Which Vocal Exercises are the Best for Carnatic Singers?

Article submitted by Reema Krishnan

Carnatic music is beautiful to listen to but it is not an easy art to master when it comes to singing. To start with, you need to have a good foundation of vocal technique, breathing, and phrasing to name a few. When you start learning Carnatic music, you will learn about the importance of vocal training.

In this article, we will look at a few vocal exercises that will help you sing better. Vocal warm-ups are critical for any singing practice session and performance routine. They help you build the vocal power and control and help in expanding the vocal range. Understand which exercises are the best for your voice and find vocal accompaniment online like Acharyanet.

4 Vocal Exercises to Follow

• Lip Buzz

This is a simple vocal warm-up exercise where you just have to vibrate your lips together. Do this without a pitch at first. Then, add a pitch to your lip buzz. The pitch can go up, down, or stay on one note. Hold this step for 3-5 seconds.

This exercise helps in building your breathing support as well as stamina when you sing. One way to know that you are doing this correctly is when you feel a tickling sensation in your nose, cheeks, and forehead.

• Humming and Lip Trills

Perform a gentle modulating hum to ease your facial muscles. It will also create space for resonant sound. It will warm up your vocal cords.

Lip trills is a fun exercise where you basically make the noise you would make when you imitate an airplane. For this vocal exercise, almost close your mouth, buzz your lips together as you phonate and release air. Lip thrills help in building control and consistency in your voice.

• Yawn- Sigh Technique

After you have exercised your resonators, focus on an exercise to address the range of your singing. Start by opening your mouth as if you are about to yawn. Start from the top of your vocal range and slide down to the lowest grumble.

Aim to do this exercise until the end of the routine and only do this a few times as a part of each vocal warm-up routine.

Breathing Technique for Better Singing

• Sing from Diaphragm

You breathe from the chest for everyday activities, including speaking, However, when you sing, you should breathe from the diaphragm, which is a muscle between the chest and your stomach. This muscle regulates how much air your inhale and exhale when you breathe.

Singing from the diaphragm gives you more control and power to your voice. You will also get a fuller tone and avoid straining your voice. When you perform this breathing exercise, relax and balance your body, with your weight slightly forward.

• Exhale on Hiss

The hissing breath exercise warms up your voice before you sing. It forces you to sing from your diaphragm and improves breath control. When you breathe, bring the air deep into your lungs and when you exhale, make a hissing noise. Exhale for a count of 12 and by this time all the air should be expelled from your lungs.

Cool Down Your Voice After Singing

It is important that you cool your voice after the singing session. You can do the same vocal exercises for singers, but this time start from the most intense exercise to the least intense. You can just do the humming vocal exercise to cool down and relax your voice.

Final Words

Practice every single day to improve your technique. These vocal exercises will help you get a little better each day until you become a good Carnatic singer.

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Author Bio: Reema Krishnan is a content creator at Acharyanet platform for Carnatic music learners where they can learn music from gurus through 400+ video lessons. Being a music enthusiast and a history buff herself, she is able to provide value for her readers and her content is well-received by musicians, music lovers, and music learners of all ages and at all stages. She loves to volunteer with music therapy groups and bakes up a storm in her free time.

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