Archive for August, 2010

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VOICE PROTECTION for TEACHERS and SPEAKERS

Saturday, August 28th, 2010

Every Fall I get emails from teachers complaining of voice fatigue, and sometimes even voice loss.  In these next few minutes I’ll share some ideas and exercises that are good for teachers, salesmen, pastors and anyone who uses their voice consistently throughout the day.

To begin with, remember that what we call “the voice,” is really a physical, mechanical and acoustical instrument.  It is designed to work in a specific way and involves a number of different organs and systems of the body. Posture, breathing, articulation, projection and more are involved every time you speak.  Here are some thoughts and exercises to help you prepare and maintain your speaking instrument:

  1. The voice is a complex, physical instrument.
  2. Physical systems need to be warmed up and cooled down.
  3. Understanding how your voice projects, takes the pressure off.

A Physical Instrument

Since your voice has always just “been there,” it’s easy to mistreat.  The fact is, the voice is a series of physical systems that need to be maintained and cared for.  Posture, breathing and articulatory muscles are all involved.

Warm It Up and Cool It Down

Because we are dealing with muscles, tendons, cartilage, membrane and more, you should warm up your instrument before you hit the classroom or office.  Just how does a teacher or speaker warm up the voice? Here is a checklist that will help:

1. Hands Up! Prepare the instrument, which is you, by lifting your hands straight up over your head to align the body.  It will feel good, while at the same time, prevent tension in the neck and larynx that can tire the voice. Muscle memory will help you maintain this posture throughout the day.

2. Check the Power Source. With hands still up, take in four sipping breaths and feel the entire waist area expand. Now, expel the breath on four hissing sounds.  Sip, sip, sip, sip, hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss etc. You will quickly realize where you should be feeling the breathing.  Muscle memory will help you use these same muscles throughout the day, rather than leaving the chest up and down.

3. Hummmmmm. Relax the arms and start humming anything you want – a song, or just sounds.  Go high and low, reaching into all parts of your range.

4. Cool it Down. At the end of your teaching or work day, do some more Humming on a simple melody.  The goal is to allow this physical instrument to gradually return to normal resting size and temperature. The obvious parallel is sports.  Those who cool the muscles are more protected from injury.

Use the “You” Sound System

You are the sound system. While you were humming you could dramatically feel vibrations in the face, head, neck and chest. These are the acoustical chambers of your body amplifying and projecting the sound. The great part is that it doesn’t take a lot of air.  Instead, it naturally amplifies the sound if you don’t over-push it.

As you respect your voice, warming it up and allowing it to naturally project, speaking becomes much less stressful on the voice.  To learn more about ways to preserve and maintain your voice check out the FREE RESOURCES page of our site. If you have questions you would like to have answered just email chris@vocalcoach.com . Need some training tools?  The Complete Breathing, Warm-Up and Diction and Daily Workout CD’s are perfect for teachers and speakers.  The are fun and easy to use.  Check them out by clicking here.

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Posted in Choir Directors, From the Coach, Performance, Posture, Tips Tailored for You, Tone, Uncategorized, Warm-Ups | No Comments »

GOING FROM WANTING TO DOING

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

GOING FROM WANTING TO DOING

Here are some thoughts and tips to help you go from just wanting to express something when you sing, to actually doing it.  This can also apply to public speaking, classroom teaching, prepping your team for a game, preaching or leading a Bible study.  In every one of those cases your goal is to clearly communicate. As a bonus in this blog, I’ve created an animated segment to reinforce some of the principles. Check it out now, or after you’ve read the blog. Click here.

Start with these simple steps:

  1. Recognize that the rules change anytime you get up in front of people to share, with or without a microphone.  You become responsible to give them a clear message, not one that is only half-thought-out. Otherwise, you will lose them and they will mentally to elsewhere.  Second, be confident that with a bit of the right kind of preparation you will succeed in getting the message from your heart to the listener’s ear.
  2. Rejoice in the fact that if you make certain preparations you will succeed in getting the message from your heart to theirs.

Identify the challenges:

  1. Fear. Speaking or singing in front of others is the number one listed fear for the average person.  For some, it’s uncomfortable.  For some, it’s nearly impossible.
  2. Lack of preparation. Even if you are moderately comfortable or even thrive in public performance situation you have to do your homework.  If you don’t you risk being less clear or even embarrassing yourself.

Where to begin:

  1. Prepare your content. Know what your message is.  Be able to summarize it in a few sentences. If it’s a song, you should be able to put the essence of every verse and chorus in our own words. Restating the song personalizes it.  Then, and only then will you own the message.
  2. Prepare your mind. If you’re singing a serious song with a painful message you need to be able to feel that.  The same is true for happy, encouraging messages, or instructional or testimony songs, etc. If it’s a speech or teaching put yourself in the message. Be there.  Live there. Feel it.  Otherwise how will you be believable?
  3. Prepare your face and body. Unless you’re just doing an audio recording, your posture, facial expression and hand gestures will play a part in your communications, whether you like it or not.  That means you need to know your options, chose the right ones and practice them.  Why?  Because if you don’t they either won’t be there, or they will look stiff and unnatural.
    1. a. Your Posture is always showing something, be it confidence, or fear.  Determine to look secure and in authority.  The fastest way there is to lift your hands straight up over your head and memorize that aligned, upright posture.  Then, slowly bring the arms down to your sides, relax the shoulders and keep the rest of it the same. Look in the mirror and you will be pleased.
    2. b. Your face. Here’s a biggie and it will take some practice because there are dozens of options is facial expression.  I suggest using a mirror, or video camera connected to a TV monitor, to see what your various expressions look and physically feel like.  Ultimately, it’s the physical sensations that you will be reproducing.  Muscle memory is your friend. Bottom line: Your facial expressions need to agree with your message.
    3. c. Your arms and hands are another part of you that will either enhance or distract from your message. Don’t just stand there, and don’t worry about doing too much.  You probably won’t.  Do worry, however, about doing nothing, or being tentative or vague with what you do. Decide the options, practice the options then assign meaningful gestures to the words.

Worried that this will be too mechanical? Don’t be.  Actors, baseball players, guitarists, chefs and even computer programmers all practice the physical aspects of what they do until it is second nature.  That’s the only way you will ever own it.

Check out this Vocal Coach animated dramatization to help reinforce what you’ve just read.  Just click here.  And be sure to check out the special offer for the Vocal Coach Complete Performance CD at our store.

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Posted in Choir Directors, Performance, Soloist, Song Selection, Songwriting, Tips Tailored for You | No Comments »

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