Voice Training Techniques

Tap to Read ➤ Aastha Dogra

Voice therapy consists of a number of techniques to improve or modify the human voice. Here are some simple, yet effective voice training techniques, which can be easily carried out at home to improve your voice quality.

There are a lot of things on the basis of which people form an idea of your personality. Whether you are meeting a potential date or are going for an interview, people are continuously assessing you on the basis of the clothes you wear, the way you carry yourself, and the way you talk.

Speaking of verbal communication, majority of the people will look up and take notice if you have a deep voice, which is commonly referred to as a baritone. Some people like the famous singer Barry White are naturally blessed with a deep voice, while others have to develop it by undertaking certain voice training exercises.

Deep Breathing

We hardly pay attention to the way we breathe. Researches have shown that the longer breaths we take, the more healthier it is. So practice breathing from the diaphragm, and exhale slowly. This will give you a better control over your voice.

Here's a simple deep breathing exercise. Lie down on your back. Keep your hands around the waist, with fingers pointed towards the center of your body. Slowly take a deep breath so that your stomach is filled with air. When you do this, you will feel your fingers getting pushed upward. Breathe out very slowly. Repeat this five times a day to tame your voice.

Tongue-twisters

Repeating tongue-twisters is a lot of fun, but not many know that it is one of the best vocal exercises. So stand or sit in a comfortable position, and say it slowly. Next, utter the same words again and again; keep on increasing the speed every time. When you are speaking rapidly, you have to make sure that each and every word is spoken clearly.

Given next, are three examples of tongue-twisters that will help you with your training. You can also practice with other tongue-twisters that you know.

#1 How much wood would a woodchuck chuck If a woodchuck could chuck wood? He would chuck, he would, as much as he could, And chuck as much as a woodchuck would If a woodchuck could chuck wood.

#2 Amidst the mists and coldest frosts, with stoutest wrists and loudest boasts, he thrusts his fist against the posts, and still insists he sees the ghosts.

#3 I'm not a pheasant plucker; I'm a pheasant pluckers son, and I'm only plucking pheasants 'till the pheasant plucker comes.

Vocal Exercises

Do you know that our vocal cords are actually muscles which, like any other muscles of the body, tend to get damaged or tired unless exercised regularly and kept in shape. So, to open up your voice and enhance its quality, it is essential that you perform vocal exercises. Given here are some vocal exercises, that'll help you strengthen your vocal chords.

#1 Place the tip of the tongue behind your lower frontal teeth. Next, drop your jaw, and slowly push the tongue outside. Repeat this exercise five times.

#2 Imagine that you are cutting wood with an ax. Perform this action fiercely with a "huh" sound and exhale simultaneously. Then come up breathing in and shout "hah". Again, bend to cut the wood and exhale with a "huh". Repeat this exercise five times.

#3 Make a buzzing sound like a bee; it should sound like "bzzzzzz". Make the same sound a number of times by giving different shapes to your mouth.

#4 Place your hands on the stomach and say, "Paaaaa ... Payyyyy ... Powwww ... Peeeeee ... Poooooo". If you are doing it correctly, you will feel your abdominal muscles tightening with each note. Repeat the same exercise five times a day by replacing the first alphabet with some others.

Besides the aforementioned techniques, you can do certain things in your day-to-day conversation with people, which will help you to improve the quality of your voice. You can start with talking slowly and in a moderate volume.

When a person talks fast or loudly, the larynx becomes tense, so it should be avoided. If you follow the tips and techniques mentioned here regularly, you will soon find people paying undivided attention whenever you speak!