MODULE THREE

Let The Vocal Technique Begin!

AFFIRMATION: I have a voice, and I’m using it!

 

Ok juicy gods, goddesses, and every other orientation imaginable – here we go! In Module 3 we’ll be covering the basics of breath and vocal technique. Remember, I’ve organized this so it’s easy to make it work for you. Watch one or two videos a day, watch them all in one day, review them as needed, whatever feels right to you. I’ve split them up into topics so they’ll be easy to take in small bites, and to revisit when you want to review. I’d recommend that if possible, you do one of the Wellbeing Warm-up Videos before you start :) With all of that said, you do you, and here we go! Starting with toning first :) 

Toning

 

Breathing Like a Goddess 1

This will be the longest video of the course, so bear with me (you’ll see why!) and just be thankful I’ve condensed a lifetime’s worth of breath exploration into twenty minutes! This honestly could be a week or more long retreat just on breath. So go easy with yourself, take notes if needed, and allow time for these concepts to integrate. Also, please experiment with all of this (i.e. don’t just watch me, do it with me!), and come back to this video as a refresher whenever you feel you need it. 

 

If you want more guidance on breath, here is a series of breath videos I did a while ago (my first videos I ever recorded and I was suuuper nervous, so just be understanding, lol!). These cover more about the anatomy, how breath is translated into sound through the vocal cords, and answer lots of common questions that I’m regularly asked about breathing. Breath Series 

 

 

 

Breathing Like a Goddess 2

Here is where we put the actual breathing into practice to support the sound with our breath. Refer to this video when you need a quick refresher.

 

 

Power Breaths

Power breaths are just that – powerful! I guarantee you’ll feel it! They are enlivening, help to reduce anxiety, increase breath capacity, and help warm up your body for singing or speaking. Power breaths are a wonderful addition to your regular vocal and cardiovascular exercise. And once you can do them well, you can enjoy all of these benefits in less than a minute! Truly!

 

 

Chest, Head, and Mixed Voice

Ok now we’re diving into the meat of vocal technique and laying the groundwork for the vocal exercises. Understanding chest, head, and mixed voice is essential for learning to move more fluidly through our entire range, from low, to middle, to high. So here are the basics of what you’ll need to know. 

Voiced and Unvoiced Consonants

In this video we’re weaving together three main essentials: 1. The breath work we’ve talked about so far. 2. How it feels to support the sound with your breath. 3. How your body is designed to support the sound incredibly well (i.e. your body’s got your back).

Humming & Singing

After much deliberation, I’ve decided not to include singing of actual songs in Singing From Your Soul. I’m going to include that in upcoming courses and even an album of soul singing songs I’ve had on the back burner for ages (hopefully coming to fruition once I finish bringing Singing From Your Soul to life!). Meanwhile, I figured we are already covering a lot in this course, and I didn’t want to overwhelm you with too much info.

However, it is worth mentioning that in addition to the toning and vocal exercises we’re doing, humming and singing are wonderful ways to activate the healing response in the vagus nerve. And the more you do any of these, the better and more familiar your voice will feel. So along with the toning and vocal exercises, I encourage you to hum and sing to yourself a lot.

See if you can sprinkle some singing or humming sessions throughout your day. Maybe in your morning shower, while washing dishes, driving to work, or even as a lullaby to yourself at bedtime. Any of these can be so lovely. You can work on applying some of the vocal techniques we cover, and see how they help make the singing easier. Don’t stress over it. Just practice the techniques I’m teaching in the warmups and then play with incorporating them into songs you enjoy.

When you’re humming or singing, you can also apply many of the steps that we’ve used for toning, particularly the practice of releasing judgement. Judgements will arise. Practice releasing them! Also practice just feeling into how wonderful the vibration feels in your body! Focus on humming and singing for centering and wellbeing (as opposed to showing-off), and you’ll find that your body feels so much happier about your vocal practice. A really fun side-effect is that our voices tend to naturally sound better as we get out of our own way and allow that deep inner knowing to work itself organically through us. Now that you know more about the vagus nerve’s relationship to our voices, this probably makes more sense. A calm vagus nerve = a calm, embodied voice :) 

Sounding

Something else we won’t be covering in-depth, but that is worth mentioning, is sounding. I encourage you to just make all kinds of sounds! Silly sounds, weird sounds, angry sounds, flirty sounds, emotional and expressive sounds of any sort. Just get in there and make sound! It’s so valuable! You’ll learn a ton about your voice, free up blocks, move stuck energy, exercise and stretch things out, and again, begin to sound better just by virtue of the freedom you’re cultivating.

It can feel scary and that’s part of the process – moving through that fear and doubt and just doing it anyway! Also, you can’t do this wrong! If you go too hard, you can potentially hurt your voice, but the whole idea is that you’re paying attention, following your intuition, and steering clear of those places that might feel harmful. You will be able to tell if you’re hurting yourself! Sensation is information you can use to help steer you in a healthier direction.

Release sound to the winds and see what magic unfolds. You’ll feel a new freedom and self-trust opening up within. It’s priceless.

JOURNALING

Take a few minutes to answer these questions. Don’t belabor your answers. Feel free to take more time if you’re really feeling called to write, but otherwise, just jot your first thoughts down and trust them. 

 

  • What are your main takeaways from Module 3?

 

  • List 3 or 4 of the concepts you found most helpful. 

 

  •  What did you find helpful about each of the concepts you listed? 

 

  • List your goals and/or some creative ways that you can implement these concepts into your vocal explorations.

 

  • Journal briefly about any other thoughts that have been sparked through the content from Modules 1-3 (and any connections you’re seeing between them). 

 

 YOU DID IT!!!!!!!! YAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!!!!! 

 

Congratulations on making it through the first module on vocal technique! I know we just covered a lot, so keep in mind that you can always come back and review these videos, which would be a great idea! And you now have some extremely helpful information on using your voice that you will continue to play with for the rest of the course and beyond! 

 

By the way, all of what we’ve covered in Module 3 applies to speaking as well, and will definitely help you with your speaking! In general, it’s the same application, just less intense than what is required for singing. And of course, it all varies in intensity depending on what kinds of sound we’re trying to make. I could go on, but instead I’ll just say…

 

WONDERFUL JOB!!!! And I’ll see you in Module 4 for more vocal technique goodness!!!

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