10/21/2019 4 Ways to Exercise Your Voice - wikiHow

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How to Exercise Your Voice

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Updated: March 29, 2019

If your profession requires you to speak or sing a lot, then you may find that your voice
Explore this Article
becomes tired very easily. By exercising your voice beforehand, you may be able to
strengthen your speaking or singing voice. Warm up your voice by breathing deeply, Warming Up Your Muscles
Strengthening Your Speaking Voice
moving your tongue around and pretending to chew. To strengthen your speaking or
Strengthening Your Singing Voice
singing voice, trill your lips and practice saying tongue twisters. Solfèging and saying
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“Mm-mm” or “Ney ney ney” are also exercises you can use to strengthen your voice.
Article Summary
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Method
Warming Up Your Muscles
1

1 Breathe deeply. Stand up with your back straight, and your shoulders back and relaxed. Place both of
your hands on your stomach. Breathe in through your nose. Expand your abdomen and lungs/ribs as you
breathe in. Hold your breath and count to ten. Then, slowly exhale. As you exhale, make sure to contract your
abdomen as if you are pushing the air out of it.[1]
While performing this breathing exercise, your shoulders should remain in place; they should not be
moving up and down as you breathe.
Repeat this exercise two to three more times.

2 Move your tongue around. With your mouth slightly open, swish your tongue around, as well as back and
forth in your mouth. Do this for five to eight seconds. Repeat this two to three more times.[2]
This exercise will help loosen and relax the muscles at the back of your tongue

3 Massage your jaw and cheek muscles. Position your palms on the sides of your face. Using slow,
circular motions, massage your cheek and jaw muscles with your palms. Lower and raise your jaw as you
massage to help loosen your jaw muscles.[3]
Do this exercise for 20 to 30 seconds, three to five times.

4 Pretend to chew. Pretend as if you have gum or food in your mouth. Using your upper and lower jaw
muscles, slowly chew for five to eight seconds. Repeat this two to three more times.[4]
This exercise will help loosen and relax your jaw muscles.

5 Roll your neck and shoulders. Keeping your shoulders still, slowly rotate your head counterclockwise
then clockwise. Do this ten times. Keeping your neck still, rotate your shoulders backward ten times and
forward ten times.[5]
Coupled together, these exercises will help loosen the muscles around your throat and neck.

Method
Strengthening Your Speaking Voice
2

1 Say “Mm-mmm.” Do this until you feel the front of your face buzz or vibrate. The vibration may cause the
front of your face to tickle a bit, but this means you are doing the exercise correctly.[6]

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Repeat this exercise five times.

2 Alternate between “Mm-mm” and “Mm-hmm.” Say “Mm-mm” as in tummy, and “Mm-hmm” as in yes.
Alternate between the two mm’s. Repeat this five times. Then, alternate between the two mm’s as you go
from low to middle to high and back again with the pitch of your voice. Repeat this ten times.[7]
This exercise helps to develop mask resonance.

3 Repeat “Ney ney ney.” Going up and down your vocal range, i.e., low to middle to high and back again,
say “Ney ney ney ney ney.” Say it loudly, but do not yell.[8]
Repeat this exercise ten times.

4 Practice saying tongue twisters. Say a tongue twister several times as fast as you can while keeping the
words clear. Start out slow, but increase your speed over time. This exercise isolates the muscles in your
throat, which helps with articulation. Some tongue twisters to practice with are:[9]
“Three free throws.”
“She sells seashells by the seashore.”
“The blue bluebird blinks.”
“Freshly fried flying fish, freshly fried flesh.”
“Peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.”

5 Practice these exercises regularly. Do these exercises three to five times a week. Additionally, perform
these exercises 30 minutes before speaking in public or for long periods of time.[10]

Method
Strengthening Your Singing Voice
3

1 Trill your lips. With your lips closed and relaxed, blow air through them gently. Do this until your lips begin
to trill. Practice this for ten seconds. Repeat the exercise two to three more times.[11]
To make the exercise harder, add a pitch, like an “uh” sound, as your lips are trilling. Do this for five
seconds. The addition of the pitch should create a tickling sensation around your nose, mouth, cheeks
and forehead.

2 Say the Do-Re-Me’s. This is also called solfège. Beginning on the middle C, sing, “Do Re Me Fa So La Ti
Do” up and down the scale. As you solfège, really listen to each pitch.[12]
Repeat this exercise five times.

3 Make a siren sound. Imagine the sound a fire engine makes as it passes by. Starting at low range, make
the sound with “Ooooo” and “Eeeeee.” As you make the siren sound, go up and down your vocal range for
five to eight seconds. Repeat this exercise two to three more times, starting higher each time.[13]
If you are unable to hit the high and low notes, then your voice is fatigued. Stop the exercise and let
your voice rest for five minutes.

4 Practice “Mah-May-Me-Moe-Moo.” Starting low, sing this slowly using a monotone voice. Repeat this
exercise five times, starting higher each time.[14]
To make this exercise harder, try to sing them all in one breath.
Try to not push your voice. Your voice should be relaxed while doing this exercise.

5 Say “Ng.” Make the “Ng” sound as in the word lung. You should feel the back of your tongue and the soft
palate at the roof of your mouth come together. Hold this sound for ten seconds.[15]
Repeat this exercise two to three more times.

6 Hum a song. Pick one of your favorite songs, or a simple song like “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” Depending
on the length of the song, hum the song to yourself two to three times.[16]

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This exercise will help loosen and relax your vocal muscles.

7 Perform these exercises daily. If not daily, then five times per week. Additionally, make sure to reserve 30
to 45 minutes before a performance to do these exercises.[17]

Community Q&A

Question

As a singer, can I eat bananas?

Community Answer

Sure. Bananas should not negatively impact your singing voice.

Question

My voice is very soft. How can I change this?

Community Answer

Keep praticing with your soft voice. As it develops, slowly practice voice projection. It will gradually develop into a
good soothing yet audible voice.

Question

What if my voice is already cracked?

Community Answer

Drink warm liquids, such as tea with honey, and try not to talk for a while. Do these exercises again and see if it
helped.

Question

What should I do if my voice cracks while I am singing?

Community Answer

You should use the easiest pitch that you are comfortable with and try to lower your singing voice.

Question

My voice is unstable, how I can fix this?

Community Answer

Try exercise scales and listen to other people's recordings to correct your pitch.

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Question

What should be eaten or not eaten to maintain my voice?

Community Answer

Honey and lemons coat the throat well; drink plenty of warm fluids such as tea and room-temp water.

Question

What will help me have a strong voice?

Community Answer

Train with a qualified professional to develop your tone. In addition, try tHerbal Throat Gargle, which will help your
vocal chords relax before practicing or performing. The recipe for the Herbal Throat Gargle is: 2 teaspoons of lemon,
1 tablespoon of oregano, 4 sprigs of mint, and 1 teaspoon of paprika dissolved into water. Gargle for 3-5 minutes
and spit out.

Question

After a partial thyroidectomy, my voice is weak and croaky sometimes. What can I do?

Community Answer

A soft (not whispered) "v" sound will give your vocal cords a wonderful massage. Do not whisper, yell, talk on the
phone, or sing while your vocal cords are healing.

Question

If I'm going to sing in front of people what can I do to practice my nerve?

Community Answer

Find a small group of people that are your close family or friends. Let them know that you are still practicing, and
have them act like an audience. Ask for tips or criticism after, if you feel up to it. Remember, you can do this! If they
are true friends they will respect your singing and your courage.

Question

How can I change the deep voice I have as a girl?

Lord_Tommo
Community Answer

There's not really much to help with that. You should embrace the fact that you have a naturally deep voice as many
would love to have that. Don't try to sing out of your comfort zone as that can sometimes lead to damaging your
vocal chords.

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