2 Great Vocal Exercises to Ease Throat Strain

Do you experience vocal tension or throat strain during or after you use your voice? Then, learn how to ease throat strain with two easy vocal exercises. And you don't need any special equipment or musical skills to do them!

I work with many people who experience vocal strain and tension during or after they use their voice. For example, in the last year or so many people have been spending a lot of time talking over Zoom and similar platforms and at the end of the day, they feel tightness in their throat or a scratchy and uncomfortable feeling. They often describe it as heaviness or a lump in the throat. 

Here are 2 great and very easy vocal exercises to release tension from your tight throat:

Exercise #1 Deep Sad Cry

There may be several places in your vocal mechanism that are conspiring against your vocal freedom and one of them may be the position of the larynx. Very often, people who complain about throat tension, have their larynx stuck in one position. The muscles that move the larynx upward get overworked and they tighten. This muscle contraction then keeps the larynx in one position and more often than not, it’s a high position of the larynx.

This deep sad cry exercise will reposition your larynx into a lower place. When you move your larynx down, the whole vocal tract lengthens, but it also widens at the same time. So with this simple sound, we are creating a lot of space in the throat that counteracts the constriction or tight throat muscles. 

Exercise #2 Sirens

Sirens are easy and fun vocal exercises to release tension from your larynx. If you use a light NG sound in your comfortable range, your larynx will move through several positions so that the muscles that hold the larynx in one position will release. 

Bonus Exercise: Laryngeal Massage

Laryngeal massage, which is a hands-on approach to ease throat strain and release tension from the neck muscles, is a wonderful tool. My video about laryngeal massage is one of the most popular videos on this channel because it is really effective in releasing throat tension. I highly recommend that you check it out. If you feel vocal strain or throat muscle tension during or after you use your voice, try a gentle laryngeal massage. You will love it. I am a big believer in self-applied massage because you can use only as much pressure as it is comfortable for you and you can stop any time if it doesn't feel right. 

Download a free Laryngeal Massage Handout to learn  how to do a short easy version of laryngeal massage. Eliminate strain from your voice! Click here to download it.

For more details and for demonstrations of these exercises, watch this video.

Link to the video: https://youtu.be/-IcBhJo4xO4