According to the singing experts and voice teachers, there are some specific exercises that are quite effective for most singers and will deliver some quick results. Below, you will find some of them.
Unless it is noted, you can use these with any scale you prefer. However, you should never take an exercise any higher than you are comfortable with.
Check out SINGORAMA for more tips on improving your singing.
Straw Exercise – Vocal Exercises to Improve Your Singing
Try getting a small stirring straw and blow air through it as you phonate glides down and back up through your range. The resistance of the straw creates a backpressure that presses on your vocal cords and decreases puffiness, which is a major reason that singers have trouble with their voice.
Lip Trill Exercise
This exercise is a variation of the straw exercise outlined above. With your lips closed but relaxed, blow air through as you sing an “uh” vowel.
Your lips should begin to trill. The resistance created by the trilling of your lips helps keep your vocal cords closed, which is a critical element in being able to sing well.
Creaky Door Exercise
This is an excellent exercise to help build the coordination you need to maintain appropriate cord closure. Try making an “edgy” sound, much like the opening of a rusty gate or a creaky door.
Try doing a scale with this sound, using little air. The whole idea of this exercise is to avoid letting the sound become squeezed or breathy.
“Ng” Exercise
Try making the “ng” sound that you hear in the word “hung”. When your tongue and soft palate touch, they produce this sound.
Again, this is providing some backpressure as well as making it much easier for you to transition between the upper and lower registers- that is your head voice and chest voice.
Wicked Witch Nay Exercise
You will make a “nay” sound in a wicked witch or bratty type voice. This exercise also keeps your vocal cords closed and the exaggerated sound makes it much easier to climb into an upper register without flipping or cracking your voice.
Hootie G’s Exercise
This exercise is the complete opposite of the one mentioned above and is effective for the singer who is experiencing increased tension. You will be saying the word “GEE” using a dopey cartoon voice, much like Yogi Bear.
You will be able to feel your larynx drop. Plus, the consonant “G” created a backpressure, which keeps your vocal cords closed.
This way, you will be able to access higher registers with closed cords and a stable larynx. This is critical when it comes to good and healthy singing. Once you are comfortable with this exercise, you will be able to drop the dopey voice and sing more naturally.
Coo-Coo Exercise
This is a great exercise to help you work your upper register. Make a “coo” sound that is similar to the hooting of an owl. This will make it easier for you to work on the higher notes.
“Aah” Exercise
This is a great exercise for anyone who is breathy or weak in the lower notes. The sound you will use is “aah” like in cat.
You can exaggerate this sound by slightly sticking out your tongue. You will do this in a five-tone scale of a lower register using little air. You want to avoid breathiness in the sound.
Mums & Googs Exercise
This is a more advanced exercise that is best used once you are experiencing proper cord closure and can easily produce sounds. The word “goog” has a vowel to stabilize the larynx as well as a hard consonant to close the cords. Make sure to maintain the “oo” in the upper register, as widening it (“aa” sound) will result in tension.
Ooh-Oh-Uh-Ah Exercise
Moving from a closed/narrow vowel to a wider one as you sustain your note is a great way to balance out your resonance. The vowel that is closed will help you reach the upper register.
Then, open to the wider vowel, but maintain your resonance. If your tone becomes strained or sounds like you’re shouting, move back to the narrow sound to balance out your voice.
Singing experts tell us that you must exercise your voice like you would any other muscle- you can’t just sing every now and then and expect your voice to be perfect. These exercises, as well as the ones you will find in SINGORAMA will give you the results you are looking for and will ensure that you have a wonderful singing voice for a very long time.