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Finding Your Sacred Voice Workshop
Syllabus* Instructor: Izolda, 301-441-3005,
izolda@folknouveau.com
Warm-ups
(to be done before every time you sing) 1. March in place (2 minutes) (Singing uses muscles that must
be warmed up in order to function at their peak) 2. Deep breathing (three-part breath) preparing lungs and
maintaining a column of air 3. Yawning 4. Stretching: a. Shoulder roll (five on each side) b. Half neck roll (left side to front to right side and back) c. Half neck roll to the back d. Neck stretch (turn neck to the side and stretch and then
for a deeper stretch turn chin down to the shoulder) e. Arm above head stretch (lift one arm and stretch it up
lengthening your ribs and then follow with the left arm. While one arm stretches up, the other
stretches down.) f. “C” stretch (lift arms above head clasp
right hand with left and curl your back while extending your arms. For an added stretch, turn in the direction
of the arm clasping.) g. Shake out hands h. Face scrunch, face big i. Pat your head, massage face, sinuses, jaw hinge,
etc. j. Yawn k. Horse noise l. Yawn with “Ah” m. Yawn with “Ah” bent over 5. Posture (preferable to stand when singing so you can keep
an uninterrupted column of air) a. Practice standing to sing. Stand with both feet shoulder width apart, your knees slightly
bent and your spine straight.
Pretend someone has grabbed the hair at the very top of your
head and is tugging it upward slightly.
Jaw is loose and breathing is relaxed. b. Sit comfortably upright with your torso resting on your
sit bones. Sit in an uplifted
way with your feet flat on the floor and your gaze at a comfortable
level with your eyes and jaw relaxed.
Exercise Set 1. Correct Breathing
technique/Building vocal facility 1. Deep breathing correctly. Your stomach is relaxed and flowing out on inhalation. Your ribs are relaxed and expanding and
your shoulders are relaxed and down.
(You’ll find when you sing that [usually because of nervousness]
that your shoulders start to ride up and get tense around your neck. Consciously lower and relax them whenever
you notice this. a. Inhale and exhale full deep breath five times. b. Inhale a full, deep breath using good technique and exhale
on a whispered “Ah.” (five times). Horse noise is great for finding where you are using your breath. c. Inhale and exhale on a closed-mouth low “Mmm.”
(five times) d. Inhale and exhale on a “Ah” sound. e. Yawn an “Ah” sound. (five times) 2. Begin to work with making a tone on a vowel (Two finger
rule [you should be able to put two fingers between your teeth during
any vowel being sung]) a. Ah, b. Eh, c. Ee, d. Oh, e. Oo, f. Ah Eh Ee Oh Oo (on one
note) 3. Sing with adding consonants a. mah meh mee moh moo (nah, tah, lah, sah, kah, etc.) Do
all exercises with different consonants. b. voice/non-voiced, p/b, t/d, f/v, ch/j, sh/zh, k/g (find
the others) 4. Build facility with speaking
a.
Minimal Animal,
Minimal Animal, Red Leather, Yellow Leather
Exercise
Set 2. Supporting tones 1. Supporting tone with your breath a. Ahhhhh b. Eeeee c. Ehhhh d. Ooooo e. ee, eh, ah, eh, ee (up scale, half-steps)
f.
vee, veh, vah, veh
vee (up scale, half-steps)
g.
vree, vreh, vrah,
vreh, vree
h.
.ah, eh, ee, eh,
ah (do re mi re do)
i.
mah, meh, mee, meh,
mah
Exercise
Set 3: Vocal quality 1. Pitch: difference in vibrations (Use face, e.g. eyebrows,
smile. Tricks & hints.) a. Pitch matching b. Intervals c. mee meh mah moh moo (do re mi re do)
b.
ah ah ah ah ah ah
ah ah (do re mi fa so fa mi re do) 2. Resonance: head, chest, falsetto (resonators: larynx, pharynx,
bronchials, sinuses, nose, neck, chest cavity, cranial cavity) a. placing voice and where you imagine
it (ahs) 3. Listen to yourself (Stand with one hand held out about
four inches away from your mouth.
Point your palms slight to one side and then on that side, place
your other palm next to your ear. 4. Dynamic quality (importance of breath when singing quietly)
Exercise
Set 4: Singing with Others 1. Blend
a.
Circle exercise
focus in and listen to each other. Sing to a common focus.
Exercise
Set 5: Intro to harmony 1. Intro to harmony
a.
Circle exercise
and move groups to sing other pitches while some hold.
b.
Moving notes (group
a. G, F#E F#. Group b.
D A D. Group c. D B A)
Exercise Set 6: Caring for your voice 1. Caring for your voice a. Most important: support your voice with your breath.
Don’t overdo. Gargling. Drink lots of water. Slippery Elm
Bark tea. Drink hot water with lemon & honey
Sources: (Compiled by) Kate Marks, Circle Round, 1993. Richard Miller, The Structure of Singing, 1996 Madeline Bruser, The Art of Practicing, 1997 *Introduction
to Singing © 2000, Izolda Trakhtenberg. All rights reserved. |