If you’ve taken the leap into 1+1 vocal coaching or even the land of YouTube University for singing tips & tricks, you’ve probably heard something about SOVT Exercises. So what’s the deal?! Are they really worth all of the hype or is it just another vocal fad? Getting right to it, these exercises are the real deal and definitely live up to all the buzz. Let’s explore some of the reasoning behind these powerful exercises, what they are, and why you should use them.
SOVT stands for Semi Occluded Vocal Tract, which basically means partially closed off mouth/throat.
SOVT Exercises help you to:
- Regulate airflow
- Sing with more ease
- Sing more efficiently
- Strengthen your voice
- Stop overworking & straining
But HOW? When you do these exercises, you are resisting some airflow on the way out of your mouth which then causes backwards motion of air towards the vocal folds (aka vocal cords) that balances the air pressure above and below the vocal folds. This regulation of air pressure helps the vocal folds vibrate with more ease, efficiency, and trains your voice to be in the optimal position when singing. Basically, it supports the good kind of muscle tension and gets rid of the bad kind. It’s some fancy science/magic! ✨
SOVT Exercises to try:
- Straw Phonation (with or without a cup of water)
- Lip Trills
- Tongue Trills
- Tongue Out Trills (aka Raspberries)
- Puffy Face (aka Puffer Fish)
- Voiced Fricatives: Z, V
- Humming: M, N, Ng
- Kazoo
These are super efficient vocal warm ups or cool downs. If you’re not already incorporating these into your routine, you’ve gotta try them out! You don’t need to do all of them in one session, you can pick a couple, mix and match, and see which ones provide the most benefits for you.