30 Vocal Exercises
Let
Relax
your
jaw
your
relax
and
abdominal
open
your
muscles
mouth
on
just
the
little
rests.
Don't fly into the higher or lower pitch, but keep a centered focus.
Every entrance should be clean, without grabbing your vocal cords.
Thinkofblowingbreaththroughthenose.
Don'temphasiseontheM.
Relaxyourjawandlips.
Giveintensitytothevowel.
Breatheingentlythroughthenose,asifyouraresmellingaflower.
Thejawisrelaxed.
Singthisexercisealsoone,i,uando.
Avoidglottalstops.Ifnecessarysingon'ng'atthebeginningofthephrase.
AGlottalStopisessentiallytheattackyouputontothestartofanotebyclosingoffthebackofyour
throatfirst.Itistheeasiestwaytomakeyourvoicesoundlargerthanitreallyisandyoucanchange
thequalityofthenoteaswell.
PopsingersoftenfallintothehabitofoverusingGlottalStopsanditcanendupsoundingawful.
Similarly,singerswithsoftandairyvoicestendtounderutilizethistechnique
Many vocal exercises are in C. If necessary transpose them.
The
vowels
should
sound
SosingtheaofAfro,theeofMay,theiofsea,theoofsoandtheuofmoo
open.
Startoncandtransposeeveryturnaminorsecondhigher.Withoutforcing.
Singthisexercisealsoonriver,rover,runner,reasonandraven.
Singthelastsyllableandbesurenottoswallowit.
Listencarefullyforthetipofthetonguerollingbriefly
atthebeginningoftheexercise.
Donotsinganaccentonthehighestnote.
Alsoone,i,o,u.
Breatheinquietlythroughthenoseandkeeptheentrancesoft.
Breatheinthroughthemouthwhileyourmouthisanticipatingthevowelthatiscoming.
Your
The
Feel
Feel
tip
also
jaw
of
the
the
that
tongue
difference
the
tongue
is
stays
between
lays
Moveyourlipsabitasifyouarecleaningyourglasses.
at
down
the
e
again
relaxed.
lower
and
in
teeth.
the
a.
a.
Beawareofthedifferenceintheabdominalmuscles
betweentherisingandthedescendingtriplets.
Youwillhavetosupportmorewhenrising!
Onlymovethetipofyourtongue,notyourjaw.
Startslowlyandtakeabreathwherenecessary.
Whenyoucanachieveanicelegatointhetriplets,speedup.
Ifeverythinggoeswell,youwillneedonlyonebreathtosingthephrase.
Youaretraininginthisexercisetriplets,legato,economicbreathandrelaxationofthejaw.
Exercise9suitsbeginners,and10isfortheadvancedsingers.
Alsotheadvancedstartslowly.
Important:breatheinslowly,sippingtheairthroughtheteeth.
Singthetripletsasequalaspossible.
Donotmakeanyaccents.
Breatheinveryslowly,sippingtheairthroughtheteeth.
Fillyourlungscompletely.Ifyouaredoingitright,
youwillgetafullfeelingunderyourarmpitsandnotunderyourshoulders.
Countinyournativetongueinonebreathuntilten.
Singfastandlegato.
Counttherepetitionsonyourfingers.
Trytorepeattentimes.
Singtheseexercisestransposingeverytimeasemitonehigher.
Practicealsoonno,nu,ni,ne.
Alsoonla,le,li,lo,lu.
Feelthedifferenceswithyourtonguebetweenthenandthel.
Takethelwithitslowpressureasanexampleforthen.
Keepthetipofthetongueinitsplaceandonlymovethecenterofyourtongueinthej.
Yourjawstayscalmandrelaxed.
Tryalsoabreaththroughthemouth,asinahurryorinfright.
Whilebreathingin,themouthisalreadyintheaposition(nottoofaropen).
Feelhowyourflanks(sides)expand.Donotallowthemtocollapse,butholdthemout.
Singalsoonnay,nay,si,si,ornu,nu.
Feelthatthetipofthetongueisreallyworkingwiththesenewconsonants.
Singthisexerciseasrelaxedasifyouwerespeaking.
Singclearandsottovoce,sothevoicewillnotfixate.
Singalsoonnini,nanaandnono.
Thenishouldnotsoundnasal.Letthetipofthetonguework,makingthe'n'in'ni'.
Thetongueshouldbeflatandrelaxed(alsoontheback),asifyouweredrinking.
Theopeningbetweentheteethdoesnotchangewhilesingingthescales.
SingaslegatoasinGregorianchant.
Makeclearthevowels.
Donotmakethemandntoonasal.
Imitatethesoundofatoycarorasnortinghorse.Orsay:Bwrr,howcold!
Producethis'r'withyourlipsnotwithyourthroat.
Lettheo'sanda'sescapequickly.
Keepthelipsalwaysrelaxed.
Thisexerciseisaperfectwarmingup.
Afterthis,fastwordswillcomeeasier.
Breathethroughthenose.
Maketheobehindyourlips,asinyawningwithyourmouthclosed.
Don'tpushonthemwithyourbreath,butletithumgently.
Don'tstarttherunswithah.
Createyourownonesyllablewordsthatstartwitham.
Singtheexercisealsoonnginsteadofthemwhilekeepingyourmouthslightlyopened.
Anticipateonthevowel.Thinkoftheoobeforeyousing'moon'.
Letthevsoundfine.
Besuretokeepyourupperteethlooselyonyourlowerlip.
SingalsoontheGermanwords:'Wasser','Wohin','Wieso'.
Pronouncethe'W'asa'V'
Practicealsoon:veal,veil,vase,vow,vote.
Donothurry,butletthez'sandv'shumnicely.
Usetherestinthesecondbartorelaxyourbody,sothattheaircanflowin.
Takethevowelofthefirstsyllabledowntothelowerc.
Singthisexercisealsoon:
Jsus,Judas(Zjud),
Joliesjumelles(=jollytwince),
Gibier,gigot(=venison,legoflamb),
Gilet,jupon,
GentilleJeanette
JournalGnois(=fromGeneva),
Java,Japon.
LookforexamplesintheFrenchvocalliterature
Blowout.
Waituntillyoureallyneedair,takeafastsipofairandcall/singtwobars.
Relaxineveryfermataforthenextbreath.
Breathequietlythroughthenose
Singalsoone,i,u,ando.
ThesearethenamesofRussiancomposers.
Thepronunciationandtheaccentareasfollows:
BaraDJIEN,MUsorgski,TsjaiKOFski,PraKOfjef,SjastaKOwietsj.
Donotsingtooheavyonthelasttone,butslidetowardsit.
Animportantrule:
ifyouhavebeensinginghigh,donotstopallofasudden,
butsearchforyourlowestnoteswithanexerciseasthisone.
Maybeyouwillhavetostartalittlehigher.
Bepatient;ifonthelowestnotesthetextfailstocome,singthemfirstonngorya.
SingthesixbarsfirstinCandtransposeeachtimeasemitonehigheruntillAflat.
ThendescendtoCagain.
Beawarewhatyourtongueisdoing:duringtheeslightlyvaultedandintheimorebulging.
Letthismovementbesupple.
Thetipofyourtonguestaysatyoulowerteeth.
Singaslegatoaspossible.
Donotputtoomuchweightonthelowcandletyourlarynxslidedownsmoothly,notwithaplop.
Feelhowthetongueisworkingwiththeiandrestswiththea.(italianianda)
Afterthisexerciseitisgoodtodoanexerciseonng.
Relaxaftereachrun,butstandupstraightandontwofeet.
StartsinginginCandrepeatthesentenceasemitonehigher.
GoonuptoAflatandbacktoC.
Singthesetriadsalsowith:ae,aiandao.
Singinasmoothtempoandaccelerate.
Usethebasicvowelaasthestartposition.
Beawaretosingasoftentrance.
DonotopenthemouthtoowidewiththeO.
Takecaretoarticulatewell!
Keepyourheadquiet,donotnod.
Singintune:descendingrunsinclinetofinishflat.
