a hitchhiker’s guide to your voicewhich sovt is best for you??? •narrower tubes, or into water...

A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Your Voice

Elizabeth Savina

Speech Pathologist, Brisbane Voice Clinic

Choir Leader & Voice Coach, Exploring Voice

Body Warm-Ups

•Stretch torso to the four points

•Self Hug

•Rotate on hips and shimmy

•Stamp the feet

Let’s make some noise! You’ve just:

•Seen something gorgeous Oooooo Pretty!•Been given a tricky problem Uuuuuuummmmmmm•Heard about a friend’s disappointment: Oooooh

•A good friend has made fun of you

Ehhhhhh!

•Been told something astonishing

•Really?

•But you don’t believe it

Really?

•It’s true and it’s gonna be a lot of work

Aiyaiyai!!!!

•But you don’t want your boss to hear your discontent

Aiyaiyai!!!!

We all have great (unconscious) control of •Pitch

•Loudness

•Timbre Conscious control can help us develop different parts of our singing voice.

What are we going to cover?

•Bit of anatomy/movements of the larynx• Experiment a lot with our voices•Registers, onsets, larynx height

•How to deal with tricky parts of your voice – and strengthen the voice•Health Benefits of singing •Vocal Care

AKA Voicebox,Open at rest for breathingJOBSClose off airway - when food and drink is

going past- brace for strenuous

activity- as part of freeze-

>fight/flightVocalise

Pitch – thickness and tensionStroboscopy Male: High thin, Low thick. VF open for Breathing

Stroboscopy Female

Hi-Speed Digital Imaging Low to high pitch with Voice Break

Play Time!!!!!!!

•Vocal Register•Glottal Fry, Chest Voice, Head Voice

•How to start the voice•Glottal, Smooth, Breathy

•Larynx Height•Low, Mid, High

Vocal Register Dominant in

Glottal Fry (M0): Touches in

rock/blues/jazz/soul

Chest Voice

/(M1)/Thick vocal

folds/

Most Rock, Soul, Blues,

Some pop

Uh OhEy! (Laughingly indignant)

Head Voice/(M2)/Thin

vocal folds:

Classical, Some Jazz, Folk Sympathetic AwwwDawning Realisation

Vocal Register

• Lots of research –large amount of definite uncertainty

• Many songs use both, or a mix.

Chest Voice (M1) DominantSongs

Rock, Soul, Blues, Some Jazz an Folk

Bad Romance – Lady Gaga (G#3)

Rah rah ah- ah- ah-a!Ro mah ro-mah-ma-aGaga oh-la-la-a!Want your bad romance

Solid Rock (Bb3)

But they were standin' on - solid rock Standing o-on sacred grou-oundLiving o-on borrowed ti-i-i-imeAnd the winds of change were blowing cold that night

Rolling in the Deep (E4) Adele

There's a fire starting in my heartReaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out the darkFinally I can see you crystal clearGo ‘head and sell me out and I’ll lay your ship bare

Banana Boat Song (F4)

Day-o, day-oDaylight come and me wan' go home(Repeat)

Head Voice M2 DominantQuieter at lower pitches, Adds

Vibrato

Ave Maria (D4)

Ave Maria Grazie Plena

Ae Fond Kiss (per Eddie Reader)

Ae fond kiss and then we sever;Ae fareweel, and then for ever!Deep in heart rung tears I’ll pledge theeWarring signs and groans I’ll wage thee

Sentimental Journey

Gonna take a sentimental journey

Gonna set my heart at ease

Gonna take a sentimental journey

Sentimental memories

Type of Start Emotion In Song

Glottal Oi (indignant)Eh Oh (taken aback)

Single Ladies (Beyonce)

Smooth Ohhhhhhhhh(sympathetic)(realisation)

Ave Maria

Breathy Aren’t you going to invite me in?

Four Seasons in one Day – Even When you’re Feeling Warm

Let’s Swap! – Developing your non-dominant

•Chest Voice: may need to drop the key of the song. •Use “uh oh”

•Head voice: • smooth start on a vowel or use : • Loose woof• y/n/ - helps get just right closure if you get breathy.

Ae Fond Kiss (per Eddie Reader)

Ae fond kiss and then we sever;Ae fareweel, and then for ever!Deep in heart rung tears I’ll pledge theeWarring signs and groans I’ll wage thee

Bad Romance – Lady Gaga (G#3)

Rah rah ah- ah- ah-a!Ro mah ro-mah-ma-aGaga oh-la-la-a!Want your bad romance

Breathing

•Chest voice – less airflow/less lung volume

•Head voice – slightly more airflow/larger lung volume

•Belt: very minimal air required, needs have low lung volume.

SPLAT Breath

•Singers Please Loosen Abdominal Tension

•Bring in, let go•S S S Sssssssssssssssssssssssh SH sh SH sh SH sh SHHHHHHH

Pay attention to abs

Yoooo, Yoooo, YooooUh Oh, Uh Oh, Uh Oh

Yoooo Uh Oh Yooo Uh Oh

Uh oh Yooo Uh oh

Chest voice dominant singers

•Adele

•The Waifs

•The Stiff Gins

•Indigo Girls

• John Farnham

•Mark Seymour –Hunters and Collectors

Head Voice (Dominant) Singers

•Doris Day

•Sandy Denny

•Norah Jones

•Eddie Reader

•John Martyn•John Denver•The Bee Gees

What happens to voice box as we glide up and down in

pitch????

Larynx Height

Larynxposition

Larynx Height

•Low – sob/dark/dawning realisation: Classical, Opera, Soul, some Rock

•Medium – normal speaking range: Rock/MT/Folk

•High – Twang, excited, bright: Some Pop

Let’s play Single Ladies

Ave Maria Banana Boat Song

Middle

The Health Benefits of Singing

A Brief Overview

Health Benefits of Singing

• Singing-like vocal exercises have improved swallowing in people with PD (> 1 hour/day 4days/week for 4 weeks) Sharkawi (2002)

• Immediate and longer term improvements to mood (even after 4 minutes in people who reported they don’t like singing) Sakano 2014, Fancourt 2016 Gale et al 2012

Health Benefits of Singing

• Improves stability & loudness of voices of older Prakup B 2012

•Mild-Moderate Sleep Apnoea (20minutes/day)Hilton 2013

↓ Epworth Sleepiness Scale↓ Frequency of snoring

Health Benefits of singing

Physiological Measures Fancourt (2016), Kreutz2004

•Generally ↓cortisol (solo and group)

•Variable effect on S–IgA•↓ β-endorphin and oxytocin

Cautions

•Almost no randomized controlled trials

•Only 3 studies have looked at solo singing, everything else has been group

“Good” Vibrations of Vocal Folds – Heal the Vocal Folds

(& may influence other cells in the body as well)

Good Vibrations (Verdolini et al 2012)

•N=3 Vocal load task = 15 min loud talking, 5 minute rest x3 –> acute inflammation•Random -> •Spontaneous speech, •Rest •“Resonant Voice” (we will do in the 2nd half)

Good Vibrations (Verdolini et al 2012)

•Pro-Inflammatory Mediator: interleukin (IL)-1β

Getting the right closure

•Under closure -> breathy, dry out, ↓volume

•Overclosure -> damage (e.g. nodules)without necessarily increase in volume

•Just Right Closure•~0.6‐0.7 mm

Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract (SOVT)

Exercises

Semi-occluded vocal tract SOVT (Andrade 2014)

•Narrowing downstream of the vocal folds OR•Lengthening of the vocal tract (straws) OR•Second source of vibration

Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract Exercises

•Long history in singing, theatre voice, voice therapy •2011 National Symposium in US•9+ articles in 2016

SOVT (Verdolini 2011)

•↓↑closure of the vocal folds

SOVT researched in Using

•Teachers•Elderly•Actors and singers•Patients, including benign lesions

•Acoustic

•Aerodynamic

•CT, MRI

Different SOVT (Andrade 2014)

Narrowing/Lengthening

•m, n, ng•v, z, dʃ, w, y “woof”•Straw into air•HonkTend to be less effortful

2nd Source of Vibration

•Lip Trills•Tongue Trills•(Wide)Straw into water •Turkey Gobble (- ?massage)

Let’s Have a Go

Hey now, hey now, don’t dream it’s over

Hey now, hey now, when the world comes in

What other changes occur? (Guzman et al 2016)

Tubes ↑diameter of the vocal tract

- Good for acoustics

Narrower Straw -> wider vocal tract (Guzman et al 2016)

No Straw 5mm Straw 2.7mm Straw

Lowering of the larynx (sometimes)(Guzman et al 2016)

Aryepiglottic Narrowing (sometimes)(Guzman et al 2016)

Amplifies the formants/harmonics in 2-4000Hz rangeSounds Bright, a part of Twang, Opera, rural singing

The End Goal – Resonant Voice

1) Feeling of effortlessness in throat

2) Buzz in Face/along hard palate and sometimes teeth

Resonant Voice

Contrast loose and tight jaw

Start and stop to help yourself sense the vibrations

•My My My!

•Mmmmmm Siren

•Woaaaaaaah

•Ooooooo lower and upper sirens

•Normal straw

When would you use SOVT??

SOVT are awesome for:

•Warm ups before >average speaking demands

•Warm ups & Cool Downs for singing

•Smoothing out the passagio – create “mixed register”

SOVT are awesome for:

•Difficult phrases in songs (cross registers)

•To develop safe/efficient loudness

•Voice recovery

•Singing High

Two Quick Useful Stretches

Where is your tongue at rest?Are your teeth touching?

Tongue Stretch

Imagine a large dog suddenly starts snarling at you

Wide Throat Stretch “Widening the false vocal folds”

Stretches the muscles that close the throat

Strengthens the muscles that open the throat

Widening and Constricting the False Vocal Folds

Wide Constricted

When are we prone to overclose?

•Nervousness –Freeze

•Increasing pitch/loudness

•When we are “trying hard”

Siren on an SOVT

•Lip Trill (my favourite for lower ¾

•Pushed forward ‘ng’ for upper 3/4

Golden Rule of Voice/Singing Exercises

5 reps without any irritation to voice

*Dealing with Register Breaks/Tricky Phrases*

•Slow down to quarter speed

•Do 3-4 times using an SOVT

•Sing with the lyrics at quarter speed

•Gradually speed up

Reach out I’ll be there (E4)

Reach out

I’ll be there to give you all the love you need

I’ll be there you can always count on me

I’ll be there to love and comfort you

I’ll be there to cherish and care for you

Tricky Phrases (B3)

Speed bonny boat like a bird on the wing

Onward the sailors cry

Carry the lad that’s born to be king

Over the sea to sky

You’re the Voice (F)

You’re the voice try and understand

Make a noise and make it clear Waoh->

We’re not going to sit in silence

We’re not going to live with fear Waoh->

When doing through Straw

•Don’t try to be loud

Honking (Schneider 2014)

•Nasty nasal twang Miaow, Riaow, Nyeh, Nyeh, Nyeh, Nyeh Nyeh•Replace all the syllables of the song with nyeh nyeh nyeh nyeh nyeh•Close off the nose (should sound different!) Mama Yu Weh

Which SOVT is best for you???

•Narrower tubes, or into water →↑back pressure & changes

•Trial and discover

•All the singers benefited from at least one SOVT, but no single SOVT benefited all four singers. Dargin et al 2016

Voice Care

Why Steam?•Glands just above VF +

surface cells secrete

•Mucous dries out -> cycle of sticking, pushing

• If you can feel it, it is likely too dry.

Why Steam?

•FASTEST way to add moisture to SURFACE of the vocal tract

My Clinical Experience

•Could be the one thing a patient needs (20%)

•Makes a significant difference (50%)

•No huge difference (30%)

So What’s Going On?

General Hydration

Humidity(aircon?) Voice Use

Medications

The Research: e.g. Tanner et al 2016

•Previous studies of nebulised sterile water •No change to PTP

•Current and prior studies of Nebulised Isotonic Saline• ↓PTP (in some), ↓ vocal effort, ↓ mouth

and throat dryness, ↑vocal quality –acoustic Ax

Another thought

•Another benefit of “steaming” may be the warmth -> Muscle relaxation & increased blood flow

So??????

•Nebulised isotonic saline is not yet standard recommendation – should be discussed with ENT

• Still worth experimenting with steam, if you think your throat is dry

•Caution: any lung conditions –see your doctor!

Easy Ways to Steam

•Use a thermos or a mug

•~900 Celsius•(Note if water is hot

enough to steam it is too hot to drink!)

Caffeine & Voice(Hartley et al 2014)

•Caffeine 250mg-480mg – no changes to acoustic, perceptual, PTP

Caffeine Doses•Expressso 47-75mg•Instant: 27-175mg•Black tea: 14-70mg•Green tea: 24-45mg

BUT: Reflux!!!

•Acid & Pepsin of stomach -> larynx and pharynx = Larngopharyngeal Reflux (LPR) • →tissue damage

•Pepsin becomes active in acidic environment

Managing Reflux

•Alkaline water of pH 8.8 breaks down pepsin Kouffman (2012)

•PPIs controversial for long term use e.g. O’Neil 2013

1-2 Ear Plugs in a Noisy Environment (Verdolini 2011)

•Say 3 sentences to person 3 rows in front•Now close off one ear•Not being able to hear yourself-> overclosure

Good patient education.

•The Mayo Clinic•The Cleveland Clinic•John Hopkins

Organisations

Not on Vocal Hygiene Page of : The Voice Foundation

Thankyou!Any Questions???

A Couple of Extras

Reflux Symptom Index (RSI) for LPR

•Only 35% also have “heartburn”Franco 2015

Managing Reflux Shaw (2010)

Sports Drinks Cochrane et al(2012)

Managing Reflux Shaw (2010)

and Singing

a hitchhiker’s guide to your voicewhich sovt is best for you??? •narrower tubes, or into water...

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