This is one of the most
asked questions I get emails, phone calls and DM’s about on Twitter. People who
have to talk a lot are often tired from that activity by the end of a long day.
The good news is, if your
voice is properly produced you should actually feel fresher on the end of the
day FROM talking. No I’m not lyingJ
The key is to have proper
breath support. When a persons voice doesn’t have correct breath support the
voice is weaker and the air is leaking out to some extent and that can be a
very exhausting experience.
Here are some tips that will
help and some activities that can help you greatly improve your efficiency of
vocal production.
When you are waking up in
the morning start humming while you are puttering around. One of the best ways
to hum is to gently touch your tongue to your upper lip with your mouth closed
and hum either on one note or a favorite simple song.
This will create the natural
resonance in the ”mask” and establish backpressure in the windpipe. That’s what
support is. Technically it is called sub glottal pressure. That is just a fancy
phrase for the natural air pressure that builds up in back of any wind driven
vibrator, in the case your vocal folds.
Next you can do the “Dog
Pant” exercise. If you do Yoga, the various breathing exercises are the same
thing and each version is very helpful. This strengthens the diaphragm and
helps you take a breath more efficiently without lifting the shoulders for each
breath. Lifting the shoulders to inhale instead of just standing up strait so
the air can get into your lungs is called clavicular breathing and is a major
reason for exhaustion.
Next you can say the five
vowels with MH in front of them. Mheeeee, Mhaaaay,
Mhaaaa, Mho, Mhooooo. These
should be said like you’re sighing. Repeat five times. That will get all the
parts working. You can also say them very fast so you wake up your articulators
and get everything coordinated.
Finally, if you like to
sing, you can take singing lessons which will greatly improve your speaking
voice. If you are a singer, just sing more often and you’ll be amazed at how
much better your speaking voice will be.
Remember to practice
everything with a natural common sense and don’t push or over exert ever. You
can’t fix everything in one day. Think of all the people who finally start
working out and strain themselves because they try to get in shape all in one
week.
The last point I’d like to
make is this: You can learn a lot about your voice if you record and play back.
Listen for a natural full tone that isn’t pushed or affected. It should also
not be weak (like a limp handshake). We are always trying to achieve ease of
production and naturalness. These simple points can help you improve your vocal
stamina and voice quality.
