Training the Voice

We all have a voice, but most of us take it for granted.

Over the years I have become more and more fascinated by the human voice, what it can do, especially for humanity, and I have to admit that my voice has saved me time and time again.

For me the human voice is the most sublime instrument. It's your identity, it's like your fingerprint. You can often recognise someone instantly just by hearing them speak - no two voices are exactly the same.

Cultivate your tone of voice so that your words have a pleasing musical sound, and remember that the sound of your voice is an open window through which other people look into your very soul. (Napoleon Hill)

I respect my voice, and my voice shows me the way.

Respecting it means I take care of it:

✅ I stay hydrated (please drink water! If you prefer, you can infuse your water with fresh fruits, cucumber and lemon slices, etc.);

✅ I always warm up and cool down;

✅ I rest and recover my voice, keeping quiet in silence, and getting the right amount of sleep

• Tip: neuroscientist Dr. Tara Swart suggests that an ideal sleep duration is often around 8 hours and 15 minutes to allow for brain cleansing, emotional processing, and cognitive recovery, I try to sleep 8 hours);

✅ I take vitamins, supplements and drink herbal teas;

❌ I don't smoke;

⚠️ I avoid drinking alcohol (apart from when high quality Italian wine is poured in my glass when I am in good company while eating food, I won't say no to that!);

❌ I avoid yelling and overusing my voice.

Below you can find some great exercises, for both singing and voice acting, that are part of my daily vocal warm-ups, and some tips:

✅ Lil trills - they release tension in the lips and oral cavity encouraging mouth and throat relaxation. They prevent vocal folds tension and strain when voicing, improve breath support and control, and improve pitch range without straining. Great, uh? You can do them with the help of the fingers (like in my reel below) or without;

✅ Straw phonation - it’s a great exercise, it allows the vocal tract to be elongated. Tip: make sure the air goes through the straw - the airflow through the straw should be constant, keep a good lip seal. Also, gently hold the straw at the top with your fingers to 'reset' it, and to prevent it from moving too much, especially if it’s a light PVC straw.

✅ Tongue trills - they help loosen up and relax tongue and jaw. A classic semi-occluded vocal tract exercise. The back pressure created helps the vocal folds vibrate more efficiently. If your jaw, tongue, or throat tend to tighten when you sing or speak, tongue trills can help release that. The tongue must stay loose to vibrate.

✅ Tongue stretches - oh they really help! Also tongue twisters and other articulation exercises can be added after these stretches.

Tip exercise called Tongue-Out vocalisation: gently extend the tongue out (as if you were going to blow raspberries), the tongue is very relaxed and it goes over the lower teeth and lips and you gently close your upper lip on top of it). While you vocalise keep your tongue relaxed.

✅ Puffy Cheeks - this is great one to release throat tension.

Tip: allow the air to comfortably fill your cheeks/the space behind the lips, great exercise to connect with your energy. So much fun!

✅ Mask - the ventilation mask (Borragán mask) has a very immediate effect: it lifts your soft palate, stabilises the position of the larynx, it makes you feel less ‘fatigue’, because the voice is emitted with much less effort. It will make you feel an easier and freer emission of the sound with comfort, more power and elasticity, while experiencing great vocal projection and resonance of the voice. I also use it to ‘check’ my voice, and I do gentle sirens in it. I don’t use it always, only when needed.

✅ NG/Sirens/Slides - sirens help you move safely through your vocal range without pushing. They give a nice stretch and help with register shifts. Gently slide from low to high, then back down. A lot of jaw awareness and relaxation here, please.

✅ Stretching - do whatever works best for you and your body and whatever you prefer!

For body stretches I like to do the cat pose, child's pose, seated side bends, seated twists, etc. Then for neck stretches I do some neck glides, neck rotations (I use the nose a guide for the neck to follow a clockwise/anticlockwise movement), neck deep stretching (I let the neck gently fall down towards the shoulder), add some shoulder shrugs (gently raise and lower the shoulders, I also gently rotate them), etc.

✅ Massages - soft massages can really help. Pick the ones you prefer. I also add some tapping, it makes me feel so good, you can also throw in some affirmations, if needed!

✅ Steaming and nebulising - these are very good to ease vocal strain. I mainly prefer steaming, but also nebulising is great!

• Steaming increases blood flow over the folds which can help with healing. If you steam, though, make sure you don’t sing for at least 30 minutes afterward, to avoid risk of haemorrhage.

• Be careful also with nebulising - if not properly cleaned and disinfected, the nebuliser can become contaminated with bacteria leading to respiratory infections.

  ⚠️ Sorry I'm a bit OCD, I didn't mean to scare you, but I thought you should know.

✅ Herbal teas/infusions - find your favourite one. I mainly use:

• Ginger: due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties ginger reduces throat inflammation, soothes irritation, and alleviates hoarseness. Ginger helps thin mucus and clear phlegm, leading to clearer sound production, and it's great with honey and lemon!

  ⚠️ Tip: do not add honey to boiling water, it becomes less effective. Wait for the water to cool down, aim for warm water (hot but drinkable), and then add honey. Also, Ayurveda offers a warning: heating honey makes it toxic, oh no!

• Chamomile: relaxes throat muscles and reduces tension, used as a natural sedative to reduce stress, it can alleviate anxiety, improves sleep quality and supports overnight vocal recovery;

Warming up is a must for me, and it should be a must for you too!

🎶 You can do some of the exercises using scales or intervals as you like.

If you need pre-recorded piano exercises, please contact me through the CONTACT FORM writing FREE PIANO SCALES DOWNLOAD, and I will send you a couple of mp3s via email.

If you are also interested in having voice lessons with me you can visit:

https://www.chiaramarcon.com/lessons

Which are your go-to/favourite exercises? Let me know.

Thanks for reading, I hope my words helped. I will use this blog to share my experiences (life/work) and insights with you. Hope to talk to you in the comments or on social media, feel free to ask me questions below.

Sending love,

Chiara x