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Fabulous voice coach who's taught Judi Dench, Ian McKellan And Ralph Fiennes, among many others.

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Powerful Voice

"Breath support" is what they call it. It's a way to get power in your voice without straining the muscles in your neck, which is where people push from when they want more volume. The tiny, delicate vocal folds can't withstand any extra pressure, and they get sore or your voices cracks or you lose it completely.

You need to get strength from the bigger muscles in your body, the abdominals. They can take all the extra pushing. You need to learn to lean against them steadily as you need more power. It's a longer conversation and one of the key points of voicework, but try not to grab your throat when you speak -- try and let the voice drop down so that you feel a slight contraction just behind your navel.

Go from an "mmmmm" sound into an "ahhh", all the while contracting your lower abs slightly. Or make a hiss (a long slow "sssssssss") and feel the way your stomach deflates slowly, not all at once. That feeling of Controlled Release is what you want to feel when you're looking for strength as you speak....

Just Breathe

Easier said than done.

Funny, but a lot of people don't really breathe. When they speak, they do it from a very tense, flattened-in stomach. The lungs aren't given a chance to take in all the air they can. You never want to take big, loud GULPS of air when you breathe, but you do want to teach your body to relax and let the full amount of air come into your lungs. This can't happen if you're tense and holding your muscles tightly.

Take a nice low breath. Feel the air come in deep around your waist (yes, I know this isn't anatomically correct, but bear with me) -- lots of voicework is done with images. And if you feel like the air comes in low, it will relax your abdominal muscles and allow you to take more in. Don't ever hoist your shoulders UP when you breathe, as this tightens you more and doesn't allow for a "full tank" of air.

Your lower torso should feel like a balloon which fills up and then deflates. Keep a sense of your stomach/abs filling up and releasing, and this will get you centered and let your voice fall naturally to the place it needs to be. So -- low, relaxed breaths provide a fuller, more confident sound and give you more air so you don't run out of steam toward the ends of long phrases.

Practice it a little every day. Nobody will notice but you. And slowly you will increase your lung capacity and start to feel more relaxed at the same time.

Just breathe ---

Warm-Ups

Here's a short list of warm-up exercises for the people who've e-mailed:

• LOW BREATHS Breathe around your middle. Continue this all through your warm-ups
• POSTURE Spine is straight, pelvis tucked under you. Rib cage is up, shoulders up and back.
• BALLS OF THE FEET Lean very slightly forward onto the balls of your feet. You feel grounded but energized.
• UNLOCKING KNEES/CENTERING Bounce a little bit and feel your weight – like you feel the ground beneath you
• DROP TENSION, BREATHE INTO IT Learn to locate where tension lives in you and drop it as you breathe.
• NECK ROLLS Roll your neck all around, drop it, and then roll it back the other way. Repeat 3x.
• SHOULDER ROLLS Forward and back. Alternating.
• SHOULDER LIFTS & DROPS Up to your ears, then drop. 3x.
• OPEN YOUR BACK Criss-cross your arms and put your hands under each armpit. Walk your fingers backwards and reach for your spine. When they’ve gone as far as they can, press your fingers down into your back and grab hold. Bend over ninety-degrees and take a deep breath in. You will feel your back open up.
• DROP OVER Bend your knees. Slowly drop over and let everything hang. Let your head and shoulders sway. Swing them. Let your neck go. Breathe. Gently sway back and forth. Then slowly roll back up.
• TONGUE Stick your tongue out. Touch your chin. Press it against your hard palate. Say la-la-la-la.
• MASSAGE JAW HINGES Gently massage the back part of your jaw where it curves up below your ears.
• HORSE LIPS Blow air through your lips and let ‘em flap in the breeze. Great for warming up the voice.
• CHEW/OVER-ENUNCIATE Pretend you’re chewing. Move your lips in every direction. Practice saying: "How now Brown Cow?" - your chin "drops down to chest"

Hope this is helpful.

First Off

This new blog is dedicated to creating a dialogue with speakers and singers, sharing some of the things I've learned after 20 years as a performer and voice coach.


I run a studio where I teach singers. And I have a voice coaching (speaking) site which I set up to act as a presence on the Web, and to generate business. That coaching is done specifically by phone, so I reach people from my state, all the way to Asia. Right now I am coaching businessmen in China, Japan, and Australia. And saving them lots of time and travel expense by doing it over the phone.

But here I want to have a dialogue with people interested in using their voices -- so that's what this is. A place to hopefully help people out with questions