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FOR HELP WITH DICTION AND SYNCH PROBLEMS:
Stick out your tongue as far as you can. With your tongue extended for the whole exercise, repeat this, phrase by
phrase: (marked with a slash)
Theophilus Thistle,/ the successful thistle sifter,/
While sifting a sieve/ full of unsifted
thistles/
Thrust three thousand thistles/ through the thick of his thumb./
Now if Theophilus Thistle, /the successful
thistle sifter,/
In sifting a sieve /full of unsifted thistles,/
Thrust three thousand thistles/ through the thick of
his thumb,/
See that thou/, in sifitng a sieve/ full of unsifted thistles./
Thrust not /three thousand thistles/ through
the thick of thy thumb!/
Success/ to the successful thistle sifter!
After doing this, the words are like butter
in your mouth. What happens is that by extending the tongue, and doing this exercise, you are stretching and exercising the
back
of the tongue. A good side effect of this is that the back of the tongue will now be more relaxed, which will alleviate
tension in the back of the throat, and also help keep the tongue more naturally forward, and out of the throat, helping to
bring the sound more forward.
Vickie Wonders Foltz
Greenwood Tree Theatre
Metro Nashville Chorus
International Faculty
VOCAL TIPS
(courtesy of Lisa Popeil's World's Tiniest Vocal Newsletter - 2/08)
Vocal Tip
Avoid drinking coffee or black tea before singing - they're dehydrating to the vocal chords.
And milk, chocolate or ice cream thickens mucus so it's best to avoid these.
Vocal Technique Tip
If your nect muscle sticks out (the spot 1-2" below your ear) when you sing, you may be tightening
your neck too much. Try putting your fingers on either side of your head and check that muscle. Make sure you
use proper abdominal support (upper belly out, lower belly in) to relieve your neck of excessive tension.
Video Vocal Tip - Proper Head Position
Vocal
Exercises by Jean Barford
Most vocal exercises are to help the vocal
folds (strengthening, flexibility, etc.) These exercises are to strengthen the 15 muscles around the vocal mechanism.
These exercises help to make all the muscles equally strong, therefore, allowing the vocal folds the freedom to vibrate
with much less tension.
The following exercises for female voices were developed by Dr. Stemple, vocal pathologist,
St. Elizabeth Hospital, Dayton, Ohio.
I. WARM-UP - GOAL: 45 seconds with an uninterrupted tone flow.
Sustain the sound "Eeeeeeeee" for as long and as softly as possible on the musical note "F".
II.
STRETCHING - GOAL : No voice
breaks
A.
Slowly glide from your lowest note to your highest note on the sound "Oh",
as softly as possible.
B.
Slowly glide from your highest to your lowest note on the sound "Oh", as softly
as possible.
III. POWER - GOAL: 45 seconds with an uninterrupted tone flow
Sustain the notes: middle "C - D - E -
F - G" for as long as possible on the sound "Oh", as softly as possible.
.
Each
exercise should be done two times each; two times per day, and as softly (like a whisper)
as they can be done. The softer the better.
For the best effect, these exercises need to be done everyday, but
good habits begin at the rehearsal. Take the time to do them completely each rehearsal and before any performance.
These
exercises may also be used as a Cool-Down after a rehearsal or performance where much is demanded of the voice.
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