My 3 Favourite Vocal Cord Exercises for a Tired Voice

Let me show you 3 fun vocal cord exercises that improve your voice when you feel tired, sick or strained. All these exercises are gentle on your vocal folds and will help you improve vocal fold closure and vibrations. 

Should I stop using my voice or should I do vocal exercises? That is a question I often hear from my followers here on YouTube as well as from my clients who experience vocal tension, strain or even pain when talking.

Absolute vocal rest, meaning not using your voice at all for several days, is not recommended these days for most vocal issues, unless you are right after vocal surgery or for people with vocal hemorrhage.

So, the short answer is: if your voice feels tired, strained or if you are overcoming a common cold or flu and your voice is not feeling in the best shape, the following exercises are for you. Why are they safe even for a tired or strained voice? Because they belong to a category of vocal exercises called SOVT exercises?

SOVT??? What Is That?

SOVT stands for semi occluded vocal tract exercises, which means that there is a partial closure or narrowing somewhere in the vocal tract. Sometimes, this narrowing is at the front of your mouth, sometimes it’s further back in your mouth. 

The narrowing or partial closure causes a build up of pressure in the vocal tract above the vocal folds. This pressure is then reflected back at the vocal folds. This helps produce sounds in a more efficient way because the pressure below and above the vocal folds equalize. The vocal folds then vibrate more freely without putting too much stress on them. They vibrate with less effort, less impact and the vocal folds assume a more balanced position. So in summary, your voice works with less vocal effort but more efficiency. 

SOVT Exercises

There are many vocal cord exercises that qualify as SOVT exercises. I am going to show you my 3 favourite ones. From my experience, people either love or hate the first two exercises, the third exercise is loved by everyone because it has some extra benefits. So, let's start.

Exercise #1 Lip trills

If you hate them, it may be because you don’t know how to do them easily yet. And the reason why you cannot do them easily is probably the same reason why you should give them a fair try. People who have tension have a hard time coordinating all of the moving parts to set the lips into vibrations. But once you figure out how to do lip trills, you will love them and many people use them as go-to exercise when their voice feels tired.

Watch the video below for demonstrations. 

If you have trouble doing the lip trills, play with the airflow. You need just the right amount of air going through the vocal folds and lips. Start with a small amount of air and slowly increase the effort until you set the lips into vibrations. If you are using too much air, ease up on the amount. Play around with the effort to get this right. So, if you have trouble, always think: Am I pushing too much or too little air through the lips? The sound that you are producing is gentle and not pushed.

If you are experiencing vocal strain, tension or even pain when speaking, and you are ready to work with me towards a free, strong and confident voice, you can apply to our Vocal Freedom System coaching program. Click here to schedule a chat with me. 

Exercise #2 Straws

If you know me a little bit, you probably guessed that I would include straw exercises in this video. They also belong to the category of love them or hate them. And again, the reason why you hate them is the exact reason why you should try to figure them out. 

Straw exercises are so versatile that you can probably use them for any vocal goal you have. The biggest benefit of straws is sound production without muscular and vocal effort. You don’t need to press or strain your muscles to make sound, therefore these exercises are wonderful for a tired, strained or sick voice. 

Choose a pitch in your comfortable speaking range. And sustain the sound. Put a hand in front of the straw and feel the air coming out. If you don’t feel the air, you are cutting it off somewhere in the vocal tract. 

Watch the video below for demonstrations. 

Exercise #3 Th Sound

Here is an easy exercise that anyone can do. The Th sound is a fricative that creates the narrowing at the front of the mouth and has all of the benefits of SOVT exercises. An added benefit is that by keeping your tongue between your teeth, you are moving the tongue root out of your throat. This is a great exercise for people who also experience tongue root tension.

Watch the video below for demonstrations of the vocal cord exercises.

 Link to video: https://youtu.be/teGezGfIPb0