Very quickly before we get to the meat of things...
What if I need help?
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I require one thing when scheduling lessons, and that is to pass this short 10 question quiz I've designed. Once this quiz is passed, you'll be emailed a link to the lesson scheduler. If you've joined the Discord community, you'll also be given access to a channel where the lesson scheduler link is always available. If not, be sure to save it somewhere!
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Now to the important stuff!
Muscle Training
We start in the voiceless for the first 4-6 weeks. This means only whispering and breathing exercises.
Phase 1 - Building Muscle memory:
For the next 2-3 weeks, until you can perform the exercises involved in your sleep.
Learn the Big Dog Little Dog (BDLD) exercise: audio recording
Learn the Voiceless "puh" exercise: audio recording
Note: Do not vocalize at the end yet. It is a sign of mastery, but it's not something we start with.
Homework:
Goals
1. Get familiar and build muscle memory with the core exercises.
2. (Stretch) Build voiceless strength by pushing your limits a tad.Exercises
6x BDLD pendulum
6x Voiceless "puh" pendulum
Repeat until 5-10 minutes has passed
Aim for three 5-10 minute sessions a day, spaced out by a few hours each
"Pendulum" refers to starting from a low resonance, moving to a high resonance, then back to a low resonance. Your ascents and descents should be as smooth and controlled as a pendulum's swing.
Quick instruction on training sessions:
They should be no shorter than 5 minutes and no longer than 10 minutes. These short sessions should be spaced a minimum of two hours apart. Three of these sessions per day seems to be optimal, but is not required. If you're having trouble training, aim for one 5-minute session to keep the training habit alive. If you're feeling great and want to train a bunch, go for five sessions, so long as they're still spaced out as above.
Phase 2 - Building Strength:
For the next 2-3 weeks, until you can push much farther towards your target resonance than before, and hold it for longer.
MANDATORY NOTES ON STRAIN:
We will be pushing our limits, so we will run into strain. Strain should be avoided, but running into it isn't the end of the world. If you experience pain or difficulty breathing in any form, immediately stop what you're doing. Try it once more without straining, if you're able to then great, move on. If you're not able to do it without straining, ask for help. If strain becomes a habit, it can lead to long lasting or permanent damage to your voice.
Learn the Voiceless "eh" exercise: audio recording
Replace the Voiceless "puh" with the Voiceless "eh" in our exercises.
Homework:
Goals
1. Build muscle strength with our core exercises.
2. Gently push your limits at the top.Exercises
3x BDLD (Big Dog Little Dog) up and hold (10 seconds)
3x voiceless "eh" up and hold (10 seconds)
Repeat until 5-10 minutes has passed
Aim for three 5-10 minute sessions a day, spaced out by a few hours each
"Up and hold" refers to getting to your highest resonance, pushing a little higher, then holding there until time runs out or the muscles begin to burn. Ideally, we hold until just before the muscles start to burn, then drop and rest. Do not hold your muscles high into the burn, they're too small to handle it and you may strain them.
Moving to Voice
Start with a Voiceless "eh" and get to as high a resonance as you can. Try to hold that resonance as you add voice and begin to speak a few sentences from whatever you can read around you. Odds are, you lost most of your resonance switching from the Voiceless "eh" and that's completely normal. Being able to convert your voiceless resonance into voiced resonance is a skill, and it will get better as we practice.
For 2-3 weeks, until switching to voice is much easier.
Homework:
Goals
1. Improve bringing voiceless resonance into voice.
2. Generally build strength and endurance in the voice.
3. Keep voiceless resonance strong.Exercises
2x BDLD up and hold (10s)
4x voiceless "eh" up and hold (10s)
5x voiceless "eh" to high resonance, switch to voice and read a sentence
Repeat until 5-10 minutes has passed
Aim for three 5-10 minute sessions a day, spaced out by a few hours each
Reducing Vocal Weight and Getting Stronger in Voice
Homework:
Goals
1. Generally build strength and endurance in the voice.
2. Reduce aspects of vocal weight as needed.
3. Continue pushing limits in the voiceless.Exercises
2x BDLD up and hold (10s)
4x voiceless "eh" up and hold (10s)
5x voiceless "eh" to high resonance, switch to voice and read three sentences
- Strength reading, push as high as you can in resonance and hold briefly
3x voiceless "eh" to high resonance, switch to voice and read ten sentences
- Endurance reading, push high-ish and hold for longer
Repeat until 5-10 minutes has passed
Aim for three 5-10 minute sessions a day, spaced out by a few hours each
If there is a buzzy sound to your voice, like a bee, add the Quotient Slide exercise to your Exercises list.
Learn the Quotient Slide exercise: audio recording
4x voiceless "eh" up and hold (10s)
3x Quotient Slide
5x voiceless "eh" to high resonance, switch to voice and read three sentences
Going between the last voiceless exercise and first voiced exercise.
If there is a loud or brassy sound to your voice, kind of like a trumpet, (or you believe your voice is not breathy enough) add the Gee - Heh exercise to your Exercises list.
Learn the Gee - Heh exercise: audio recording
3x voiceless "eh" to high resonance, switch to voice and read ten sentences
- Endurance reading, push high-ish and hold for longer
2x Gee - Heh
Going right after your endurance reading.
If there is a sizzling sound, particularly at the end of words, add the Tiered List exercise to your Exercises list.
Learn the Tiered List exercise: audio recording
List:
Level 1: H word into a vowel (any word that starts with H really)
Honey
Hawaii
Hurried
Heroism
HarnessLevel 2: H words into a vowel followed by an unvoiced consonant or pause into a vowel
Harrowing Obstacle
Hapless Egg
Hastened Animal
Horrible Action
Hunted OfficialLevel 3: Unvoiced consonant or pause into a vowel
Apple
Target
Oats
Pet
Eternal
1x Tiered List
2x BDLD up and hold (10s)
Going right before your first voiceless exercise.
Practice these weight control exercises for approximately 2-3 weeks before moving on.
Intuitive Resonance Control
The IRC exercises are the way that we will create a practical way to move around between voices. We do this by trying to move in resonance only by speaking aloud!
Learn the IRC:
Intuitive Resonance Control (IRC)
Notice how your voice currently sounds, this is your comfortable level.Sentence 1: Speak at a higher than comfortable resonance (try to just speak higher but if that fails use a voiceless to voiced transition)
Sentence 2: Drop resonance to comfortable level
Sentence 3: Raise your resonance back to that of Sen 1
Sentence 4+: Raise your resonance higher and higher with each new sentence
Learn the EIRC:
Extremes Intuitive Resonance Control (EIRC)
Sentences 1-3 : Current resonance to highest resonanceSentences 4-5 : Stay at highest resonance
Sentences 6-8 : Highest resonance to lowest resonance
Sentences 9-10 : Stay at lowest resonance
The IRC is all about exploring our limits and pushing them when we have plenty of time. The EIRC is about doing the same but much faster while still trying to stay in control.
Homework:
Goals
1. Get used to the IRC exercises.
2. Continue pushing limits in the voiceless and voice.
3. Reduce aspects of vocal weight as needed.Exercises
4x Voiceless "eh" up and hold (10s)
5x Voiceless "eh" -> voiced reading of five sentences
- Strength reading, push as far as you can to your goal resonance and hold for shorter1x EIRC ( 2 sets of 10 sentences)
3x IRC ( 1 set of 10 sentences ) -> additional voiced reading of fifteen sentences
- Endurance reading, push as far-ish as you can to your goal resonance and hold for longer
Repeat until 5-20 minutes has passed
Aim for three 5-10 minute or two 10-20 minute sessions a day, spaced out by a few hours each
Practice this first homework for approximately 2-3 weeks. Insert your fullness balancing exercises as normal.
Homework:
Goals
1. Use the IRC's to move quickly and effectively into our ideal voice.
2. Continue pushing limits in the voiceless and voice.
3. Reduce aspects of vocal weight as needed.Exercises
4x Voiceless "eh" up and hold (10s)2x EIRC ( 2 sets of 10 sentences)
5x IRC ( 1 set of 10 sentences ) -> additional voiced reading of ten sentences
- Strength reading, push as far as you can to your goal resonance and hold for shorter
3x IRC ( 1 set of 10 sentences ) -> additional voiced reading of thirty sentences
- Endurance reading, push as far-ish as you can to your goal resonance and hold for longer
Repeat until 5-20 minutes has passedAim for three 5-10 minute or two 10-20 minute sessions a day, spaced out by a few hours each
Practice this second homework for approximately 4-6 weeks. Insert your fullness balancing exercises as normal.
Where to go from here?
If you've gotten this far and still don't have a voice that you're happy with, and that's actually fairly likely, you need to reach out and ask for help on where to go next. For as many guides as you may read, you're not an expert in voice and there are just some things that take experience to know and understand. These same things can be quite literally impossible or completely impractical to try and describe in something as simple as a guide. Issues that persist beyond this point need hands on training with a coach.
I tried to cover everything I could, in as little detail as possible while still getting the job done. Hopefully, it was helpful!
Happy training!