BRILLIANCE IN PERFORMANCE
Or... how to avoid the warble that only dogs can hear (Part Two)
Originally published in ShopTalk on 2/4/98.
Picking up where we left off on the last article (Voice
Warm Up, Part 1), you need to make those open, breathy sounds warm up your voice
and get it ready to set the world on fire (preferably with your stunning sound,
not your breath!).
This article begins with the next step... that of
introducing full sounds.
Again, we’re making sounds not words. After doing the
breathy sounds, we move into full, "on voice" sounds. Meaning; before, we wanted
a mixture of breath to sound that was 70% breath, 30% sound; here it's 50-50. So
it'll sound more like a voice you could actually talk with, only more open than
you’re probably used to.
Remember to initiate your breathing from your lower
abdomen, relax your jaw, open to about a finger's width between your molars,
keep your tongue flat or slightly concave, tip of the tongue against the bottom
teeth and let your face feel totally relaxed; like silly putty melting off your
skull. Your first sound will again be "AH". Inhale silently with an open throat
and exhale a single AHHH for a couple of seconds.
You’re going for a sound here that’s a bit richer and
fuller than the breathy sounds. The accompanying image can be that it originates
in your lower torso, vibrates through your upper chest, moves past your throat
with no obstruction – and releases out of your mouth.
The throat should feel wide, soft and relaxed, inside and
out. It may take a few days to get the feeling, so be patient. If your sound
seems more in your throat, try yawning, or firmly tapping (don’t make it hurt!)
your sternum with your fist so your sound is like an Indian chant. This often
triggers the throat to release and allows the sound to vibrate in your chest
instead. Do this a few times, then swallow to moisturize your throat and yawn.
Yawning is very good for your voice; it relaxes you, opens the throat and vocal
cords, makes you salivate (moisture is vital to good sound) and is fun. Fun is a
must!
Do the same thing on the OH, UH and AY sounds. Remember
to keep the sound forward, don't use your lips to form the OH, and bump the
middle of the tongue up a bit on the AYYY. Power your breath and sound by using
your lower torso and abdomen. Try these sounds in sequence, then try mixing them
up. The main thing is they should all feel similar or the same. You should feel
them vibrate in your body more than you normally do. They also won’t sound quite
the same as you’re used to… since when there’s tension in the throat, sound
vibrates more exclusively in the throat area (closer to the ears). When the
throat opens, resonance occurs in more parts of the body – and sound vibrates
all around.
Once you feel fairly comfortable making these sounds,
you'll want to utilize the lower body to give you more support both physically
and energetically. By this I mean that while we all know we have great strength
and energy in our legs, feet, thighs and buttocks; we're not brought up to know
that these same muscles should support how we breathe and speak.
So try this to get the feeling: first, lying down on your
back with your knees bent, feet flat on the bed or floor. Keep your throat open
and your face, neck and shoulders relaxed. Inhale, then exhale a full, on-voice
AH sound… and at the same time, push your feet firmly into the floor or bed. The
small of your back should come down flat as you release this sound. Your pelvis
will tilt slightly. Try this a few times. You should feel energy moving from the
bottom of your feet up through your body as you release sound. Feel how this
creates a powerful connection between your legs, thighs, pelvis, buttocks and
your voice. Try it sitting in a chair, too: inhale, then push your feet into the
floor, lower back into the back of the chair as you release your UH sound.
It helps to energize the lower body too. Here’s one quick
and great way to do it; lying on your back again, flex your feet, keep the legs
straight and kick your legs left and right. It’s kind of like having a temper
tantrum, only without the temper or the tantrum… just the kicking! Kick fairly
hard onto the bed, couch or whatever surface you can use to really cut loose. Do
it quickly – what you’re trying to do is wake up the energy in your legs, create
some warmth, tingle and breath engagement in this process. After about 10 or 20
kicks, relax the legs and feel your body. If you’ve done enough of them, you’ll
feel surge of energy happening – I call it a “whoosh”. See how far up the body
you can bring this sensation… try to get it up into the lower torso. This is
lower body energy! It can also be stimulated while standing; by stamping the
feet, slapping the legs, running in place – or whatever works for you as a
“shake ‘em up” activity.
Connecting with the lower body energies in this way will
result in grounding your voice into your body and juicing it up by using the
most powerful muscles – and energy for support - in the body. Do exercises, then
try making your sounds again and feel the difference!
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