[Introductory 04] Voice through the mouth with the lips protruded

INTRO COURSE · LESSON 04

Voice through the mouth with the lips protruded

Protrude your lips and produce three voice types, controlling your throat without relying on the lip muscles.

Lips1 video6 audio examples

▶ First, watch the movement in the video
Check the technique, then move on to the explanation and audio examples.

YOUTUBE SHORTSShort video
[Voice training] Are lip habits keeping you from high notes? Practice with your lips protruded | Introductory 04Open on YouTube ↗
01

WHY THIS LESSON

Why practice this?

What you will learnProtrude your lips and produce three voice types, controlling your throat without relying on the lip muscles.

Introductory 02 and 03 used simple movements such as opening and closing the mouth. Now we will add more complex movements, such as protruding and rolling in the lips.

To see this exercise demonstrated in a video, watch below!

If you prefer to take your time reading, continue with the article below!

02

LESSON GUIDE

Exercises and key points

How to practice protruding and rolling in the lips

Teacher

Protruding your lips was probably easy to picture. Could you also picture what “rolling them in” means?

Student

No, I cannot picture it at all…

Teacher

Here, “rolling in” means folding both lips inward over the teeth as shown below.

Diagram of lips rolled inward
Student

I understand the shape, but I cannot move my lips that well…

Teacher

If rolling in your lips is difficult, first use your fingers to push both lips into your mouth, then make sound in that position.

Teacher

Once you are used to the shape with your fingers, gradually release them. Practice until you can maintain it without using your hands.

Student

I see… But it is still difficult…

Teacher

There is no need to rush.

Teacher

The difficulty comes from having used the muscles that return your lips to their original shape to stabilize—or rather, fix—your voice. Your throat should be able to make the sound on its own, but the lips have developed an interfering habit, as if saying, “The throat cannot manage alone; I must help!” This also held back the vocal folds’ development.

Teacher

With repeated practice, you will learn to control your throat and lips independently, so take your time. The throat’s own abilities, weakened by this interference, will gradually return. With your lips protruded, practice distinguishing a thick Goo voice, a thin Paa voice and an intermediate Choki voice.

If this exercise is difficult, first improve your accuracy in Introductory 01.
03

LISTEN & TRY

Listen to the examples and try

Keep the volume low and play the examples one at a time to hear the differences between the voices.