Description:
Today we are covering a widely used strategy for building strength into the voice in all registers called SOVTs. They also assist in vocal rehabilitation from damage as well as improve our overall vocal tone. Many range extension exercises use some form of an SOVT to help us strengthen and expand our voice with minimal strain.
SOVT is an acronym for Semi Occluded Vocal Tract, which is a fancy term for partially closing the mouth or vocal tract. We can form an SOVT by forming consonants like Z, N, or M, syllables and sound shapes like NG, TS, or a lip trill, and even with the help of tools like a straw.
Exercise 1: SOVT Slides
For our first exercise we will use a few common SOVTs with some gentle sirens. I’ll do each SOVT 3 times and then move on to the next, but feel free to try them out for longer.
Exercise 2: Lip Trill 1-5-1-5-1
Let's focus on lip trills next. Learning how to sing with lip trills can take some time for many people so be patient as you attempt this, especially if you have never tried something like this before. Try doing a lip trill without phonating or engaging your vocal cords by bringing your lips loosely together, pursuing them out, and blowing through them.
Exercise 3: Straw Phonation 1-8-1
The last one we are going to cover today is using straw phonation. You can use any straw for this, but I recommend a reusable metal or harder plastic straw with a slightly narrow opening. If you don’t have one around, I recommend going and grabbing one before continuing with this next exercise.
Audio:
Lessons:
- Day 1: Welcome And What To Expect
-
Day 2:
SOVT's
-
Day 3:
SOVT’s Into Vowels
-
Day 4:
Low Chest Voice Extension
-
Day 5:
High Chest Extension
-
Day 6:
Low Head Voice Extension
-
Day 7:
High Head Voice Extension
-
Day 8:
Tension Release Strategies
-
Day 9:
Finding Balanced Mix
-
Day 10:
Head-dominant Mix
-
Day 11:
Chest-dominant Mix
-
Day 12:
Vowel Strategies Moving through Registers
-
Day 13:
Advanced Sweeping Exercises
-
Day 14:
Congratulations!
Instructor: Abram Poliakoff
Abram Poliakoff is a singer, guitarist, pianist, teacher, conductor, and composer. He received a Bachelors of Music in Vocal Arts from USC’s Thornton School of Music and has been teaching music for 8 years. He is currently both the Associate Artistic Director and a tenor in the L.A. Choral Lab, which recently released its first studio album Sonic Visions in the fall of 2019. Abram teaches and performs a wide range of genres including Classical, Jazz, Folk and Popular music in the Los Angeles area. He has also sung with the San Francisco Opera and Pocket Opera in the Bay Area. His teaching mission is to help his students utilize vocal technique to find their authentic and healthy voice while maximizing genre flexibility and a naturalness of expression.