To be more pro-active about your vocal health, you have to get into the habit of warming up your voice and strengthening it every day. If you follow the tips and exercises listed below you will see noticeable results in the classroom.
Important: Don’t ignore changes in your voice that last longer than 2 weeks. Seek professional help and see a doctor or ENT specialist.
Vocal Exercises
Close your mouth and start with a low hum, gradually building up to a loud hum with a wide open ‘mah’ sound. Repeat this a few times.
Repeat these phrases in a row: unique New York; round and down; red rubber baby buggy bumpers; eee-yaaa; red leather, yellow leather.
Pick up the newspaper, choose a story and read it aloud, to yourself, in front of a mirror.
Take a clean pencil or wine cork and hold it between your teeth try these tongue twisters:
- Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
- I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet, I sit.
- The sixth sheep’s sixth sheep’s sick.
- Betty Botter bought a bit of bitter butter.
- Round and round the rugged rock the ragged rascal ran.
- Sally sells seashells by the seashore
- A big black bug bit a big black bear, made the big black bear bleed blood.
- The bootblack bought the black boot back.
- Cows graze in groves on grass which grows in grooves in groves.
- Crisp crusts crackle crunchily.
- Fat frogs flying past fast.
- Fred fed Ted bread, and Ted fed Fred bread.
- Freshly fried flying fish, freshly fried flesh.
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