Exercises for Building and Maintaining Great Vocal Posture
In order to build a strong Vocal Posture and then, maintain that positive Posture, here are some, hopefully helpful exercises. Please let me know what you think about these and how successful they are for you. There are a couple of different TYPES of exercises here. The first exercises are “Visionary”; the second are simply “Physical”. Have fun with these!
* 1. VISIONARY 1 - “Pretend” or “See Yourself” as if you were a “Sumo Wrestler”. If you are not familiar with this term, these are Japanese wrestlers who are “well-fed”, trained from early in life, and they stand with their feet far apart and their knees bent. As you “become” imaginary Sumo, you will assume a very wide stance with your knees bent as deeply as you can “comfortably” maintain balance for your body and lower back. From the lowest position possible, you will begin singing a favorite song, anything from “Happy Birthday” to “The Star Spangled Banner” to “Amazing Grace”, or anything in between. As you continue singing, you begin to pull your body up without lifting your feet off the floor. Thereafter, you continue the up and down movement, singing all the while. This requires you to control your Diaphragm, tense your lower abdomen and upper hip area but keep your upper body loose and flexible, much like vocal performance.
* 2. VISIONARY 2 - “Pretend or “See Yourself” as if you are trying to “balance” or stand upright in a small boat, such as a row boat. If you have ever tried to do this, you know how difficult it feels. You get the feeling that your slightest movement will overturn the boat; you don’t even want to sneeze or make any wrong move in any direction. As with the Sumo positioning, you must tighten your “Core” and your lower thigh and hip muscles, while maintaining flexibility in your upper body. You are best able to achieve balance by “feeling your way” slowly and carefully with small movements of your feet that eventually bring about equilibrium.
* Physical #1 - Stand with your back to a wall. Move your heels, calves, buttocks, shoulders, and head so that they each touch against the wall itself. As you draw in air or inhale, your middle back should expand and begin to press toward the wall, too.
* Physical #2 - Begin by standing in the position from Physical #1 so that your heels, calves, buttocks, shoulders, and head are touching the wall. FROM this position, begin leaning forward until you are almost balancing on your toes. This should be fairly uncomfortable and unnatural feeling position. Then, move your balance back SLIGHTLY to the “correct” stance., which is definitely forward, but is NOT so forward as to cause an imbalance in your positioning. Next, return to the original standing position, then, SLOUCH DOWN, and then, return to the correct stance, which is slightly forward with shoulders slightly rolled forward. Do this exercises several times, going from one extreme position to the other, and then, returning to the final “balanced”, Correct stance.
* Physical #3 - Using a large mirror placed at one end of a hallway, walk from the opposite end of the room, opposite the mirror, and watch yourself in the mirror for signs of postural stress. As you watch, you should be able to tell that your body weight is forward because you will “look” more aggressive, more impassioned and energetic, as your upper body will “lead” the rest of your body.
* Physical #4 - Place a book (hardcover but not too heavy) on the top of your head. With your upper body completely relaxed, turn your head slowly to the RIGHT and then, slowly move it back to the center. Now, turn your head slowly to the LEFT with your upper body totally relaxed, and then, move it back to the center. Repeat this exercise if you struggled with it AT ALL. If your jaw, neck, or even shoulders are tense, or your movements are bumpy or bouncy in any way, the book will fall. This exercise SHOULD be smooth and relatively effortless. If any aspect of it is NOT smooth, repeat it until the entire process is seamless and flowing.
* Physical #5 - This time use the large mirror AND the hardbound book. Place the mirror on one end of a hall or longer space, and begin walking from the opposite end or side with the book on top of your head. If your movements are smooth and correct, the book will remain in place; if not, the book will fall. Once again, repeat the exercise until your walk is smooth, and flowing, AND the book stays in place. This has NOTHING to do with being masculine or feminine, by the way. Some men think they will look strange walking “smoothly”. Quite the contrary, they will simply look coordinated and less clumsy. This walk is not like imitating a model on a runway; it is merely keeping your body moving at a “level”, even pace. That’s a very positive thing!
* Physical #6 - This time perform the EXACT SAME exercise as “Physical #5” EXCEPT that you walk from one end of the hall or room to the other, then, SMOOTHLY turn, and walk back to your original starting point. The book should never fall! If the book falls on either Exercise #5 or #6, repeat them until your walk is smooth and even and level, and the book stays on your head!
* Physical #7 - These next two exercises will be methods to learn to “Sit on the Breath” (This means SITTING while standing - a smooth connection, so that you FEEL connected to the ground, even below your feet). This one is called “WALL” - Line Yourself up against a wall with your feet slightly away from the wall and slightly less than shoulder-width apart. Your head does NOT need to touch the wall but your ears should be directly above your shoulders. Relax your body into the wall and lower your back into the wall. Now, extend your arms and allow them to draw your body away from the wall as your weight begins to fall more forward. Balance your weight on the balls of your feet; bend at your hips and allow your ribcage to be stretched and suspended. Your spine will lengthen, your upper back will be slightly rounded, and your shoulders will be imperceptibly forward and down. Now, breathe in and out, 3-5 times.
* Physical #8 - Sit on the EDGE of a chair with your body bent ever-so-slightly forward, with your hands on your knees. There should be a STRAIGHT LINE from your TAILBONE to the TOP OF YOUR HEAD, as though you are a puppet sitting in that chair. Never lower your chin, which depresses the Larynx. Now, look somewhat upward. Because your shoulders should be down and a little forward, keeping your hands on your knees opens the back of your ribcage without hyper-extension, which is what you want. SITTING WHILE STANDING - Now, lean forward slowly until you are standing WITHOUT leaving the feeling of sitting but DON’T arch your lower back. This will open your ribcage and cause breathing to build from your Pelvic Floor but BE CAREFUL not to over-tense muscles as you do this!
* Physical #9 - Practice breathing from your Diaphragm, so that your lower abdominal area and your ribcage expand. Perform this exercise “consciously” several times. Next, breathe in this way but this time, straighten and lengthen your spine. Practice this several times. Practice going back and forth between these two exercises and then, add one more, “slouching” your shoulders. You will notice that it’s not possible to take as deep an inhale when you are not in the more upright stance. Think about it, logically, it makes sense that with an elongated spine, greater area is exposed of your Abdominal and Rib area, so it is easier to take in a greater quantity of air. This “longer” spine position is, ultimately, the position you want to practice the most, and use when you sing. The more air you can inhale and control, the greater the vocal product.
These exercises are all designed to strengthened your posture, as well as to help you solidify, and find balance with your specific posture positioning. Practice these exercises regularly to maintain good vocal posture, to strengthen the muscles used for establishing good vocal posture, and for invigorating your breathing for singing. Check out my website at www.SingitForward.net. Thanks so much for reading! Be sure to post your questions, comments, and suggestions for future posts. Sing it Forward!
* 1. VISIONARY 1 - “Pretend” or “See Yourself” as if you were a “Sumo Wrestler”. If you are not familiar with this term, these are Japanese wrestlers who are “well-fed”, trained from early in life, and they stand with their feet far apart and their knees bent. As you “become” imaginary Sumo, you will assume a very wide stance with your knees bent as deeply as you can “comfortably” maintain balance for your body and lower back. From the lowest position possible, you will begin singing a favorite song, anything from “Happy Birthday” to “The Star Spangled Banner” to “Amazing Grace”, or anything in between. As you continue singing, you begin to pull your body up without lifting your feet off the floor. Thereafter, you continue the up and down movement, singing all the while. This requires you to control your Diaphragm, tense your lower abdomen and upper hip area but keep your upper body loose and flexible, much like vocal performance.
* 2. VISIONARY 2 - “Pretend or “See Yourself” as if you are trying to “balance” or stand upright in a small boat, such as a row boat. If you have ever tried to do this, you know how difficult it feels. You get the feeling that your slightest movement will overturn the boat; you don’t even want to sneeze or make any wrong move in any direction. As with the Sumo positioning, you must tighten your “Core” and your lower thigh and hip muscles, while maintaining flexibility in your upper body. You are best able to achieve balance by “feeling your way” slowly and carefully with small movements of your feet that eventually bring about equilibrium.
* Physical #1 - Stand with your back to a wall. Move your heels, calves, buttocks, shoulders, and head so that they each touch against the wall itself. As you draw in air or inhale, your middle back should expand and begin to press toward the wall, too.
* Physical #2 - Begin by standing in the position from Physical #1 so that your heels, calves, buttocks, shoulders, and head are touching the wall. FROM this position, begin leaning forward until you are almost balancing on your toes. This should be fairly uncomfortable and unnatural feeling position. Then, move your balance back SLIGHTLY to the “correct” stance., which is definitely forward, but is NOT so forward as to cause an imbalance in your positioning. Next, return to the original standing position, then, SLOUCH DOWN, and then, return to the correct stance, which is slightly forward with shoulders slightly rolled forward. Do this exercises several times, going from one extreme position to the other, and then, returning to the final “balanced”, Correct stance.
* Physical #3 - Using a large mirror placed at one end of a hallway, walk from the opposite end of the room, opposite the mirror, and watch yourself in the mirror for signs of postural stress. As you watch, you should be able to tell that your body weight is forward because you will “look” more aggressive, more impassioned and energetic, as your upper body will “lead” the rest of your body.
* Physical #4 - Place a book (hardcover but not too heavy) on the top of your head. With your upper body completely relaxed, turn your head slowly to the RIGHT and then, slowly move it back to the center. Now, turn your head slowly to the LEFT with your upper body totally relaxed, and then, move it back to the center. Repeat this exercise if you struggled with it AT ALL. If your jaw, neck, or even shoulders are tense, or your movements are bumpy or bouncy in any way, the book will fall. This exercise SHOULD be smooth and relatively effortless. If any aspect of it is NOT smooth, repeat it until the entire process is seamless and flowing.
* Physical #5 - This time use the large mirror AND the hardbound book. Place the mirror on one end of a hall or longer space, and begin walking from the opposite end or side with the book on top of your head. If your movements are smooth and correct, the book will remain in place; if not, the book will fall. Once again, repeat the exercise until your walk is smooth, and flowing, AND the book stays in place. This has NOTHING to do with being masculine or feminine, by the way. Some men think they will look strange walking “smoothly”. Quite the contrary, they will simply look coordinated and less clumsy. This walk is not like imitating a model on a runway; it is merely keeping your body moving at a “level”, even pace. That’s a very positive thing!
* Physical #6 - This time perform the EXACT SAME exercise as “Physical #5” EXCEPT that you walk from one end of the hall or room to the other, then, SMOOTHLY turn, and walk back to your original starting point. The book should never fall! If the book falls on either Exercise #5 or #6, repeat them until your walk is smooth and even and level, and the book stays on your head!
* Physical #7 - These next two exercises will be methods to learn to “Sit on the Breath” (This means SITTING while standing - a smooth connection, so that you FEEL connected to the ground, even below your feet). This one is called “WALL” - Line Yourself up against a wall with your feet slightly away from the wall and slightly less than shoulder-width apart. Your head does NOT need to touch the wall but your ears should be directly above your shoulders. Relax your body into the wall and lower your back into the wall. Now, extend your arms and allow them to draw your body away from the wall as your weight begins to fall more forward. Balance your weight on the balls of your feet; bend at your hips and allow your ribcage to be stretched and suspended. Your spine will lengthen, your upper back will be slightly rounded, and your shoulders will be imperceptibly forward and down. Now, breathe in and out, 3-5 times.
* Physical #8 - Sit on the EDGE of a chair with your body bent ever-so-slightly forward, with your hands on your knees. There should be a STRAIGHT LINE from your TAILBONE to the TOP OF YOUR HEAD, as though you are a puppet sitting in that chair. Never lower your chin, which depresses the Larynx. Now, look somewhat upward. Because your shoulders should be down and a little forward, keeping your hands on your knees opens the back of your ribcage without hyper-extension, which is what you want. SITTING WHILE STANDING - Now, lean forward slowly until you are standing WITHOUT leaving the feeling of sitting but DON’T arch your lower back. This will open your ribcage and cause breathing to build from your Pelvic Floor but BE CAREFUL not to over-tense muscles as you do this!
* Physical #9 - Practice breathing from your Diaphragm, so that your lower abdominal area and your ribcage expand. Perform this exercise “consciously” several times. Next, breathe in this way but this time, straighten and lengthen your spine. Practice this several times. Practice going back and forth between these two exercises and then, add one more, “slouching” your shoulders. You will notice that it’s not possible to take as deep an inhale when you are not in the more upright stance. Think about it, logically, it makes sense that with an elongated spine, greater area is exposed of your Abdominal and Rib area, so it is easier to take in a greater quantity of air. This “longer” spine position is, ultimately, the position you want to practice the most, and use when you sing. The more air you can inhale and control, the greater the vocal product.
These exercises are all designed to strengthened your posture, as well as to help you solidify, and find balance with your specific posture positioning. Practice these exercises regularly to maintain good vocal posture, to strengthen the muscles used for establishing good vocal posture, and for invigorating your breathing for singing. Check out my website at www.SingitForward.net. Thanks so much for reading! Be sure to post your questions, comments, and suggestions for future posts. Sing it Forward!
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