Voice Exercises

Breathing Exercise 1

1. Stick out your belly.
2. Pucker your lips as if whistling.
3. Suck in air a-la the "reverse blow" as if you have something hot in your mouth and you want to cool it but not spit it out.
4. Keep sucking for 10 seconds.
5. Now exhale the air by saying sssss just like a snake for 10 seconds.
6. While hissing suck your belly inward.
7. Repeat until you are comfortable with 10 seconds. Then up it to 15 seconds, then 20.

Vowel Exercises

1. OK, first sing the notes Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So (dó, rá, mé, fä, só). (Notice how the spellings use the Latin Vowel pronunciations).
2. Now get that melody backwards as So, Fa, Mi, Re, Do.
3. Now sing ä, á, é, ó, ú in that melody.
4. Each should be a steady clear note. They shouldn't take up your whole breath, but be long enough to let your throat vocalize and resonate.
5. Now repeat this procedure one pitch higher. After that another pitch higher. Ad nasuem.

Breathing Exercise 2

1. Using the increasing pitch melody pattern of the vowel exercise sing Zing Haaaa Ha Ha Ha Ha (zing hääää hä hä hä hä).
2. The first ha should be held for a little while.
3. The remaining ha's should be short and fast like a dog panting.
4. Be sure to vocalize the ä with the latter ha's since it is very easy to just drop the vowel.
5. While saying the ha's shake your belly like Santa.

Consonant Exercises

1. Pick a consonant.
2. Say that consonant several times really fast with the vowel ä.
3. Repeat that again but with the vowel á then é, ó, ú.
4. E.g. fä fä fä fä fä fä fä fá fá fá fá fá fá fá fá fé fé fé fé fé fé fé fé fó fó fó fó fó fó fó fó fú fú fú fú fú fú fú fú

Suggested Drills

• p b f
• k g ch sh
• t d ð þ
• l m n r w
• y j kw ks

Tongue Twisters

These just put every above into practice. First focus on just saying them properly. Then work to get them to normal talking speed.

"Peter Piper"
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers?
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

"Betty Botter"
Betty Botter had some butter,
"But," she said, "this butter's bitter.
If I bake this bitter butter,
it would make my batter bitter.
But a bit of better butter--
that would make my batter better."

So she bought a bit of butter,
better than her bitter butter,
and she baked it in her batter,
and the batter was not bitter.
So 'twas better Betty Botter
bought a bit of better butter.

"She Sells Sea Shells"
She sells sea shells by the sea shore.
The shells she sells are surely sea shells.
So if she sells shells on the seashore,
I'm sure she sells seashore shells.

"Mr. See and Mr. Sore"
Mr. See owned a saw.
And Mr. Soar owned a see-saw.
Now See's saw sawed Soar's see-saw
Before Soar saw See, Which made Soar sore.
Had Soar seen See's saw
Before See sawed Soar's see-saw,
See's saw would not have sawed
Soar's see-saw.
So See's saw sawed Soar's see-saw.
But it was sad to see Soar so sore
Just because See's saw sawed
Soar's see-saw!