great one here. Let's sit up nice and straight. And this is right out of my 26 ways to access your voice instantly. If you have not picked that up, I'll make sure that's in the show notes for you.

[00:23:23] It's it's for fun. It's free. It's really powerful. It's breath work. It's affirmations. It's really getting your head connected to the I am principle. The I am. Whatever you want to to instill in your brain in your body. In this particular example, they're using the I am unstoppable, right? In my meditation, I start with the alphabet.

[00:23:52] A, I am, we're going to breathe that in, so get yourself in a good posture, shoulders up and rolled back, open up [00:24:00] that heart space and lung. Let's put one hand on the heart, the other on that solar plexus muscle. Let's take that breath through your nose or mouth, past the lungs. The only thing moving is that hand on your solar plexus.

[00:24:11] Breathe that hand forward on the inhale and then exhale out. So we're breathing on the inhale, I am, let's exhale, whatever word works for you that starts with the letter A, amazing, awesome, admirable, whatever it is on the exhale, right? So this is like we're, we're, we're making a Big announcement, right?

[00:24:37] We're going to channel your inner superhero. You're going to feel that energy surging through your body, right? And in an order to boost your vocal projection, your confidence and ensuring that your message reaches every corner of the room. Let's take another breathing in. I am on your [00:25:00] exhale. Let's something that starts with the letter B exhale.

[00:25:03] Beautiful. bodacious, brilliant, whatever works for you. Let's take another one. I am take a big breath in. We're on the letter C. I love courageous, confident, exhale that out. Again, the only thing must moving are the hand on the solar plexus muscle. Let's do one more for good measure. Breathing in. I am and let's release with a D.

[00:25:34] I love divine. Divine, divine. You got the whole alphabet to work with. Like I said, this is a guided meditation. You can pick up off of the website. There was one more exercise here. Hold on. You know what? I took one of them out. It had to do with the tongue and I took it out because even though the tongue is connected to all of this [00:26:00] business, it has more to do with articulation.

[00:26:03] And there are other exercises that we can do, but they're not directly connected to. What's happening with the vocal cords every time that you breathe, you are moving air through those muscle groups as you make sound, it's the air and the sound moving through those muscles, causing the vocal cords to vibrate that create the sound.

[00:26:30] So I kind of took that one out. So anyway, with that, congratulations. You have completed, for today, your vocal gym workout. You've armed yourself with the tools to speak with conviction, some charm, maybe a little touch of magic. Now put these exercises into practice daily, and watch your communication skills skyrocket.

[00:26:52] It wasn't anything too fancy. This is some, This was some really simple things. Some very simple tools. [00:27:00] I've mentioned in previous episodes and in all the work that I do, the two most common challenges, the two most common things that I see people struggling with. Clients, singers, presenters, ordinary people are, they're not breathing correctly.

[00:27:19] For number one. And number two, what is going on with their jaw, their lips, the shape of their vowels, right? How are they using that air to move through their lungs, the vocal cords, their body in order to create the sound that you are communicating. So remember that the key to mastering your voice. is consistency, right?

[00:27:44] Anything that we do consistently over time is what is going to reap the results, right? Having fun along the way, that's, that is like my number one go to most important for, for everything that I do, for everybody that I work with. Having fun is really key.[00:28:00] I, I'll work with clients for days, but you know, if it's just drudgery and, and it's something they're doing because they have to.

[00:28:06] to, I get this sometimes with the my younger clients, grade school, high school, they're sometimes not always, but sometimes they're here because it's something their parents wanted them to do. I have kids right now getting ready for a gosh, a college interviews. They're sure anything about college applications and the parents actually have them coming specifically to practice for those interviews.

[00:28:28] There's a way to do all of that and have fun while we do it. So don't be afraid to make silly sounds or embrace your inner rock star. You've got this. The world is ready to listen to your remarkable voice, right? Go out there, rock the stage, seal your contracts become the magnetic speaker you were born to be.

[00:28:50] And if you need a little pick me up or a reminder of your awesomeness, swing by Vocal Coaching by Sloan. There's so many wonderful things on the website. There [00:29:00] are numerous ways to, there's all kinds of free gifts. There's downloads, PDFs. So go grab that. And in addition, brand new, wonderful, I'm very excited, new gift videos, eight of them.

[00:29:19] Discover the power of your voice now. This is eight videos, they're very short. Total viewing time, or listening if you just want to listen to the audio, is right around 20 or 25 minutes for you busy people. I literally break down the voices a little welcome video a little bit what you can expect these first eight videos are the first of a 38 video gift.

[00:29:45] I am going to be releasing over the next few weeks and it's just a great place to start. It's for fun. It's free. Go grab it. And. Make a note, I also have a live event happening [00:30:00] online in about three weeks. Radiate confidence, the ultimate vocal transformation. I'm going to be bringing more on that in the meantime, if you found any value in today's podcast, I'd love for you to go give me a five star rating, maybe share this with someone else you care about.

[00:30:19] If you're on YouTube watching this, I'd love for you to subscribe. Also share with someone else who might be able to use the information. If you haven't already and you're a woman, please head over to the Facebook group, find your voice, rock your confidence, and join us over there where I'm also doing a little mini courses two, three weeks at a time.

[00:30:37] So lots of great stuff. If you are new to me and the content that I've been serving up, welcome. It's great to have you come and hang out, play, introduce yourself. And until next time, inhale your confidence. Exhaled out. And if you're a singer keep calm and sing a song.