Learning Straw Phonation in Water Exercises: The Big Picture
If you’re a beginning singer, then this is a big-brother-advice lesson.
Please be careful not to rush off willy-nilly searching for singing exercises without first taking the time to see the bigger picture.
Effective vocal training requires a solid knowledge in many areas. And knowledge precedes skills.
Remember, there are many ways to get better at singing. However, not all of them get you there quickly. I want to improve my singing as fast as possible. I’m always looking for an edge in my training.
The video is packed with information so I’ll keep this brief.
I practice and teach what I call “bottom-up training”, as opposed to the “top-down training” that is most often taught, especially in the popular methods for contemporary singing styles.
I sing rock, pop and musical theater. However, all my studies are in the classical technique.
Here’s my approach…
Breathing for Singing is Everything
Take it seriously. Start with breathing. Most vocal problems can be traced to bad breathing technique. Build knowledge and skills, step by step.
Don’t be afraid of the physiology. It’s fun and it’s awesome.
Phonation Comes Next
It’s how you make sound at the vocal folds. This is an area that has become complicated due to so many different words and definitions for how your vocal folds operate.
Watch my singing analogy video about the 10-Speed bike. It’s so much simpler than people make it.
Articulation and Resonation Come Last, but not Really
You see, when you practice bottom-up training, you place your sound chamber and articulators in their core positions. This core position constitutes 95% of the shape that all vowels have in common.
So, in reality, you are training all of your vowels by holding your resonation chamber and articulators mostly in place. See my post about how SOVT exercises train vowels better than open-mouth vowel training.
Workouts and Vocal Exercises
You also need to develop knowledge and skills as to how you build your workouts and design your vocal exercises. Most of your improvement will come from the workouts you do at home, not from private lessons. Private lessons aren’t workouts. They are like “chiropractic adjustments”. Hey, there’s a topic for a new analogy video!
See my posts on my daily vocal training workout and the recent 3 demos of the best daily vocal exercise.
What to do Next
If you’re following the blog and the Voice Building Junkies Show at Youtube, then you’re already showing how serious you take your singing. Great work!
Build your Bubbler and begin to fiddle. Find a great coach or some other way to learn the best vocal techniques for your training.
Be well and enjoy your day,
