Coach Nelle's Voice Tip Ep. 4 Soothing a Tired Voice

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Hi everybody! Happy March!

I wanted to jump in here with a tip to counteract vocal hoarseness! We all know about tea with honey and lemon, vocal rest, and hot showers for the steam, but most days we still have to communicate with our voices to some degree. Here is my number one vocal exercise recommendation to get you on the right track when your voice is tired: mooooo!

Gently, and with a gentle tug up along the spine and abdominal support, slide around on mooooo on pitches slightly higher than speaking range. The m asserts the sound in the nasal cavities, which is a more efficient (less tiring) zone for the voice to resonate in. This consonant, along with the other nasals n and ng, are also excellent for when you're stuffed up, since the vibrations loosen up the mucus behind the nose and eyes. Gross, but true! 

When I was studying in the Oberlin in Italy summer program many years ago, Joan Patenaude-Yarnell taught me that oo is the most healing vowel for the chords. This is because it is the "headiest" vowel, the one with the most head voice/falsetto characteristics, and therefore works in a similar way to the nasal consonant sounds of m, n, and ng by lifting the airflow and focus of the vocal resonance up and out of the tired throat gutter :)

We often speak lower than our healthiest speaking pitch-zone, so feel free to play with a higher, more above the breath sensation while speaking, too, when your voice is tired, or anytime. If it's good enough for Ariana Grande, it's good enough for me!

Written by: Nelle Anderson