- A straw can help alleviate vocal fatigue.
- A straw can be used as a fast vocal warm-up.
- A straw can help bring out natural resonance or "ring" in the voice.
- Straws are good for ninja-style voice exercise. (Warm up your voice almost anywhere, anytime without being heard!)
- Straws and SOVT exercises have been used for hundreds of years.
- Science can now explain how a simple straw changes resonance and supports vocal health.
I have a young student with cerebral palsy. Singing is a real struggle for her because she is very tight and tense in certain areas of her body.
We played with the straws today, and out came an entirely different sound. Her tone was clear and free, her body looked calm, and she sang to an E5, her highest note ever.
We both burst into tears. Neither of us knew she could sing that efficiently and sound that clear. It was beautiful on so many levels.
-Christin, sandollarmusic.com
Straw Phonation [the straw] is life changing information for singers, and it’s simple and doable.
-Kristian Dambrino,
Singer and MSN, APRN, PMHNP-BC
How to do Voice Exercises with Straws
If you've never used a straw for voice, here are instructions to get you started.
1) Grab a normal sized drinking straw. Of course, an eco-friendly straw is always best, but start with what you have on hand. (Some people really love coffee stirrer straws, but try these after you get used to the process.)
2) Grab a glass of water.
3) Put the straw in the water AN INCH or less. If you put the straw too far into the water, you will work too hard, make too many bubbles, and potentially cause a scene. (Jk about making a scene. We actually believe in making the straw known.)
4) Blow bubbles into the water and hum, or "turn on" your sound. This step may take some getting used to, but keep at it. Make the bubbles steady while making sound.
5) When you are comfortable making one sound, change the pitch of your voice - move your voice up and down to sound like a slide whistle. Go slowly at first so you can feel the sensation of changing pitch (or tones) while making steady bubbles.
That's it! Simple, right?
You can also exercise with straws without using water, but the bubbles in the water help you verify that airflow is steady.
We almost always have people start by blowing bubbles in water so they really know their air is flowing!
Looking for some help with straw exercises? Try our piano practice tracks for that perfect work-out.
To test the efficacy of the straw on your voice, conduct the following experiment(s):
Speaking Experiment
1) Count to 10 in your "best" voice. Think full, clear, and projected sound.
2) Use the straw as described above for 2 full minutes.
3) Count to 10 again in your "best" voice.
4) Notice how your voice feels and sounds after using the straw. We believe you might be surprised at the results.
SINGING Experiment
1) Sing an 8 bar passage of your favorite song in your "best voice." Pick a section of music that requires some energy, if possible.
2) Sing that same 8 bar passage several times through the straw, using steady, even bubbles as described above. Do not articulate or create choppy airflow. Repeat the passage as many times as needed to straw-sing for a full 2 minutes.
3) Sing the 8 bar passage again in your "best" voice.
4) Notice how your voice feels and sounds after using the straw. Especially if you have a "big" voice, we believe you might be surprised by what you hear and feel.
To get the full impact of any Straws For Voice experiment, record yourself before, during, and after using the straw. Use the voice memo app on your smartphone.
Here's a quick video that demonstrates straw exercises:
WHY DOES THE STRAW WORK?
๏ปฟThe straw often feels like magic, and many people call it a magic trick! Physics is now able to explain some of the reasons a straw can improve vocal sound so quickly and dramatically.
Many studies have been done on a category of voice exercises called Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract (SOVT) exercises. SOVT exercises are anything that causes a partial occlusion, or narrowing, of the vocal tract. The straw falls into the SOVT category because it causes a narrowing at the lips, and narrowing of the entire vocal tract because of the straw itself.
The straw also adds length to the vocal tract, which has been proven to aid in vocal efficiency.
SOVT exercises have been used in voice therapy settings for a long time. (Kapsner-Smith, et al. 2015) Scientists have discovered that SOVT exercises, in general, increase something called reactive inertance in the vocal tract. Reactive inertance is a phenomena that helps the vocal cords vibrate more efficiently, causing the voice to work with more "vocal economy." (Titze & Laukkanen, 2007)
This is the special "bonus" of using a straw for vocal exercise: the added length of the straw creates even MORE reactive inertance than other SOVT exercises. (Titze & Verdolini Abbott, 2012)
This is a fancy way of saying that straws provide added benefits for the voice that no other SOVT exercises can give! These benefits become evident the more we experiment with straw singing for ourselves.
One of the greatest benefits of using a straw is low impact between the vocal cords, or vocal folds. These are very small folds of tissue that are potentially opening and closing hundreds of times per second. Having a way to vibrate the vocal folds with minimal impact, especially for warming up the voice, is invaluable.
If you have more questions about straw phonation exercises, check-out our FAQ page.
learn more about the science of straw phonation exercises
To get the full scoop on how straw phonation works, we must refer back to the researchers who have pioneered the field of vocology (voice science) over the past few decades. Our job at Straws For Voice is help promote the benefits of this simple and potentially voice-changing tool.
We believe everyone should watch the iconic "Vocal Straw Exercise" video on YouTube made by Dr. Ingo Titze at the National Center for Voice and Speech in 2010. Dr. Titze's famous instructions for straw phonation (straw singing) are to "STRETCH and UNPRESS" the vocal cords. Remember these words, and they may help you get more out of your straw exercise!
If you're interested in learning even more about the science behind straw phonation, watch three more YouTube videos entitled . . . you guessed it: "The Science Behind Straw Exercise: Videos 1,2, and 3." We cannot recommend these resources highly enough!
Resources
Kapsner-Smith MR, Hunter EJ, Kirkham K, Cox K, Titze IR. A Randomized Controlled Trial of Two Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract Voice Therapy Protocols. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2015;58(3):535–549.
Titze I. R., & Laukkanen A. M. (2007). Can vocal economy in phonation be increased with an artificially lengthened vocal tract? A computer modeling study. Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology, 32, 147–156.
Titze I. R., & Verdolini Abbott K. (2012). Vocology: The science and practice of voice habilitation. Salt Lake City, UT: National Center for Voice and Speech.
Questions? Comments? We'd love to hear from you!