Vocal Tension Release Exercises For A Strained Voice

There are many ways to release vocal tension from a strained, tired or even painful voice. You may have tried some of them and they did not work. Well, the truth is that we are all very different and the strain or pain that you experience in your voice may come from many different places. Maybe your strain comes from a bad habitual posture, maybe it comes from using inefficient vocal technique or maybe there is accumulated muscle tension even before you say anything.

Therefore, there are many different techniques to release tension. Every week in our coaching program Vocal Freedom System for the speaking voice, we explore several of these techniques. I then ask the members of the program to choose what works for their voice, body and their vocal needs. 

Today, I will show you three different types of these techniques and it is up to you to try them and then choose the ones that benefit your voice.

Baseline

How do you know if an exercise has benefits for your voice? The answer is: take a baseline. Briefly assess your voice before an exercise and then compare it to your voice after the exercise. If the exercise is beneficial, you will feel an improvement in some way - more resonance or ease of production? Assessing your voice is easy, just count from one to ten or say the days of the week or sing a cut from your song and notice how your voice feels. And do the same vocal task after you finish the exercise and notice if your voice feels any different. So, now it’s time to take your initial baseline.

Technique #1 to release vocal tension from a strained voice is Manual Tension Release

This can be anything from a massage, manipulation, myofascial release, trigger point therapy, some people even go for acupressure or acupuncture to release tension from the muscles of their head, neck, shoulders, upper torso or even lower torso. Everything in our body is connected so even locked knees can affect your vocal function. If you have that option you can go and find a physiotherapist or other specialist who can give you a good massage or similar treatment. 

In the video below, watch a short self-applied massage to your suprahyoid region so the area under your chin. Suprahyoid muscles that are attached to the hyoid bone from up above affect our larynx and where it likes to sit. People with tension often have their larynx too high and they feel tension under the chin or around the jaw and this can spread even further.

Of course, this is just one example of a massage or myofascial release that can improve your vocal function.

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

Technique #2 to release vocal tension from a strained voice are Straw Exercises

From my experience, people either love them or hate them. I personally love them but I know a lot of people who really have not figured them out yet and they don’t particularly like them. One of the members in our coaching group, she never liked them in the past. But I challenged her to give it another try and now she loves them! It takes time to figure them out!

For our purpose today, which is releasing tension, I want you to use a wide straw. If you don’t have a selection of straws, just choose the one that has the least amount of resistance, so a short or wide straw.

Make a good seal with your lips around the straw. Inhale through the nose and gently blow through the straw while making a neutral sound underneath. Something like “uh”. And just sustain the sound at a comfortable pitch and make it even and stable. If your voice becomes unstable that is ok. Just continue holding that sound. 

Technique #3 to release vocal tension from a strained voice is very simple - Humming

One of my favourites. And if you are saying that it’s nothing new, you are right. You can do humming exercises for the rest of your life and can always find more and more vocal resonance every time. This exercise helps you get to know your vocal tract very intimately. Tiny changes in the shape of the vocal tract can affect the strength and ease of your voice tremendously.  Watch the video below for demonstrations. 

How is your voice feeling now? Time to take the final baseline. I hope you feel less strain than when we started!

Link to the video: https://youtu.be/TF6jWaUB7h8