Vocal-fold practice while turning your head side to side
Keep turning your head side to side while making three voice types on “eh”. Practice vocalization without relying on the neck muscles.
▶ First, watch the movement in the video
Check the technique, then move on to the explanation and audio examples.
Why practice this?
From this lesson onward, we will also move the neck while practicing!
Benefits of combining the neck with other parts
I cannot imagine why we practice the neck. Please explain!
Many parts of the body contribute to making voice. The neck in particular uses large muscles and considerable force to help with everyday vocalization.
To move away from over-reliance on the neck muscles, we change the neck’s movement so it is less able to interfere with the balance in the throat.
Like with the tongue, are we changing a long-standing habit, so it might take time?
Yes. If you have relied heavily on your neck, it may take time. But the benefits are substantial, so keep practicing with that in mind.
Exercises and key points
How to combine the neck and vocal folds
First, let’s practice combining the vocal folds and neck.
Slowly turn your head from side to side without stopping. While maintaining that movement, accurately distinguish the Goo, Choki and Paa voices from the vocal-fold lesson on “eh”.
Is moving side to side better than nodding up and down?
Up and down is also fine, but side to side makes it easier to keep your voice stable, so that is what we recommend.
Watch carefully to make sure your neck does not stop moving during this exercise.
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.