The Lip Roll Exercise
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The Lip Roll Exercise Many singers utilize the lip roll exercise during their warm ups to build vocal skills. The objective of this exercises is to stretch out the vocal folds, warm up the muscles of the pharynx and oral cavity, as well as the cheeks, lips and respiratory system (the airflow). The lip roll helps you to balance your airflow and master vocal fold function. Getting The Lip Roll Started To get the lip roll started think of the sound of a motor produced by a child ‚Brrr’ but instead of producing the ‚r’ with your tongue, the vibration is happening on your lips. The lips are set into vibrations by the air passing through the lips. In the beginning, it can be a little challenging to get the lip roll started. Will the Lip Roll make me a better singer The lip rolls are A TOOL for training several areas of technique, but eventually your voice needs to be able to function in this way without the help of the tool. The exercise occludes the vocal tract by narrowing the space in your vocal tract. This balances the pressure above and below the vocal folds. When the pressures are equalized, the vocal mechanism works at its optimum. So the lip rolls teach you an efficient way to make sounds with the ideal amount of air going through your vocal folds. How does the lip roll benefit me Lip rolls are used to achieve a smooth transitions between registers. The lips act as a resistor, blocking some of the air from escaping and therefore assist your vocal folds in adducting (closing and vibrating). The lip rolls also help to keep the larynx in a neutral position, which maintains the whole mechanism loose and relaxed. What if the lip roll does not work If the Lip Roll is not working there are most likely two reasons:
Your cheeks and jaw is too tight
Inadequate amount of air directed through the lips
A trick to help you with the first problem is to place your fingers on the sides of your jaw and push your cheeks up. Make sure the lips are nice and fluffy and there’s no tension on your cheek muscles. This helps to direct the airflow while keeping the face muscles relaxed. For the second problem, start exhaling and direct the air through your lips. If you are not able to set the lips into vibrations, use more air until you get it right. Once you become confident in doing lip rolls with a good amount of air and relaxed vocal mechanism, you can try to produce the lip roll on pitch, on scales, and sustained over a period of time. Do you have any questions in regards to singing? Is there’s something you always wanted to know? Just ask us: contact@vocals-on-stage.comLike us on Facebook