Many years ago, I joined an acting class, mostly for fun but also to develop my dramatic skills. Studying drama can improve your public speaking; it can enhance your ability to express yourself in a more open way.
The class I attended was high energy, with plenty of interactive exercises. One thing I didn’t expect was that I picked up a powerful technique that allowed me to develop my vocal projection. It was a simple warm-up exercise that took no longer than two minutes, and it promised to increase my ability to project by 10% after just 2 weeks of once per day. And now I will share it with you…
There are 7 steps to the exercise, but at all times you must breathe from the belly. To breathe from the belly, simply imagine that there is a balloon behind your belly button. Every time you inhale, the balloon inflates. Every time you exhale, the balloon deflates. For further instruction on belly breathing, watch the experts… new born babies.
After you finish the exercise you may notice your vocal chord muscles feel like they’ve had a soft and subtle workout. That’s a good thing. Most singers and dramatic performers perform warm-up exercises like this all the time. Vocal muscles are like any other muscle. They benefit from warm-up and strengthening exercises.
This technique is a lot easier on your voice than shouting or screaming, but don’t underestimate its power. It’s also a miniature meditation that grounds you, and so it will help dissipate fear.
The class I attended was high energy, with plenty of interactive exercises. One thing I didn’t expect was that I picked up a powerful technique that allowed me to develop my vocal projection. It was a simple warm-up exercise that took no longer than two minutes, and it promised to increase my ability to project by 10% after just 2 weeks of once per day. And now I will share it with you…
There are 7 steps to the exercise, but at all times you must breathe from the belly. To breathe from the belly, simply imagine that there is a balloon behind your belly button. Every time you inhale, the balloon inflates. Every time you exhale, the balloon deflates. For further instruction on belly breathing, watch the experts… new born babies.
- Stand up. Take three deep breaths. When you are ready…
- Place your hands over your chest, breathe into your belly, then breathe back out while humming “OH”. Do this with your mouth open, as loudly as you can. Imagine the OH sound (which is like the English letter O) emanating from your chest (your hands will help you visualise the sound coming from your chest)
- Place your hands over your throat, breathe into your belly, then breathe back out while humming “AH”. Do this with your mouth open, as loudly as you can. Imagine the AH sound coming from your throat.
- Place your hands in front of your mouth in a cup shape, as if to catch your words in a ball. Breathe into your belly. Then, with your mouth open, hum “EH” as loudly as you can. Make the “EH” come from your mouth.
- Place the forefingers of your hands on the top of the outside of the nasal passages of your nose (where you would rest a pair of glasses). Use of your hands to pinch this area, for emphasis on the point. Breathe in. Then hum (with an open mouth) the sound “NG”. It will sound like you are mimicking an insect flying. Try to make the humming come from your nose.
- Place a hand over the top of the crown of your head, as if ready to pat the top of your head. Breathe in. Then, with an open mouth, hum “AH” as if the sound is coming from the top of your head. It will sound higher in pitch (more angelic-like) than the AH in step 3.
- Finally, breathe in as much air as you can. Then, with an open mouth, try to blast out OH, AH, EH, NG, and high AH as much as you can from each of the five areas – chest, throat, mouth, nose and crown – alternate between each of them rapidly and randomly. Yes, it looks and sounds a bit mad, but the trick is to let loose and have fun.
After you finish the exercise you may notice your vocal chord muscles feel like they’ve had a soft and subtle workout. That’s a good thing. Most singers and dramatic performers perform warm-up exercises like this all the time. Vocal muscles are like any other muscle. They benefit from warm-up and strengthening exercises.
This technique is a lot easier on your voice than shouting or screaming, but don’t underestimate its power. It’s also a miniature meditation that grounds you, and so it will help dissipate fear.
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