The Vocal Way With Zonzay

Zonzay

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Hey guys.

I was a lurker on this site lets say, a year and a half ago, give or take and at the time I was different to the me I am now. I got obsessed with body language, improving my own and watching others, and I took up boxing to get into shape.
But the one thing I neglected was the power of my voice. Like every part of your body it is a useful tool, especially when it comes to your "game".

So I sign up. Give myself a stupid username and here I am: Zonzay.

Your voice says alot about you. It can soothe, it can annoy, it can turn on, it can turn off, you can make the most boring thing sound interesting with enough enthusiasm and the polar opposite if you just so happen to sound like Droopy.

Exercise One: Yawn

Yawn. Thats it. Have a big ole yawn and feel the throat relax. Do it a few times. Good.
Your voice is supported by muscles, and like every muscle in your body they can store tension which in turn can effect your voice. Yawning is like stretchin and if you work out alot you'll understand the importance.

Exercise Two: The Julie Andrews (lol)

Do, ray, me, far, so, la, tee, do.
This isn't the script to The Sound Of Music. This is the solfege. Syllables that, when spoken, should naturally cause your voice to go up in scale.

A E I O U. These are vowels (smack me if you already know) They add resonance to your speech

Ah, Eh, Ih, Oh, Uh. I don't know if there is already a term for these but I'm going to refer to them here a short resonators because "ah" sounds shorter than "A", "eh", shorter than "E" etc.
Say each short resonator but follow the solfege like so:

Do, ray, me, far..
ah ah ah ah x3

Do, ray, me, far..
eh eh eh eh x3 and so on. Remember, what goes up must come down. Once you reach the tops of each scale go back down.

Exercise Three: The Slide

"Mm" "Nn" These syllables are also resonators. Hum "mm" but as you do slide upwards as high as you can, but not enough to strain, and back down again. You should encounter breaks. These disappear the more you practice. Do the same with "Nn"

Exercise Four: Brrr

Now this might seem like an exercise for the lips but don't be fooled. Pinch your cheeks together so they're pursed and breath, "brrr" so the lips flap. This is, in the simplest terms, resistance training for the vocal chords. If you don't push hard, or not hard enough, your lips won't flap.

Exercise Five: Yawn. What! Again?

Yep. This is like a warm down. Remember yawn a few times and when you're done you'll have completed your vocal work out. Do this regularly and your voice your pick up more resonance. Post your own vocal tips if you have any yourself.

Zonzay
 

The Bat

Master Don Juan
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Very interesting post. Haven't read anything like this on here.

It would help if you can post an audio clip of these exercises. Your descriptions are simple enough that I understand how to do them. But a practical example would help to make sure I'm doing them right.

I read this advice somewhere here (forget who wrote it) and I think it would make a good addition to this thread:

To increase the "booming" aspect of their voice, many actors practice breathing and reciting the Hmm noise. The way you do this is basically, take a deep breath so that your stomach is filled with air. Then as you exhale, just go "Hmmmmm". You should be able to feel the "Hmm" vibrating along down the middle portion of your chest all the way to the stomach. The more "vibrations" you feel, the louder your natural voice will become. Louder here implies a booming voice that can be heard by everyone present in 50 yards.
 
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