This gem of an exercise is like yoga for your vocal folds.
Doing it for 5min in the morning and evening or after a big session of talking or singing, means that you are stretching and deconstricting the folds.
When we experience vocal fatigue and tightness in the throat area, it means our larynx is often sitting in a high position. This exercise will help reset it back to neutral.
What are the other benefits?
- The straw exercise helps us to create a lovely warm tone with forward resonance.
- It improves our air flow and vocal fold closure at the same time as reducing laryngeal resistance.
So basically we can use it to strengthen weak areas of our range because we are taking pressure off the larynx while allowing our vocal folds to come together efficiently on these notes.
What should you feel after the exercise?
You should experience a slight buzzing feeling around your mouth. Dr Titze says that when we come back to normal speech we should feel as though our voice is coming from our eyes instead of our larynx. He says the feel of the sound should be 'lighter and more buzzy' in the face and in the head.
So what are you waiting for?! 'Lock it in Eddie'!
Do you know that when we schedule things into our calendar we are more likely to do it? The task becomes a real event - a non-negotiable. So lock in a 5min session in the AM as well as in the PM. Or why not tack it onto an existing routine? If you meditate or do yoga in the morning, follow it up with a session with the straw.
Please let me know how you go with this! Share your results in the comments below. Can you notice a difference? How have you fitted this exercise into your daily routine?
