11 exercises to improve your voice and connect with it

By Blandine Calais-Germain

Understanding sound: breath, vibration and resonance

When issuing a voice sound we produce, at the same time, three large types of actions: breath, vibration and resonance.

And these actions correspond to three areas of the organism that act simultaneously.

The blow

The voice requires situating air under presure below the vocal cords. This corresponds to the respiratory (expiratory) part of our vocal instrument.

This blew it it occurs, evidently, with the lungs, housed in the ribs. But they do not act alone: ​​they are associated with the entire abdomen and the muscles that surround it: the abdominals all around, the perineal muscles below and the famous diaphragm above.

This set It is a fundamental “department” in the voice: if you create too much pressure, our voice will be exhausted very quickly. And if you don’t produce enough, your voice will appear weak and you won’t be able to develop your timbre. It is, therefore, necessary for this “breath” to produce the right pressure at every moment – ​​neither more nor less – so that the vocal emission is the desired one.

This is a process governed by everything that generates the murmur, but it can be seen widely influenced by other forces present in the body.

vibration

Through vibration we transform said air into pressure wave, which causes a first sound. This occurs between the vocal cords, in the area of ​​the neck called the larynx. For this a small place, the glottiswill open or close in relation to the air pressure.

Is about very fast actions and that they change at full speed (often in a vocal sound there are several hundred vibrations per second). The tighter the pressure, the better the glottis can fine tune its action.

It is important that, here, the vibration is as free as possible. As in the area of ​​the murmur, this location can be influenced by body forces outside the glottis. That throat sound it’s barely audible. It needs some transformations.

the resonance

The resulting wave then passes through sounding boards that filter the preceding sound and enrich it. This occurs in regions of the pharynx (behind the throat), mouth, and nose.

The vowel sound then exists in its full form. The more precise and rich the sound coming from the larynx, depending on the precision of the pressure that supports it, the better it will be able to unfold in the resonators. Resonance is governed by the pharynx/mouth/nose regions. And, as in breath and vibration, other forces present in the body can influence it.

The voice, related to many parts of the body

It is often said that the instrument of a singer it is “his own body”. This indicates that his vocal instrument is included within a broader set.

And it is true that this instrument is constantly related to other parts of the body or, more precisely, to other functional parts: the locomotor body, the postural body and the respiratory body interact with the “vocal body”.

These four “bodies” often merge into each other. Let’s see them one by one.

the locomotor body

is the body linked to movement, the one we put into play to walk, go up and down stairs, dance, lift, push… It is mixed, in part, with the respiratory and vocal bodies. Sometimes little is involved in the vocal act. Or it can, on the contrary, become very involved and react to the actions of the respiratory and vocal bodies, or even provoke the action of these two.

in many classical chorales the singers sing almost motionless, while in gospel choirs it is common to let the body move to the rhythm of the song and even clap hands.

There is a frequently asked question: Is it advisable to run, do yoga or Pilates to improve the voice? The answer is that a good body coordination and regular exercise are often important in improving the voice.

movement activates In addition, the general circulation and that of the larynx, with which it will be better hydrated.

the postural body

It is composed of the same parts as the locomotive body but we do not use them in the same way. It corresponds to the moments when we are upright, standing or sitting. It is not linked to large movements but to the vertical position.

It is the body of the person who speaks, sings, declaims or shouts standing up: the teacher giving a class, the lawyer, the actor, the market vendor announcing his merchandise, the choir singer or choir director, etc.

in the voice our postural body is influenced by the fact that an exhalation is produced and that it is prolonged. This brings different consequences: a tendency to flex the knees, to flex the trunk, to project the neck and head forward or also the shoulders and arms.

the postural body can keep up with these trends or, on the contrary, resist them: when singing a long phrase, we can follow the exhalation allowing the standing position to round out a little or, on the contrary, try to keep the poise of the spine, which will help the rib cage to stay open on the exhale so that it lasts longer.

The postural body can also drag to vocal body: if we let the back curve suddenly, the box will exhale and a certain vowel sound will emerge.

In certain vocal techniques, As in classical singing, this postural body must be ultra-precise. Because? Because the balance of the larynx depends on the position of the neck for the precision of the notes, or because the precision of the resonances depends on the balance of the pharynx.

In other contexts, for other types of sounds, it is necessary to completely release the posture, as in emotional sounds, some psychophysical therapies or certain actions in the theater.

the respiratory body

is the part of the body linked to breathing: the lungs, the airways. But it is also everything that allows us to mobilize said viscera: the diaphragm, the abdominal cavity, the ribcage, the cervical spine, almost all the bones of the skull and, likewise, the muscles that act on these parts of the body.

Spontaneously, in the course of vocal action, this respiratory body moves during the air flows: we open it naturally during inspiration (as when we take a breath before emitting a voice) and close it during exhalation (when vocalizing).

Immobilizes during suspensions: apneas, for example, when a chorister, ready to sing, awaits the conductor’s entrance.

And yet this respiratory body can act in the reverse direction of breathing. For example, it can move during apneas or open during exhalation. In these cases we transform either the respiratory gesture or the pressure games, and this will sometimes have an impact on the voice.

So our voice is inseparable from our body moving. Perfecting the one will often perfect the other.