The Speaker's Voice
Improving the Voice Starts with the Breath
The voice is the richest, most versatile communication tool we
possess. It is also the most overlooked and under-rated in terms
of the attention we give it when thinking of our presentation
skills. Most people take their voices entirely for granted. Ninety
percent of Americans have never taken a course in singing, breathing,
enunciation or any other subject that would improve their vocal
skills. That�s a shame, because just a little time and effort
can bring valuable rewards.
To create a more pleasant, powerful and effective vocal instrument,
we must start with our breathing. When we were born, we breathed
naturally from our diaphragms. A newborn can scream at the top
of its lungs all night long and not wear out its voice. Why? Its
voice comes out unimpeded because vocally, it is completely relaxed.
Its voice is a force of nature and the center of power is in its
abdomen. Most adults are vocally shot by half time of the basketball
game. What�s happened? Tension has brought the center of vocal
power up to the neck and upper chest.
Would you like to have a clear, resonant voice again, with the
power to fill an auditorium and the stamina to speak as long and
as often as necessary? Then you have to rid yourself of that high
vocal tension and drop your power center back where it belongs
in the lower abdomen. This means learning some good habits or
more precisely, un-learning some bad ones. Begin with a full stretch
and a conscious relaxation exercise to rid tension from all parts
of the body. It�s strange but true, that the whole body is the
vocal instrument and even tension in the feet affects the voice.
Our first task is to breathe correctly, from our natural power
center. If you lie on your back on the floor, supporting your
head with a book or small cushion, you will probably find yourself
breathing correctly. Your belly should rise with each inhale and
fall with each exhale � quite naturally. You need to be fully
relaxed for this to occur spontaneously. If it doesn�t seem to
work that way for you, it means your bad habits are well established
and you�ll have to pay more conscious attention to your breathing
for awhile.
Imagine that your torso is a rectangular elastic box. With each
inhale you inflate the box on all six of its sides � front, back,
left, right, shoulders and pelvic floor. When you lie on your
back, the front seems the most elastic. Now, roll onto your belly,
support your forehead on your hands or turn your head to the side.
Now where does the breath want to go? Into your back and sides,
doesn�t it? Can you fill the spaces around you kidneys and between
your ribs and pelvic bone with air? Now imagine that your pelvic
floor too, expands with each breath. Your chest and shoulders,
restricted by all those bones, is not so easy to expand, is it?
Now you are breathing from your power center � low.
Relaxation is the key to great vocal performance. Take care not
to overdo these exercises. Hyperventilation is not our goal here.
Just take nice, easy breaths � exploring deep and shallow ones,
light and strong, from a center below your navel. Once you�ve
been able to establish abdominal or �belly-breathing� on your
back, you must bring it to work on your feet. Keep the sensation
of breathing low as you work with the exercises on the next page.
Exercises for the Voice
(There are countless exercises for relaxing, strengthening and
focusing the voice. These are only a sampling for you to experiment
with. For best results, consult a coach or voice specialist who
can work on your specific vocal problems. If you have difficulty
locating such a coach in your area, contact me and I�ll be happy
to help. - ML)
- Stretch. Big muscles first, arms, back and legs � reaching
for ceiling, bending sideways, flopping over and hanging from
the waist, arms dangling, knees relaxed. Then roll up back from
pelvis, one vertebrae at a time.
- Shoulders, neck and face. Jam shoulders up to ears and hold
for ten seconds, then drop them with a sigh. Roll head gently
around in a circle, releasing tension in neck. Alternately squeeze
and stretch muscles in face. Shake it out and let face go rubbery.
- Yawn. Yawning is the best way to relax and open your larynx.
Experiment with yawns vertically and horizontally. Shake out
face and blow out lips between exercises. Vocalize a sigh as
you release tension.
- Sigh. Good release for tension anywhere in the body. Breathe
it out on a sigh.
- Breathe deep into your torso. Let a sound appear on the next
exhale: �Fa-fa-fa-fa� very quiet. Repeat three times allowing
yourself to breathe in a normal rhythm. Jaw is loose and dropped,
posture erect and centered. Breath originates below the belly
button.
- Now vocalize: �Ha-hum-ah� gently. Repeat and hold the �Hum�
a little longer. Find the vibrations in your sinuses.
- Sing �May, Me, My, Mo, Moo� on an ascending scale, as long
as it�s comfortable. Pay attention to the placement of the tone
in your mouth, head, throat and chest. Then substitute consonants
�L, B, G & K�
- Vowel Placement - from �fit� to �fall� - play with where they
occur in the mouth.
- Call �He-e-e-e-y-y-y-y� as though to a friend some distance
away.
- Extend your range - Practice singing the scales from lowest
to highest pitch: sing �goog, gug, mi, ma, mum, no, nay� by
turns, going up third, fifth, octave and back down.
- Count to ten, tossing a ball to another person - one number
per toss. The objective is to focus the voice and carry it to
the listener in the same way you make sure the ball reaches
them.
- Articulators - �P - T - K� unvoiced, using only the lips and
tongue. Then, voiced, they become �Buh � Duh � Guh.� Repeat
with a brisk rhythm.
�2005 Michael F. Landrum
|
| |
|
