first off my little speaking problems are going away tryin the stuff all of you told me on the other post :D

so today I did some exercises, and here is what I realized:

NON VOCAL EXERCISES ARE REALLY TH THING in some situations...


With melissa's tongue stuff and stuff from vsr I felt much of the problems go away, so what I say for today is REALLY pay attention to all non vocal stuff like the bullfrog the first part of the vsr and all tongue, neck, and jaw related things! It is really worth it...most of the time they can absolutely kill all the strain and stuff

:D thx again and here's the thing, what are your favorite non vocal exercises ? I would have to go with Melissa's tongue stuff....

-"Too much is like not enough..."
-"Less is more"

Sound familiar? If you stressed out too much or work too hard you might not always do yourself a favor. Singing is about freeing the voice. Don't restrain it with unnecessary tension. Just in case you missed it, here is one easy and efficient trick: The sound "Gn" will place the tongue in a naturally relaxed state. Do it often throughout your exercises. You don't even have to voice the sound; just motion the back of the tongue and voilà!

Well, my favorite non-vocal exercises include the Bullfrog, pretty much any breathing exercises, and most of the non-vocal sections of VSR all top my list off.

Another good thing about these exercises is that you can still be benefiting your voice, but still maintaining vocal rest at the same time. I think the vocal rest might have played a part in your vocal recovery as well.

I think I might've told you before about placing the resonance up in the mask even when you speak. ("above the pencil" for those of you who ALSO follow Melissa Cross's teachings)

One thing that I should point out about neck rolls though (in relation to non-vocal exercises) is that I don't do them the way Jaime recommends in RYV. No offense, Jaime. But I think HE might've figured this out, too. When performing neck rolls, don't rotate your head in a FULL circle, just hang your head forward and then take from side to side, basically like a pendulum. Rolling your head all the way back actually has the potential of causing some neck problems in the future.

The reason I said that I think Jaime figured this out is because he told Jonathan Spencer in that video to do them the way I just recommended.

Off the top of my head, I can't think of any more non-vocal exercises right now. It's been a long day. Haha. But I'll post more if I think of any, but I'd LOVE to have some others chime in on this, too!

Ya know what, man? It actually just came to me, but there's actually a page in RYV that explains how your biorhythm will effect your voice on a monthly basis.

I've seen a blue million messages on this board with people who have experienced the same or similar problems to yours, but no one seems to ever bring this up. (about the biorhythms)

Folks, keep in mind that if your voice seems to "go out" on you for a few days that it might simply be "that time of the month" for you ;) , and not to sweat it too much unless you're noticing a SIGNIFICANT change in your voice, or if problems persist.

Jaime actually recommends in RYV that we try to "calculate" the frequency of these periods of each month, essentially so you know when to up your practices.

I apologize that most of this response sounds like I'm talking about PMS, but it was the closest analogy I could use for this particular subject.

Probably my favorite non-vocal is the breathing.

I prcatice the UBW. I do the ones in RYV too where it seems like I'm getting ready to have a baby. Like;panting...I don't do this in front of people. They would probably think I was weird.

But I do do them anytime. In the car, in my bedroom, or wherever.

I like to massage my shoulders and face before singing.

By the way, I have been kind of sceptical about the whole bullfrog thing...what effects have you been noticing, Brandon?

Lowering your larinx will give your sound more depth as your voice has more room to resonate freely.

Shouldn't be a skeptic. The Bullfrog strengthens the anti- constrictor muscles, which will allow you to naturally prevent the larynx from rising too high on the high notes.

JV

Jaime hit it right on the head. That's exactly what I was going to say. As far as my experiences with it, it really does work wonders. My larynx still rises when I hit my highest full voice notes, and my highest falsetto notes.

However, I DO have a tip for you. A lot of people end up clenching their teeth or jaw to force the larynx down. Even thoufh you're still working the anti-constrictor muscles, you'll end up causing strain to your neck or jaw.

Here's the tip...While your tongue is still inside your mouth, point it straight down like you're pushing the mandible down with your tongue and...push...basically. Just use your tomgue to push the larynx down and you'll get all the benefits of the Bullfrog, but with no strain.

And as Jaime ALWAYS tells me..."If it hurts, you're doing it wrong!"

If I didn't explain my "tip" clearly enough, just lemme know and I'll try to clarify!

Thanks for the replies.

Yeah, I can already do the bullfrog without straining, and I used to do it alot, but I never noticed any difference in tone. Perhaps my anti-constrictor muscles are simply strong already.

The difference in tone might become more obvious as you go up your register as it will open up your voice.