VoiceGym Exercises Book 2014

Voice Exercises
by
Angela Caine AGSM LRAM
VoiceGym
www.voicegym.co.uk
7th Edition, published April 2014 by VoiceGym Ltd.

ISBN 978)0)9553799)8)7
Copyright © 2003 J 2014, A Caine and C Lewis.

Copyright © 2014, VoiceGym Ltd., all rights reserved.
part or all of the contents in any form is prohibited other than the following:
! you may print or download to a local hard disk extracts for your personal and
non)commercial use only
! you may copy the content to individual third parties for their personal use, but
only if you acknowledge VoiceGym as the source of the material
You may not, except with our express written permission, distribute or commercially
exploit the content. Nor may you transmit it or store it in any other website or other
form of electronic retrieval system.
Reasonable effort has been made to obtain permission for reproduction of all
photographs and diagrams. Where sources could not be found it is hoped that the
educational nature of this project, together with credits and references in the
bibliography, will suffice.
VoiceGym will
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Also by Angela Caine
available from www.voicegym.co.uk
A simple Voice and Body Exercise programme for children from 5 to 10 years old
to develop singing, speech and posture. This will provide an invaluable tool to
any parent, junior or infant teacher, music teacher or music therapy specialist.
It does not just encourage singing and movement of children, and leave you
development of the voice and the development of posture, coordination and

dentition (not generally covered in training), and how these can effect
the voice.
The Early VoiceGym pack contains a Song Book with songs and exercises (no
notation only words), an accompanying CD of backing tracks (with vocals and
without), a DVD of children demonstrating the exercises, and a notebook
explaining the exercises in relation to major stages in early development. Two
stretch bands are included to introduce the concept of exercises and stretch in
the development of children.
ISBN 978J0J9553799J3J2
The Devil Within the story of recovering a lost voice

Few people realise what an important role the voice plays in all aspects of your
career and the discovery that, even though the problems with her voice were
affecting her whole life, no one could solve them or even considered they were
personal power and the quality of life, through finding the way to recover her
voice.
The determination that quality speech and singing should be available to
everyone went on to be the incentive for the development of and
. Along the way she discovered the lottery of dental care and the way
most dentists ignore the way the teeth interact with the rest of the body, the
lack of any voice development in education, even for teachers and the lack of
any cohesive physical fitness training and maintenance for the developing
singer.
It is a poignant story
important.
ISBN 978J0J9553799J4J9
Page 1
Contents
Introduction .......................................................................................2
Before you begin ...................................................................................... 2
Essential Equipment .................................................................................. 3
There are three parts to this exercise system .................................................... 3
How to approach VoiceGym.......................................................................... 3
How to Inflate your PhysioBball ..................................................................... 4
Part One Introductory Exercises ..............................................................6
Beetle on its back !1 .............................................................................. 6
Push up off the floor !2............................................................................ 8
Rotation on the floor !3 .......................................................................... 10
Upside Down Reading !4 ........................................................................ 12
Bounce on your ball and use your stretch band ................................................. 14
Getting in touch with your tongue ................................................................ 15
Reading while lying backwards over your ball ................................................... 16
Connecting Speech and Singing (POOOOOR) !5 ................................................ 18
Scattered bricks !6 ................................................................................ 20
Russian Folk Song !7B10 ......................................................................... 22
Your First Song in English ........................................................................... 24
What to do with your Beanbag ..................................................................... 25
The Voice Tree ................................................................................. 26
Part Two ......................................................................................... 27
Tongue Exercise 1 B The toothbrush !11 ...................................................... 28
Tongue Exercise 2 !12 ........................................................................... 30
Head and Neck rotation ............................................................................. 31
Jaw stretches ......................................................................................... 33
Bouncy Poems the first connection to your pelvic floor !13B18 ........................... 34
Tongue Exercise 3 .................................................................................... 39
Revisit your first song ............................................................................... 40
Strengthening the Connection between Voice and Pelvic Floor ............................... 41
Introduction to the Balance Board !19 ......................................................... 42
Other Balance Board Work .......................................................................... 44
Strengthening the breathing system by strengthening the double spiral muscle system . 46
Rotate and Strengthen .............................................................................. 47
Remember the list you made at the beginning? ................................................. 48
................................................................ 48
Part Three ....................................................................................... 49
Exercises for Words and Rhythm !20B27 ....................................................... 49
Working on the link between Melody and Harmony !28 ..................................... 57
Songs for you to sing with backing tracks !29B48 ............................................ 60
Ways to work on the songs .......................................................................... 61
Get it together ....................................................................................... 62
Postscript ........................................................................................ 72
But why do we become defensive when using the voice? ...................................... 72
Professional Singers .................................................................................. 72
The VoiceGym Audio CD ....................................................................... 73
Credits and Sources ............................................................................ 74
Appendix J Equipment needed to complete the VoiceGym course ........................ 75
Page 2
Introduction
Before you begin

You are obviously looking for some change in your voice. Does any of this sound
familiar:
! I want a different sound from my voice, one that reflects me and the way I
am
! I like my voice and the way it sounds, but it is a real effort to speak so I
only say what I have to
!
! How can I stop my voice getting tired after just a short spell of talking or
singing?
Before you begin the programme it would be a good idea to establish where you
are now
! Get someone to take a photograph of you, full length, against a door. The
door gives a frame that will show how you are currently upright on two feet.
! Take another photo of your face to show facial muscle balance now.
! Record your voice, saying a poem, singing a song. You could make a video of
yourself doing both.
Put the photos and recording away and review them after you have completed each
part of the programme. You can also write down your answers to the following
questions, and review them in about three months )
! What are the important changes I want from this programme?
! What are the specific areas I think I need to work on in order to bring about
those changes?
de of friends and family, who on hearing you doing
The state of the
voice is central to well)being, personal power and development of potential. So
just get on with it, and in a very short time everyone will begin to notice a
difference and comment on that!
All members of the family can take part in this programme. While I was developing
the exercises I practiced the texts and songs as I hung out my washing, weeded the
garden and rode my bike to town. I suspected that everyone thought I was a bit
mad. Then one day I heard someone else singing, several gardens away. As with
everything else you believe in, you just have to stick to it, keep doing it, and
others will follow your lead.
Introduction Page 3
Essential Equipment
Some additional equipment will be required to complete the course. A
correctly sized physioJball (sometimes called a gym ball or swiss ball) and a
resistance band (a heavy, green band is best for adults) are essential if you are to
get the full benefit from the exercises. You will also learn how to use a balance
(rocker) board and a bean bag to work on postural stability, and improve your
pitch range, so you may want to consider investing in these as well. All of these
items are available from a variety of online suppliers including Amazon see the
Appendix to this Exercise book for more information on sources and sizing.
There are three parts to this exercise system
Part 1 Introductory wholeJbody exercises to connect voice, body, brain,

speech and singing
This exercise book provides you with the tools to connect voice, body,
brain, speech and singing. After each exercise session you can find the
answers to the questions that spring into mind in the
Part 2 Tongue position, jaw translation and pelvic stability
These are potentially major areas of interference in the voice and in your
life. Part 2 deals with them separately before encouraging them to work
together. A new attitude to opening your mouth and a strengthening of
pelvic and related muscles will bring major improvements to speech,
singing and confidence.
Part 3 Now that you have all the tools here is a variety of vocal material to
build your vocal confidence J songs to sing, prose and poems
Develop resonance and pitch range reading poetry and prose aloud; roll
and improvise the ultimate freedom for voice and body; extend your
singing repertoire over a greater pitch range using whole body stretch.
How to approach
Carefully work through the introductory exercises in Part 1. These are your vocal
fundamentals. Exercise for not more than 30 minutes at first. Resist the
temptation to do only what you like doing ) every exercise counts ) do them in the
order they are presented. You should not try to get through all of Part 1 each day
at first. Regularly check with the text to make sure you are doing each exercise
)
backing track, and your voice feels lower and more resonant, you are ready to
begin work on Part 2.
When you are working on Part 2 always begin your exercise sessions with a couple
of Part 1 exercises, choosing different ones each time. As you gain confidence and
vocal flexibility you will begin to understand how the exercises work and you can
plan your own sessions to maximize the performance of the material in Part 3, be it
speech or singing. After each work session you could do what the cat and dog do to
relax: lie down for a bit.
Page 4
How to Inflate your PhysioJball
There are two stages

1.! Pump up the ball until all the creases are gone and leave it somewhere warm
for about two hours so that it softens. Any pump designed for an airbed will
inflate the ball.
2.!
to a full)length mirror so that you can turn your head and see your back and
legs in relation to the ball. The photographs on this page show you how you
should look. The upper leg (thigh) should slope downwards to the knee. If your
bum is at the same level as your knees, pump up the ball until you have a
comfortable slope. The ball must not be
so high that your heels come off the
ground when you bounce. When you
have finished adjusting the inflation a
second time, the ball will stay that size
and you will be ready to work.
What to do with your Ball
Sit on the ball to watch the TV or listen to

music. It is very comfortable and friends
sure that you always sit upright, with feet

parallel and hip width apart. It will then
keep your body in shape for running,
football, or just looking good.
Sitting at a Computer
Children are beginning to use computers
and keyboards when they are very young.
By the time they enter secondary school
only work done on the computer is
accepted for marking. If the hours in
school, the out of school work, the
fascinating leisure time computer
possibilities and television viewing time are
all added together, that is a large portion
of the day sitting. We are not designed to
sit, even when we have attained physical
maturity. For the developing adult to sit so
long is a back, neck and shoulder problem
in the making.
Introduction Page 5
Help this situation by using the ball to

sit at your computer, but follow these
guidelines. Because you are lifting your
arm
feet on something that allows your

centre of gravity to shift. You have to
experiment with this (all of us have a
slightly different relationship between
hips, knees and ankles) and you will
find the height that feels comfortable
for you. I sit on a ball and put my feet
on my briefcase, but you have to find
your own comfortable computer
working position. This makes your back
work ) your back is designed for this )
as opposed to giving it something to
collapse against (called support). Keep
your stretch)band near to hand and
stop typing now and again to stretch
the band behind you and bounce. This
will bring postural reflexes back to life.
See the photograph of Nicola sitting at the computer on her ball. Sitting on the ball
will maintain the spring in the spine for much longer, but remember that long)term
continuous sitting is still not good for you, so regularly get up and move!
Points to Remember
! Only bounce, do not swing when you talk or sing on the ball
! There should be a gentle curve in the small of your back bum sticking out a
little
! l. A music
stand is a good tool to acquire
! t
Aims
! To rebalance sitting posture and stimulate postural reflexes
! To loosen the suspension of jaw and hyoid each bounce works on this
! To make hips, knees and ankles more flexible in a culture of pavements,
shoes, and too much sitting
Page 6
Part One Introductory Exercises
Beetle on its back 1
Play the CD track the first time without doing the exercise and listen to the vowels.
On the opposite page are some words that contain the vowels on the CD, as well as
some extra vowels that you might use when you do the exercise without the CD.
Now get down on your back and follow the instructions for the exercise.
Points to remember
! Punch and kick as hard as you can, wriggling as much as possible.
! When you say the vowels say them really loudly, as if you were complaining
bitterly about something.
! Do not pick your head up off the ground as you wriggle or when you say the
vowel.
! Collapse back on the floor between each vowel.
! Lifting your arms and legs will provide you with the air for the vowel: d
add to it by taking a breath.
Aims
! To drop tongue, head and
shoulders back when you use the
voice.
! To feel the voice where it should
sound in the chest.
! To loosen all the muscles in your
neck and shoulders.
! To loosen jaw ligaments.
!
from the beginning.
Exercises Part One Page 7
Scattered vowels for eetle on its back

Page 8
Push up off the floor 2
First listen to the CD track to discover what the voice should do. Then lie face
down; stand up your elbows out to the side with your hands facing forward and
push the upper part of your body, as far as your pubic bone, off the floor. Put a big
grin on your face, mouth open. Look under your armpit by twisting your head and
upper body. At maximum twist shout AAAHHH! to whatever is behind you. Now
do the same under the other armpit, then over each shoulder. Have a rest on the
floor, then use this twisting to sing a song to anyone or anything behind you. Twist
every two lines to complete The Grand Old Duke of York.
Points to Remember
! Shoulder blades should be pinned down your back and elbows slightly bent
(This is harder on the arms and upper back but it prevents your shoulders
coming up round your ears).
! Keep your legs and bum very loose. Open your mouth and face in a wide
smile.
! Your mouth should stay open throughout, with teeth apart and a big grin.
Aims
! To rotate and stretch the whole
vocal suspension
! To flex the ribs
! To convince you that breathing
does not have to be controlled
! To lower the larynx by creating the
front stretch which kicked off the
whole vocal/postural connection in
the first place (see
chapter 2 Early Development)
Words for ush up off the floor The Grand Old Duke of York
Oh, the grand old Duke of York,
He had ten thousand men,
He marched them up to the top of
The hill and he marched
Them down again.
And when they were up they were up.
And when they were down they were down.
And when they were only half way up,
They were neither up nor down.
Traditional nursery rhyme

Page 10
Rotation on the floor 3
Listen to CD track to discover what you are going to do with your voice.
What you do with your body

Lie on your back, knees up, feet on the floor hip width apart. Float your arms to lie
beside your head on the floor, as high as is comfortable, backs of hands and elbows
on the floor (See photograph).
For maximum rotation

! turn your head to look at one of your hands) be pleased with it ) smile at it
! drop both knees over to the opposite side (feet still apart)
Read the poem as on the CD. Begin each line with AAAAHHHH! Run it into the line
without a break. Remember to say a line, then sing a line. All lines begin with
AAAHHH!
Imagine that you have caught someone,
doing something naughty but nice, and
you express amused surprise. That will
send the the AAAHHH! down into your
chest. Start the line of speech or singing
while you still have this picture. Imagine
the whole poem is said or sung in your
chest.
Points to remember
! There should be no break between
the long AAAHHH and saying the
line of the poem.
! Keep the voice sounding in the
chest: even the singing should be
low and buzzing down there.
Aims
! To reduce the amount of air you
use to talk or sing and focus your
attention on resonance (inside)
instead of projection (somewhere
over there).
Words for
My cat gives me serious cause for concern.
I've tried, but I do not know which way to turn.
It's not just the suit or the paisley cravat
Or the pink patent boots; I can handle all that.
But now he's developed a worrying trait:
He's mugging my guests as they come through the gate!
He's stealing their pants and their shirts and their ties,
Although he denies it and says it's all lies.
Should I call the police or the vet or the zoos?
Should I offer to buy him his clothing and shoes?
I've tried, but I do not know which way to turnJ
My cat gives me serious cause for concern.
by Colin McNaughton
Page 12
Upside Down Reading 4
Put the poem upside)down behind you. Stand tall with feet apart. Put a big grin on
your face, teeth apart. Drop the head onto the chest and continue to roll
downwards, bending the knees out over the toes. Feet should be hip width apart
and parallel. Read and sing in this position. At the end of the poem, uncurl leaving
knees and head until last. When you are finally upright, read the first line again to
discover the difference in your voice.
Points to remember
! Bend your knees, aiming them out over the fourth toe.
! Hang your head.
! Keep the weight over your heels.
! Keep feet parallel.
! You do not need an enormous breath to begin ) just turn upside down and
start reading.
! Check the reason for the grin by hanging your head on your chest just once
without it: feel the difference in neck stretch.
Aims of this exercise

! T
front of your chest and open up your lower back.
! To hang the whole breathing system and voice off the muscles that connect
them into the body, thus
encouraging these muscles
to work harder.
! To encourage tongue and
jaw to act separately
when you speak.
! To loosen your jaw.
! To begin to re)programme
articulation.
! To begin to re)programme
tongue position.
Words for
(TALK)
If you find that your dinosaur's lazy and slow,
(SING)
Then take my advice, it won't cost you a cent.
Just follow these rules, it's money well spent
(TALK)
You must really get cross and show him who's boss,
give him a smack and say "GET MOVING, MAC!"
(SING)
If he starts to complain that you're causing him pain,
Twist his arm up his back till his bones almost crack
And say "Now will you do what you're told!"
by Colin McNaughton
Page 14
Bounce on your ball and use your stretch band
Hold the band in front of you, slightly stretched, with your hands a bit wider than
your shoulders. Now take the band over your head and down to the level of the
bottom of your shoulder blades, about where a bra)strap would be. Watch yourself
sideways on to a full)length mirror to make sure that you do not arch your back and
push your ribs forward.
Bounce and move the band about behind you smiling, stretching and bending the
arms. Keep the stretch band away from your back at all times. These movements
will help to reposition your head, your
shoulders and your tongue.
Now read aloud a poem from Part 1 while
bouncing and stretching.
Points to remember
! Not too tight this is for
flexibility, not power building.
! Keep it off your back.
! Do not use it in front ) only at the
back.
! When you bounce on the ball, do
not swing your bum backwards,
forwards or side)to)side. Up and
down only.

! To loosen the shoulder joints and
increase the range of arm
movement.
! To help to correct shoulder, head
and tongue posture.
! To free hips, knees and ankles.
! To stretch the front of the trunk.
! To open and flex the ribs.
! To counter the forward pull of
reading and singing.
Getting in touch with your tongue

Open your mouth and face in a broad smile. Keep this smiley face and click your
tongue against the roof of your mouth in time to your bounces. Stretch your band
behind you at shoulder blade level and move it about. Do this for about a minute.
In the left picture Simone is bouncing on the ball while holding her tongue against
her front teeth: a tongue position often associated with concentrating. How does
this face look? Worried? Nervous?
The picture on the right is the one you need to work with. Click your tongue
against the back of the palate in time to your bounces. You are now breathing in
air in.
These face stretches are helping to move the tongue and jaw into a good position
for opening your airway and giving you a more efficient breathing system. Maintain
the grin, the bouncing and the clicking, while you look round to the left and then
to the right, as far as possible, rotating neck and ribs.
Aims
! To bounce the tongue and hyoid into a lower position in the throat
! To open the airway.
! To improve translation at the jaw joint.
! To improve nose breathing by exercising the lateral face muscles see
chapter 6 ) Face Muscles and chapter 9 Jaws and Teeth.
Closed Face Open Face

Page 16
Reading while lying backwards over your ball
Read the poem on the right aloud before doing the following exercise. You may
need someone to hand the poem to you when you are ready.
Lie backwards over your ball, with your knees bent and your heels under your
knees. Feel your shoulders and the back of your head lying on the ball.
your bum keep a line between belly)button and knees, supporting your bum
between them.
First stretch out your arms and hands, palms upwards, spreading and pointing the
fingers. Lie there for a minute or two, and just smile. Straighten your legs, keeping
the feet flat on the floor and hang even further over the ball. Open your arms out
even further and s)t)r)e)t)c)h. You also have to balance (top picture).
Reach your hands and arms over your head. Can you touch the floor behind you and
have your feet flat on the floor as well?
Come back to the position in the bottom picture. Hold the recommended poem
above you and read it. The second time you read it, increase the stretch by pushing
down on your heels and straightening your
legs to hang further over the ball. After you
have done this a few times the muscles will
stretch further and you will be able to go
further backwards and still read.

! To encourage articulation of speech
using the back of the tongue.
! To drop the hyoid bone with a
supported front stretch.
Arms outstretched
! To decouple tongue and jaw (i.e. to
encourage them to act separately).
! To encourage nose breathing by
stretching lateral face muscles.
! To strengthen muscles connecting
the voice into the chest.
! To stimulate the pumping of the
Eustachian tubes (
chapter 9 ) Teeth).
Backwards over ball

Poem for ying backwards over your ball A Song of the Weather
JANUARY brings the snow

Makes your feet and fingers glow
FEBRUARY's ice and sleet

Freeze the toes right off your feet
Welcome MARCH with wintry wynde

Would they wert not so unkind!
APRIL brings the sweet spring showers

On and on for hours and hours
Farmers fear unkindly MAY

Frost by night and hail by day.
JUNE just rains and never stops

Thirty days and spoils the crops.
In JULY the sun is hot.

Is it shining? No, it's not.
AUGUST cold and dank and wet

Brings more rain than any yet.
Bleak SEPTEMBER's mist and mud

Is enough to chill the blood
Then OCTOBER adds a gale

Wind and slush and rain and hail
Dark NOVEMBER brings the fog

Should not do it to a dog
Freezing, wet, DECEMBER, then

Bloody JANUARY again!
by Michael Flanders
Page 18
Connecting Speech and Singing (POOOOOR) 5
Listen to the CD track while following the text on the right. Notice that the sung
switch off and do it.

Now drop the stretch band and do the exercise spreading your upper lip against
your cheek bones (see bottom picture). Push your jaw down to sing and speak but
putting
when we speak to each other, so
that when you read or sing. Also try reading the poem on page 17 without
. Keep your elbows well back.
Points to Remember
! You are always singing on vowels because the voice only does vowels.
! Consonants are made with tongue and lips in the mouth.
! The vowels sound in the chest, a vertical drop in sensation from the
consonants in the mouth ( chapter 10 Words and Rhythm).
! Move from speech to singing and back
again without breaking the sound, as
on the CD track, but pause for several
bounces on full stops and some
commas so that your brain can
process what you are doing.
Aims
! To connect the functions of speech
and singing into one instrument your
voice ( chapter 11 ) A
Voice for Life).
! To add the colour, range and
resonance of singing to your speech.
! To stretch the whole pharynx while
simultaneously stretching the face
muscles and opening the jaw.
! To improve nose breathing.
! To encourage you to play with your
voice.
! To take the fear out of singing.
Text for onnecting speech and singing

Page 20
Scattered bricks 6
Look at the text on the right. All the bricks contain one syllable.
These syllables are special ) they all end on a vowel sound. Put the text at the
correct height to read on your ball. Now listen to the CD track and follow the
instructions.
Try the syllables that have three or four consonants at the beginning. Can you still
land on the vowel with your bum)bounce?
Points to remember
! This exercise will improve after you read chapter 10 Words
and Rhythm.
! Smile, this is a game.
! Make your chest buzz for every vowel that hits it.
! Imagine a long, vertical string between consonants (in the mouth) and
vowels (in the chest). Make this string as long as possible.

! To speak and sing with a priority for vowels.
! To discourage the idea of ing (which is mechanically
impossible) and encourage vowels to implode in the chest (
chapter 10 Words and Rhythm).
An important Change in Your Belief System

You may well have practised making the ends of your words clear and separating
words when you want to speak over a distance.
! The way to make speech clear is to emphasize vowels.
! The way to speak louder over a distance is to create more vowel resonance
(implosion) in your chest.
French, Spanish and Italians have generally more attractive voices than the English
because they always land on every vowel. Say these words and feel the difference
for yourself: I ta lia, si gno ra, ma sseu se, vi no, so rre nto, mag
ni fi que.
You can also speak English with this attention to the vowels: He ) llo, to mo
rrow, whi chway to the town?
TSE
C
Y
M
BYE
L
A TMIE
N
R
I
B O
E
H
Exercises Part One
T
JO
BRY
O
R
Z
UE
STYO
AH YA OH
DOO
K
DRI
CH
R A
O
JEH NO
EE
PTEE
R A
B
U
L
ME
T R
O
O
NYO TU
DSI
LIE
OH O LIE
STVY
E
ZAH YO
Page 21
Page 22
Russian Folk Song 7J10
It is easier to begin to sing in a language that you do not understand (I apologise if

you speak Russian). You can connect speech and singing together by just doing,
without wanting to be understood and reverting to habit. This song is written out in
syllables that end with a vowel, as in Scattered Bricks (you have met STVYE
before). You will find it very easy to sing if you follow the instructions and the CD,
even if it is in Russian. There are three learning tracks with voice, to support
sending the vowel down as you have learned to do in speech, then one track just
for you.
7 Use the ball and band to bounce twice on each syllable all the way through
the text, speaking after the voice)over, as in Scattered Bricks. Make the
syllables continuous, as the voice over does.
8 Repeat the phrases after the singer. Stay with this slow version until the
syllables roll along easily and you can feel a low vowel buzz in your chest all
the way through the song.
keep a gentle bounce going all the time.
9 Sing up to speed with the voice over.
10 When you feel ready, move onto the fast version with no voice)over.
Points to remember
! Use your ball and stretch band to keep your shoulders back and down.
Singing is then so much easier.
! Stay with the slow version for two or
three days before moving on to the
fast version.
! Enjoy this; it can express anything you
feel at the time ) anger, excitement,
joy, and even rage!

! To sing using the whole of your voice
by sending vowels down.
! To sing with enthusiasm.
! To sing without over)breathing.
! To sing while maintaining a low
position of the larynx.
Exercises Part One
RA - STVYE - TA - LI - YA - BLO - NI - I - GROO - SHI -
PO - PLI - LI - TU - MA - NI - NA - DRE - KOI
VWI - HO - DI - LA - A - NA - BE - RE - KA - TYOO - SHA -
NA - VWI - SO - KI - NA - BE - RE - KROO TOI

Page 23
Russian Folk Song

Page 24
Your First Song in English
Now it is time to put together everything you have learned so far. I recommend
that you choose one of the following songs as your first song in English. They have
of time. They also have

! A moderate pitch range.
! Good strong rhythm.
!
Stay on your ball for these songs and use your band to keep the chest wide and the
shoulder blades down.
For Women for Men
29J30 Send in the Clowns (p63) 31J32 Scarborough Fair (p64)
33J34 Memphis in June (p65) 35J36 The Very Thought of You (p66)
39J40 & Dance (p68) 39J40 & Dance (p68)
Points to remember
! Stay with the voice track for as long as you need.
! Sometimes say the words along with the voice)over, emphasising the long
vowels.
! ah ah oo oo
a ance da n nce : keep your mouth open!
! spoil your enjoyment of singing by trying to be too correct too soon.

! To enforce the speech/singing connection.
! To get you singing confidently to a backing track.
! a song to sing for the end of Part 1.
)over backing tracks to give you

time. You can still do everything in the book, but with added support.
What to do with your Beanbag
It is now time to consider balancing on two feet. So that you do

not lose the good posture you have acquired using the ball and
stretch band, do the following bean bag exercises.
First read the laminated sheet in the explaining
the importance of the bean bag. Putting an ordinary, square
bean bag on your head does not do the same job as the
VoiceGym beanbag with its sticky)up ears and a smile on its
face. Upright posture is good smiley upright posture is even
better.
herself in the mirror as she put it on and then imagined carrying

it around the room on her head.
Try reading, singing, and walking with the beanbag on your
head.
Climb the stairs

Make sure that your weight stays on the back foot as you climb
the stairs. This is good for your back. Anything good for
exercises with the bean)bag, to improve your balance:

! Walk up forwards.
! Walk down backwards.
! Walk up backwards.
! Walk down forwards.
Points to remember
! Use the mirror to position the beanbag.
! This is not a test. Discovering how fast you can walk or
running upstairs without losing it is not helpful (but
everyone does it sometime).

! To strengthen postural reflexes and encourage you to
walk, and think, taller.
! To improve balance and with it, the voice.
Page 26
The Voice Tree
The foundations of efficient speaking and singing see the references to

on the next page
Exercises Part Two Page 27
Part Two
You have now reached the end of the introductory exercises in Part One. Now set
up a practice rota. Your rota may be over a week or two weeks, or if you are very
busy, even four weeks. But you need to repeat all of the exercises, not just the
ones you feel comfortable with. When you have done two or three Part 1 exercises,
sing the Russian song. If you have a CD player in you car, break into the Russian and
then the English song while sitting in traffic. Always sing the Russian song first and
remind yourself that landing on the vowel is not just about singing Russian, but it
encourages a powerful down)spring in all of your singing and speech.
This is a good time to read the background information you will need for Part 2:
you can find it in the following chapters of )
! Chapter 1 Practical Working Models.

! Chapter 6 ) The Importance of Tongue Position.
! Chapter 7 ) Face Muscles.
! Chapter 8 ) Balance and Posture.
! Chapter 9 Jaws and Teeth.
! Chapter 11 A Voice for Life.
Buy a book of assorted poems and discover the power of language that is not
geared to consumer marketing, but to the expression of ideas. Copy some out in a
large, readable font and stick them all over your walls. Read them when you are
passing, until you know them without the text. Poems really come alive when you
do not have to refer to the text.
Part 2 begins with the tongue and jaw and then connects all the five springs of the
voice ( chapter 1) by strengthening the pelvic floor and stabilising the
pelvis, while talking and singing of course!
Page 28
Tongue Exercise 1 J The toothbrush !11
Brush the upper surfaces of the lower back molars or the lower surfaces of the
upper back molars while you read the words on the right. Grin like a maniac, all
teeth apart while you are brushing and reading aloud.
Listen to the CD Track. The words can be perfectly clear, although it may take you
time to achieve this. Again persevere. It should just sound as though you are
reciting in the shower!
Points to remember
! : this is cheating.
! Mainly brush the back teeth the molars.
! Watch how your tongue moves up and back away from your front teeth: this
is very good ) Styloglossus is getting stronger.

! To make a connection between the opening of the back of your mouth when
you speak or sing.
! To link smiling with speech/singing ( chapter 7 Face
Muscles).
! To drop the articulation of vowels back and down.
! To reprogramme consonants to take a secondary role in the articulation of
language.
exercise only
interferes. But you could put a bit of toothpaste on the singing toothbrush before
Poem for he toothbrush
In the quelchy quaggy sogmire,

in the mashy mideous harshland,
At the witchy hour of gloomness,
All the grobes come oozing home
You can hear them softly sliming,

Glissing hissing o'er the slubber
All those oily boily bodies
Oozing onward in the gloam
So start to run! Oh skid and daddle

Through the slubber slush and sossel!
Skip jump hop and try to skaddle!
All the grobes are on the roam!
by Roald Dahl
Page 30
Tongue Exercise 2 12
Sit on your ball and click the tongue; air is now going in and out through your nose.
( chapter 5 Breathing The Myths and the Mischief).
Use your stretch)band to move the arms about, open your mouth in a wide grin and
using only your tongue. Try to keep your teeth apart all
through the word. Watch yourself do this in a mirror. Now say ORANNNNNG and
lengthen the NNNNN sound, while keeping the teeth well apart.
You need to listen to the CD track before doing the exercise. This is what happens:
! Four tongue clicks, air going in through the nose.
!
that you have just found.
! At the end of the hum stop the sound very positively without closing your
mouth.
! Four tongue clicks, air going in through the nose.
! Second line of Twinkle.
! Four clicks, etc.
Points to remember
!
doing this, especially around your jaw joint but it will only be temporary and
the pain will give you an attractive open face with a beautiful smile and a
free jaw.
! eel your sinuses go cold when you click your tongue
and air is taken in through the nose. This is the only sign that you are nose
breathing. There is no effort in natural nose breathing when you have
maximum airway space and you stop the sound positively.
! Four clicks between each phrase while the air goes in through the nose (no
sly gasps through the mouth).
Aims of the Tongue Exercises

! To strengthen styloglossus, the muscle that positions the tongue against the
palate ( chapter 5 The Importance of Tongue Position).
! To reposition the tongue for breathing, swallowing, speech and singing.
! To stretch jaw ligaments.
! To increase translation at the jaw joint and increase nose breathing
( chapter 9 Jaws and Teeth).
! To deepen and increase the resonance of the voice by articulating vowels
lower in the throat. ( chapter 10 ) Words and Rhythm).
Head and Neck rotation Start here
In Part 1 you discovered that rotating the 1

body made a difference to the voice. The
exercises for this were:
! Push up off the floor where you
sang underneath each armpit and
over each shoulder.
! Rotation on the floor where you 2
dropped the knees one way and
turned the head the other.
some time go back to them now before

you go on. For both of these head/neck
exercises you must stabilize your
3
shoulder blades. If they move in response
to the stretch, you will lose it.
This exercise strengthens two important
muscles ) Omohyoid and Styloglossus (see
the diagrams on page 8 and page 44 of
). It connects tongue,
Hyoid bone and shoulder blade, while 4
increasing translation at the TMJ. This
stabilizes the Hyoid bone when using the
voice loudly over long periods or when
singing an extended pitch range.
Exercise for Omohyoid, Styloglossus and 5

jaw translation
Find somewhere where you can stabilize

your shoulder girdle. I have a climbing
frame near to the wall (see photographs)
but a doorway will do just as well.
Send your shoulders hard down your back 6
and then put your hands on the doorway
beside you as reference that the
shoulders will stay where they are. Make
sure that your shoulders are level: you
may need someone to check this. Mark
Page 32
the doorway each side for next time you do the following exercise )
1.! Open the face and mouth and take the tongue back and up to where it can
click on the palate.
2.! Drop the right ear onto the right shoulder, or as near as it will go. Count a
slow 20 in your head while you wait for the stretch to happen. Give a loud
AAAAHHH! Imagine the sound driving into the jaw joint near to your
shoulder.
3.! Lead with your chin to rotate the neck until you are looking up into the
corner over your left shoulder. Count 20.
4.! driving the
sound into the higher jaw joint this time..
5.! Come slowly back to neutral and count 20. as muscles rest.
6.! Repeat on the other side.
Points to Remember
! Keep the open mouth and grin throughout.
! Maintain shoulder and hand position.
! Look at something. Especially when you look up into the corner.
! Count at each position, but not aloud. You will lose the stretch if you move
the jaw.
!
worry about this, you are working deep face muscles.

! to increase neck rotation
! to stretch the face
! to stretch jaw ligaments
! to stabilize the hyoid bone and larynx
When you have finished this stretch, sing something to discover how much jaw
mobility and throat space you now have to play with.
Do it again and sing again. You will have even more mobility and space, but never
do it in a hurry.
Jaw stretches
Maintain the position of your shoulders, arms and hands as in the photographs
below. Maintain the grin and the open mouth. Slowly look up until you are looking
at the ceiling: keep the back of the neck long as you do this.
Maintain your grin at all times. Protrude your jaw and try to put your lower teeth
on your nose. It is unlikely that anyone will achieve this
counts. Come back to neutral and then do the same up to one side (bite your right
ear?). Count up to 20 silently in each position.
Come back to neutral and then bite the other ear. Better not let anyone catch you
Points to remember
! The grin is necessary. It easy to do this without the grin but you are not
achieving anything worthwhile for the effort
! Remember the slow counting in each position, but this time

! To increase translation at the jaw joint so that the back of the jaw moves
further from the skull forward and down when the mouth is opened the
toothbrush Mark 2!
! To increase space in your airway for maximum efficiency of breathing
These stretches are not comfortable to do, but they will make a great difference to
sound quality and articulation of words. Say a poem or sing after these exercises to
check the difference.
Page 34
Bouncy Poems the first connection to your pelvic floor 13J18

Play CD tracks 16)21 while looking at each text to hear what happens. All these
poems have a different rhythm. The tracks are a guide for the correct speed for
the exercises J feel free to explore other music with a similar tempo!
13 Cats
This is a big stretch. You do it only
once.
Emphasise and lengthen every vowel.
Maintain a slight squat (knees bent,
bum back) and push air away from the
front of you with each vowel (a
. Feel all the
vowels down in the front of your chest.
It helps if you pin this poem just above
the skirting board to encourage the
squat.
14J15 Let it Rain 1 beat per line Swing your bum to these rhythms
by walking your knees one
16J17 Mice 2 beats per line
forward, one back. There are 4
18 The Reptile Rap 4 beats per line tongue clicks between the verses,
marked by *
Points to remember
! When the poems come twice, with voice and without, do both versions
! Swing your bum, dance your arms, but keep your heels on the floor
! Always click your tongue on the back of the palate between verses
! Smile! Look at this bum swinging surely you have to smile

! To introduce rhythm
into voice action and
speech.
! To connect speech
rhythm and body
rhythm.
! To have some fun with
words and movement.
Bouncy Poems Cats
Cats sleep
Anywhere
Any table
Any chair
Top of piano
WindowJledge
In the middle
On the edge
Open drawer
Empty shoe
Lap will do
Fitted in a
Cardboard box
In the cupboard
With your frocksJ
Anywhere!
Cats sleep
Anywhere
by Eleanor Farjeon
Page 36
Bouncy Poems Let it Rain
Let it rain!
Who cares?
I've a train
Upstairs,
With a brake
Which I make
From a string
Sort of thing,
Which works
In jerks,
'Cos it drops
In the spring,
Which stops
With the string,
And the wheels
All stick
So quick
That it feels
Like a thing
That you make
With a brake,
Not string...
So that's what I make,

When the day's all wet.
It's a good sort of brake
But it hasn't worked yet.
The Engineer by A. A. Milne

Bouncy Poems Mice
I think mice
Are rather nice
Their tails are long,
Their faces small,
They haven't any chins at all.
Their ears are pink,

Their teeth are white,
They run about the house at night.
They nibble things
And no one seems

To like them much.
But I think mice

Are nice.
by Rose Fyleman
Page 38
Bouncy Poems Reptile Rap
To watch your step, to steer well clear

Of my front gate, it's a dangerous place
Because you might come face to face
With my new pet who's big and mean,
The ugliest brute you've ever seen.
Crooks and robbers don't come near,

They creep right past, they shake with fear.
They'd rather spend a year in gaol
Than risk one tickle from his fingernail.
Claws like razors, Teeth like knives,
They'd better get lost, better run for their lives.
Get pushed around and called a jerk,
Take my advice, this is what to do:

Go down to the monster store
And get yourself a dinosaur.
Beat that drum, bang that gong,

Six metres high by sixteen long,
Come on all join in the chorus:
My new pet's a Tyrannosaurus!
by Colin McNaughton
Tongue Exercise 3
Now you have done some work on the position of your tongue, can you make the
following movements yourself? This is working Styloglossus, the voluntary muscle
responsible for natural tongue posture and maintaining the seal with the soft
palate in nose)breathing. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for this
muscle to be toned and you to be able to make this movement. Watch yourself in
the mirror.
Stick your tongue out then move it into position 2, and then 3. In position 3 I am
touching my back upper teeth, both sides at the same time, by widening my tongue
(see chapter 6 The Importance of Tongue Position ) to discover
the importance of being able to control tongue movement through Styloglossus).
In picture 3, the tongue is positioned against the back of the palate. The muscle
doing this is Styloglossus. Find Styloglossus in the tongue diagram on page 44 of
It connects the front third of the tongue to the skull via the Styloid
process.
Points to remember
! Notice that your tongue often goes into position 3 when you do the
toothbrush exercise. This is why you do it.
! Curling your tongue tip backwards is not the same as pulling the tongue back
with the Styloglossus muscle and spreading the tip wide. Persevere. The
fastest anyone has gone from a flat tongue to this position is two weeks
(That is not meant to be a challenge!).
! i
That will also put a smile on your face: fun breeds success.
Page 40
Revisit your first song
When you have thoroughly opened the back of your mouth and stretched the jaw
ligaments with the toothbrush poem, sing the English song with the backing track
while brushing your teeth as in tongue exercise 1. You will hear and feel a big
difference in the sound of your voice (a good difference!). Eventually try the
toothbrush out on all of your songs.
Points to remember
! Always keep a grin on your face for doing tongue work
! cheat by
putting your teeth together and cleaning the sides.
! Demand that you emphasize the vowels and sound the consonants clearly,
even though your back teeth stay apart.
! Watch some of it in your hand mirror. Observe the inside of your mouth and
what your tongue is doing. It is leaping about at the back of your mouth,
well away from your front teeth. This is where it should articulate. You will
see it make the shape of position 3 on page 39, especially when you sing
t. All this is very good ) encourage it.
Aims
! To stretch jaw ligaments even more
! To reposition your tongue for singing and speech
! To drop your hyoid bone ( chapter 4 ) The Adult Voice)
! To extend your pitch range.
Extra benefit
If you have real commitment to these tongue exercises you can save yourself the
expense of a face)lift! Put next to your bathroom mirror, and
when you have swilled for the last time, do the toothbrush exercise thinking of the
When you have sung with the toothbrush, put it away and find the two back corners
of your jaw (the right angle below your lower back teeth) with your index fingers.
Now sing your song again maintaining this reference. Which way does that corner
go when you open your mouth? It should go forward and down. Look at the pictures
on page 102 of . The jaw goes forward and down when you use the
anterior Temporalis muscle described on page 103. The upper face muscles pull the
face wide across the eyes. Are you smiling enough to achieve this?
guy on page 101!
Strengthening the Connection between Voice and Pelvic Floor
The pelvic floor is an important spring of the voice (Chapter 1 of

and needs permanent tone if the double spiral muscle system of the body described
in Chapter 8 of (Balance and Posture) is to function for stability and
strength .
Sit on your ball and use the full length of
arms off your back. You are to bounce using,

not the feet, but those muscles that you
when there was no facility to do so. If you

still cannot contact these muscles wait until
you are bursting and then go to the toilet
It is your pelvic floor that plays this game.
feet. If you have the appropriate muscle

connections you can now bounce and
simultaneously float a knee up, lifting one
foot off the floor. Keep the band stretched
and off your back. Hang on to your imaginary pole: that will help you to keep your
balance.
When you can slowly lift each foot in sequence and maintain your balance, rotate
the upper body around the foot on the ground by looking over your shoulder. Check
the photographs. Intend to sing to someone behind you so as to lead the eye,
followed by the head, followed by the rotation of the upper body: the pelvis
remaining forward. Alternate the lifting legs and the rotation to make different
, or say a poem. Maintain one rotation for about a line, or two. It will be
easy to sing that pitch you thought was too high while at full rotation with one foot
off the floor and singing behind you. Singers
Points to remember
! .
! Keep your upper chest wide.
! Keep the curve in your lower back. The sitting bones need to go down into
the middle of the ball to access the strength and spring of the pelvic floor.
!
Page 42
Introduction to the Balance Board 19
Getting on the board

If the thought of this throws you into panic, give yourself an introductory week of
holding on as you do the following.
Work in front of a full)length mirror if possible and always get on slowly. You can
then guide the person in the mirror instead of looking down at your feet, which is
not helpful. Begin with the lateral (side to side) balance.
Stand behind the short side of the board and place one foot in the middle. As in the
ing about what to do.
Be kind to yourself ) this is not school ) it is not about success or failure, but
allowing yourself to learn moment by moment .
Bring the other foot up in line and then jiggle your heels to the edge. Keep the
knees soft, but not bent. This should give you a balanced, not braced, standing
position. Have a good look at yourself in the mirror. Are you fully upright? Now
have a look around the room, at the ceiling. Notice how the balance shifts with
every movement of your eye, your head. Point to things around you to increase this
shift or throw the beanbag with someone.
Walk the board a little way using knees, hips, ankles, but not taking your heels off
the board. Bring the board back to centre.
Exercise to stabilise pelvis and shoulder blades
1.! Lift one heel, kicking the knee out from under the
pelvis. Watch yourself in the mirror and keep your
pelvis still and level as you do this. Lower this heel
and lift the other.
2.! Stay on the board but put your attention in your
shoulder blades. Send them hard down your back.
Raise your forearms to elbow level.
3.! Maintaining the position of your shoulder blades,
imagine a string is pulling your fingers up to the
ceiling. Fingers lead the arms into a full stretch. At
maximum stretch your arms should be close to your
ears, not in front of them.
Both together
As one knee kicks out, the arm on the

opposite side stretches up. This stretches
the back muscles, revisiting the crawling
you did as a baby to strengthen your back
for standing. Make sure that the pelvis
and shoulder blades maintain their level
a
wonderful exercise for backs that sit too
much. Look carefully at the photographs
and check for alignment by turning the
board sideways on to the mirror
( chapter 8 Balance and
Posture).
19 CARO 3 times
This is to be sung on the balance board.

Hold one stretch (i.e. one side) while you
sing the whole of the first CARO, then
change to the other side for the next
CARO. Change sides in between every
singing of CARO.
This is a good way to sing your songs.
Hold one stretch as you sing a whole
phrase, then change for the next phrase.
Here are some diagrams of

suggestions for experimenting with
balance. Play with them while you
sing your songs and read your poems.
Page 44
Other Balance Board Work
Use a balance board to strengthen your back
Stand on the board, side to side rock. Locate your pubic bone by digging your
fingers into the lowest bone of the trunk. With your fingers on this bone give a
loud, low, dirty laugh. UH! UH! UH! not HAH HAH HAH. No escaping air. You will
feel the muscle under your fingers (pyramidalis) contract sharply. Slowly bend the
knees and send the
navel strongly back to your sacrum (not literally, just think about it!). Maintain this
squat position, bum well back, and raise the arms like wings, fingers pointing
forward. More crouch and more finger pointing will stretch the lower back. Do not
be surprised if the legs go into terrific wobbling. This is a good release on the
upper leg and quite strenuous. Repeat the dirty laugh in this position to feel the
connection to the pelvic floor. Then sing something (Caro? A song?) or say a poem.
As you go into full stretch check, sideways on in a full length mirror, to make sure
that you have a straight back from top of head to end of bum.
The eyes
The neck is part of he back and should line up with it, so you should be looking
straight ahead when stretching the back on the board in the CARO exercise. Focus
your eye look at something. The eyes help you to balance. When you are in a
slight squat, as the photo below, your eye level will drop to the ground ahead of
you. Put your beanbag down there and sing to it. Make sure that your head does
not pull up and back.
Singing, reading aloud, presenting

Turn the board through 90% so that the rock is forward and backward. Stand on it
to sing your songs and to read poems, practice presentations or teach. This helps to
do in front of us has the potential to pull us off

the natural balancing position (60% weight on
the heels and 40% weight on the front of the
feet) and make us try to project the voice (See
chapter 11 ) A Voice for Life).
As you read, sing, or present, drop your heels a
little to keep the natural balance. If you have to
sing high pitch it is particularly useful to drop
your heels a little further and slightly squat.
This usefully drops the centre of gravity.
Calf stretches
Look at the photograph on the facing page. This
is not about balance, but about stretching the
backs of the legs. Support yourself on the wall
and drop the heels back. Feet need to be only

hip joint width apart; that is narrower than
your hips. By rolling the feet on to the outer
border you can change the stretch onto the
outer calf muscle, which is the one that
usually most needs the stretch.
Keep the hips level and float one knee up.

This gives even more possibility to change the
stretch in the other leg by rolling foot
position.
Points to remember on balance boards

! Do not look down at your feet. Look
forward and think into your feet.
! Shoulder blades down, pelvis level.
! When singing with the board rocking
forwards and backwards, drop the heels
further and slightly squat to sing high
notes.
! When you work with a mirror, wear
contrasting top and trousers to monitor
your pelvis. It should not lift as the
knee kicks out.
! Replace one heel before lifting the
other.
Aims of these exercises

! To give you a reference for your centre
of gravity when you speak or sing
! To work the feet.
! To improve posture and weight bearing
in standing.
! To stretch the backs of the legs
! To stop you projecting the voice and
keep it resonating inside.
Page 46
Strengthening the breathing system by strengthening the double

spiral muscle system
There are no breathing exercises in this programme. That is not an oversight, but
quite deliberate. Part 1 of the exercise system is designed to automatically adjust
any belief system that the voice is driven by cortically controlled pressure of air
against the vocal folds ( chapter 5 ) Breathing, the Myths and the
Mischief)
After you will be using the voice without feeling that you have to learn
some kind of breathing control system. The following exercises strengthen the
natural breathing system.
Rotation
There are two places where the body rotates, the neck and the waist. The
following stretches rotate those two areas and co)ordinate them. Use these
exercises to improve everything you do speech, singing, tennis, sailing, as well as
your waist measurement. They increase rotation possibilities at the waist by first
working the upper body, then the lower body.
Preparation
Hang forwards over the ball to stretch out the waist. Balance your weight so that
your four contacts with the floor are as light as possible (tippy toes, finger tips).
Get in touch with cross patterning

1.! Lift one limb and stretch it away from you ) reach with toes or fingers.
2.! Repeat this with all the other limbs individually; balance and stretch.
3.! Lift opposing limbs (e.g. right foot and left hand) off the floor while
retaining balance.
4.! Lift same side limbs off the floor (e.g. right hand, right foot) and stretch to
the ends of fingers and toes.
Points to remember
! Always keep your head in line with your spine, do not drop or lift it.
! Use your eyes ) examine the floor
! Maintain a good tongue resting position and a wide smile

! To prepare you for the following exercises
Rotate and Strengthen
This uses the ball to stabilize first your pelvis, then your ribs while you rotate and
strengthen the oblique muscles of the trunk from above and from below (See
chapter 8 Balance and Posture).
Upper body first

You will need bare feet and a floor where
your feet do not slip. Lie forward over the ball
with all four feet on the floor. Spread the
fingers of both hands and lift them to take
first your arms and then your ribs off the ball.
Dig your pubic bone into the ball to maintain
the stability of your pelvis. Dig your toes into
the floor to keep you where you are. Lead
with your right hand and arm to rotate to the
right, singing as you go. The pelvis remains
still and facing forward, legs straight (see
photographs). Repeat to the left, singing as
you go.
Lower body next

Lie forwards over the ball with a
on the floor. Rock your weight forward until
all your weight is on your hands. From now on
by lifting the legs, bringing them together and

pointing the toes. The legs should now be
straight and off the ball.
Roll the pelvis and ball to the right until

the legs are in the position to make the
illustrated scissor movement and hold it.
Return to centre and repeat the rotation
to the left.
You may not believe it, but you can sing
doing this exercise too if you remember
that all rotation exercises depend on
what you do with your eyes. You have to
be looking at ) and singing to ) , even in
this position.
Use your imagination.
Page 48
Remember the list you made at the beginning?

You made notes on the following:
! What are the important changes you want from this programme?
! What are the areas you think you will be working on in order to bring
those changes about?
Look back at your answers to the questions and look at your photographs.
Now that )
! Has your belief system changed?
! Has your voice improved?
! Are you more interested in posture than you were?
! Do you look and feel any different?
Are you happy with progress so far?

It usually takes about two months before the voice and body respond fully to
the exercises and increased flexibility becomes co)ordinated and stable, so
keep monitoring progress this way. There is no quick fix
I hope the improvement to your voice will encourage you to read poetry
aloud, not only as part of this programme, but also as a life tool. This will
enable you to visit emotions, fantasies and desires in a positive way.
Vocalising them provides you with a positive vehicle for pent up emotion and
helps you to speak English more clearly and precisely. Singing is another
vehicle for this improvement. You may feel that your feet are firmer on the
ground after you have bounced on your ball, stretched your arms behind you
and read a poem or sung with real commitment and feeling.
Part 3 introduces more songs, ways of improving your speaking voice, and
presentation and performance skills. Always remember that you are learning
to play the voice. Keep your sense of humour and let learning be fun. When
you feel frustrated, and you will sometimes, go and do something else. You
have absorbed an enormous amount of information especially as you are
also reading VoiceGym Book! Give yourself time for all this to develop and it
will. Be kind to yourself. Your brain is yours and is working for you: it knows
what you are capable of on a level that you do not appreciate. Give it
support and give it space. The wine needs some time to just stand on the
shelf and work its own magic.
Exercises Part Three Page 49
Part Three
The four basic ingredients of song are )
It is usually assumed that melody, harmony and rhythm are worked on together,
and WORDS are tagged on afterwards
But in reality, the rhythm of the song is in the words. So improving your
performance is actually a matter of working this way
Exercises for Words and Rhythm 20J27
20J21 Listen J fitting prose to regular rhythm

This is to demonstrate that spaces between phrases and sentences in your every
day speech are measured and exact. They are controlled by the rhythm in your
speech, which is in turn controlled by the natural rhythms in your body. By
listening to your own constant natural rhythms you can vary the speed of your
speech delivery. Begin to access this skill by varying the speed of the phrases in
this exercise, using the rhythm of the backing track. Try the same exercise using a
text that you may need to use in presentation, counting one two or three beats in
the spaces between sentences. Swing your bum until you can no longer ignore the
rhythm of prose. Listen to the backing track with voice for ideas.
22J23 Isabel J a rhythmic way of practicing vowel priority

Isabel allows you to lengthen vowels and maintain the regular rhythm of the poem.
Lengthen one
vowels each time you do the exercise, but only in important words, not a vowel in
Page 50
. As you sit on the chosen vowel for five beats s my

tongue? What is my jaw doing? Is my face open and lifted? With all the face and
jaw muscles doing what they should and the tongue working at the back of the
mouth you will eventually be able to choose to go straight from one line to the
next without a break as I do on the voice track. This is an excellent eye)tracking
exercise to improve reading aloud. You have two verses, vary them each session to
maintain spontaneity ( chapter 10 Words and Rhythm).
24 In Parliament J poem with the rhythm ball

You must have forgotten about this ball by now! Find it and practice bouncing it,
catching with both hands. As you bounce the ball, let the knees bend to turn
yourself into a spring. Avoid an upward movement of the ball when bouncing and
stop the rebound at about waist level to contain the spring; so if you have two
important words in a row you have ball control and speed. Think of playing netball
or basket ball and not losing the ball. Watch yourself in a mirror to practice
bouncing before you attempt to bounce to a poem.
Bounce the ball on the important words while reading poems and prose.
25 The Fountains Mingle With the River J hitting the chair

Put a chair in front of you and hit it with both hands just before the beginning of
each phrase. This prevents stiffening the legs and over breathing. Apply this to
both poems and prose reading.
26J27 Futility J allowing your voice to express emotion

First read the poem without the music, silently for understanding and then aloud to
express that understanding. Then Listen to the CD track ) Poem to Music. Emotion
in the voice can be developed by allowing the voice to respond to the resonance
and emotion in the music. Now read the poem aloud to the music, allowing the
music to tell you the moment to speak, the speed, and the length of the spaces.
version of this. Allow the connection between words and
music to develop with repetition. Keep listening to yourself and the music.
Discover your own poem to music. Find a piece of music; one that moves you. Find
a poem that touches you and put them together yourself.
J reading without punctuation

This is excellent for breaking the habit of reading the words without sufficient
attention to the meaning. The eye and brain has to scan the phrase before you
read it to make sense of it, which also makes it a good eye/brain/voice exercise.
Even when you can read it fluently it
all those controlling text devices in order to read aloud well.
The book by Don Marquis ) is a wonderful read, all written
without punctuation. I recommend that you buy it to read other stories aloud.
Words for fitting prose to regular rhythm Listen
Listen. It is night in the chill, squat chapel, hymning

in bonnet and brooch and bombazine black, butterfly
choker and bootlace bow, coughing like nannygoats,
sucking mintoes, fortywinking hallelujah; night in the
fourJale, quiet as a domino; in Ocky Milkmans loft
like a mouse with gloves; in Dai bread's bakery flying
like black flour.
It is toJnight in donkey street, trotting silent, with seaweed

on it's hooves, along the cockled cobbles, past curtained
fernpot, text and trinket, harmonium, holy dresser,
watercolours done by hand, china dog and rosy tin
teacaddy.
It is night neddying among the snuggeries of babies.

Look. It is night, dumbly, royally winding through
the coronation cherry trees; going through the
graveyard of Bethesda with winds gloved and folded,
and dew doffed; tumbling by the Sailors Arms.
Time passes. Listen. Time passes.
From Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas

Page 52
Words for a rhythmic way of practicing vowel priority
Isabel met an enormous bear

Isabel, Isabel didn't care
The bear was hungry, the bear was ravenous,
The bear's big mouth was cruel and cavernous.
The bear said, Isabel, glad to meet you,
How do, Isabel, now I'll eat you!
Isabel, Isabel, didn't worry,
Isabel didn't scream or scurry.
She washed her hands and she straightened her hair up,
Then Isabel quietly ate the bear up.
Once in a night as black as pitch

Isabel met a wicked old witch.
The witch's face was cross and wrinkled,
The witch's gums with teeth were sprinkled,
Ho ho, Isabel! the old witch crowed,
I'll turn you into an ugly toad!
Isabel, Isabel, didn't worry,
Isabel didn't scream or scurry,
She showed no rage and she showed no rancour,
But she turned the witch into milk and drank her.
by Ogden Nash
For bouncing your rhythm ball on the important words
In Parliament, the Minister

for Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness
announces, that owing to
inflation and rising costs
there will be no autumn
next year. September, October
and November are to be
cancelled, and the government
to bring in the nineJmonth year instead.
Thus we will all live longer.
Emergency measures are to be

introduced to combat outbreaks
of wellJbeing, and feelings
of elation inspired by the season.
Breathtaking sunsets will be
restricted to alternate Fridays
and gentle dusks prohibited.
Fallen leaves will be outlawed
and persons found in possession
of conkers, imprisoned without trial.
Thus will we all work harder.
The announcement caused little reaction.

People either way don't really care
No time have they to stand and stare
Looking for work or slaving away
Just another autumn day.
by Roger McGough
Page 54
Hit the Chair before each phrase phy
The fountains mingle with the river

And the rivers with the ocean,
The winds of heaven mix forever
With a sweet emotion;
Nothing in the world is single,
All things by a law divine
J
Why not I with thine?
See the mountains kiss high heaven

And the waves clasp one another;
No sisterJflower would be forgiven
If it disdained its brother:
And the sunlight clasps the earth,
And the moonbeams kiss the sea J
What are all these kissings worth,
If thou kiss not me?
by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Poem to Music Futility
Move him into the sun

Gently its touch awoke him once,
At home, whispering of fields unsown.
Always it woke him, even in France,
Until this morning and this snow.
If anything might rouse him now
The kind old sun will know.
Think how it wakes the seeds, J

Woke, once, the clays of a cold star.
Are limbs, so dearJachieved, are sides,
FullJnerved still warm too hard to stir?
Was it for this the clay grew tall?
!! O what made fatuous sunbeams toil
!! t all?
by Wilfred Owen
Page 56
Reading without punctuation (try an American accent) The Lesson of the Moth
i was talking to a moth the other evening he was trying

to break into an electric light bulb and fry himself on
the wires why do fellows pull this stunt i asked him
because it is the conventional thing for moths or why if
that had been an uncovered candle instead of an
electric light bulb you would now be a small unsightly
cinder have you no sense plenty of it he answered but
at times we get tired of using it we get bored with the
routine and crave beauty and excitement fire is
beautiful and we know that if we get too close it will kill
us but what does that matter it is better to be happy for
a moment and be burned up with beauty than to live a
long time and be bored all the while so we wad all our
life up into one little roll and then we shoot the roll that
is what life is for it is better to be part of beauty for one
instant and then cease to exist than to exist forever and
never be a part of beauty our attitude towards life is
come easy go easy we are like human beings used to be
before they became too civilized to enjoy themselves
and before i could argue him out of his philosophy he
went and immolated himself on a patent cigar lighter
i do not agree with him myself i would rather have half
the happiness and twice the longevity but at the same
time i wish there was something i wanted as badly as he
wanted to fry himself
by Don Marquis
Working on the link between Melody and Harmony 28

Harmony underpins melody like the foundations underpin a house. Harmony moves the
melody forward through the phrase by changing chords. A chord comprises several
notes that blend well when played together, and chords change in relation to the
rhythm. Chords provide a range of pitch possibilities to sing at any one time.
It would appear that the easiest way to sing is to always let a professional melody
writer a composer control your choice of melody. You then always sing a written
song and your voice is always told what to sing, never using imagination and initiative
to invent the melody. This does not develop vocal and musical intelligence. So the next
exercise is fundamental to )
! Singing in tune.
! Continual Development of the vocal instrument itself in relation to the brain.
! Increasing vocal and musical courage.
! Discovering what your voice can do as opposed to what you think it can do or
what you habitually make it do.
28 Improvising and Rolling

Sit on your ball and stretch you band behind you. Put on the improvisation CD track
and carry on singing from the voice over, singing any of the phrases on the next page
to whatever tune comes from listening, bouncing and stretching. Notice that the voice
on the CD lingers on vowels and moves them about across pitch, led by the music. Sing
each phrase two or three times in different ways.
Jump in ) ) no one is recording you for posterity. Keep listening

and sing whatever comes.
The more you do this the more you realise that there is not a single correct tune to
sing, but unlimited possibilities of tune and rhythm emerge from just bouncing on
your ball, stabilizing
the musical imagination develop over time. A large section of chapter 11 Singing
for Life in is devoted to the importance of Improvisation.
Now add a truly balanced body by rolling on the floor:
1.! Get your self a good floor space move furniture if you must.
2.! Play the improvisation track and roll silently
sing.
3.! Roll like a cat, four footed, rotating in the middle by, for instance, twisting the
right leg over the left while the left arm opposes this movement (see
photographs).
When you have rolled silently several times to the rolling music, sing phrases as you
roll. Drop your head and sing face down when your rolling takes you into that position.
phrases on the page, make some up. Sing a story.

Page 58
Phrases for Improvisation
d Wal
a n k th
n e gr
su and eet hills een
ing ts f sum in
rn ho m y mer
Bu ite ing time
wh orch
sc
I have lat
ely
l le d learned t
st ro o swim
W e d led
pu d e r
h
the toget
ne s w e
la r a l l,
Afte
d h a v e
coul
n go i ng
Ope kept o
n yo
to a ur e
new yes o ng
hor a l
izon a k e m e
T a t
l o ok
o ol
c
Points to remember
! Keep letting your weight drop arms, legs, head. Let the floor support all of
your weight
! If you lie still on the floor you will not sing well or naturally. The voice
responds to a dynamic, rhythmic body, not a passive one that is out of touch
with rhythm
! Experiment with stretching see photographs to discover your highest,
your lowest pitch. You can find your whole pitch range rolling on the floor
and then safely stretch it some more by adding body stretching to the
rolling.

! To give you the opportunity to
discover your true sound, resonating
through your body without effort
! To allow you to reconsider how you
stand upright on two feet by going
back to where it all began
! To demonstrate how little air you
need to sing
! As a de)stressor this has no equal.
Try it when you get home from
work. Empty all the negative
thoughts and hear them turn
positive.
Page 60
Songs for you to sing with backing tracks 29J46
Some of these songs may seem more suitable for men and some for women, but you
choose. Sing them all if you want to. There are two tracks to each song; one with a
voice and one without. The voice may be male or female.
Singing with another voice is very important. You develop your voice in childhood
from the adult voices around you, in singing as in speech. You may have sung along
with backing tracks before recordings of your favourite songs by your favourite
artists. But maybe you have not sung with anyone whose main reason for singing is
to encourage you to do it. These backing tracks have been recorded by the people
you have already met, in the exercises and in the photographs and not excessively
I hope you feel you are singing with people you know.
c 29 with voice, 30 without voice
31 with voice, 32 without voice
very thought of y 35 with voice, 36 without voice
face the music and dance 39 with voice, 40 without voice
4 1 with voice, 42 without voice
Steps to successful singing of songs

When we are nervous about doing something new the body often tightens,
especially the legs, so use your ball, band or balance board as you work through
the following sequence with each song:
1.! Listen to the tracks with the voice over and choose one to work on. If you
choose one you already know, resist the temptation to sing it just yet.
2.! Switch off the CD and read the words aloud at least three times over
emphasizing the rhythm. What about using your rhythm ball to do this? Still
resist the temptation to sing yet.
3.! Now play the voice over track and read the words to it along with the singer.
Say the words: no singing yet. Lengthen the vowels where the singer does, for
instance, the first line in song 6 ) re may be trouble ahea e
Repeat this sequence until you have a good feeling for the rhythm in the words.
Your ear will have been listening to and learning the tune while you have been
working on the words. By the time you attempt to sing the song for the first time
your will have passed the tune on, first into your brain and then into your voice.
Your voice will be ready to sing it because it has been fully processed.
head. You will recognize this moment ) you will catch yourself singing the tune
around the house. Until that happens, repeat sequence 1 to 3 above. This will save
your voice a great deal of strain and you a lot of frustration and self)doubt.
Ways to work on the songs
Whole@body stretch and rotation

Put your heel on the end of the stretch band and pull
the other end up behind you into a whole body
stretch. Sing one whole line like this and feel how
much more voice you have. You are stabilizing your
hyoid by holding the shoulder blade down and
dropping your centre of gravity
Change hands, reaching up across the back of you and
pulling the band in a different direction. Sing the
second line. Hold a stretch for the length of a line of
music, and then point somewhere else, changing the
stretch. Use both arms to stretch, one with the band,
one opposing it.
Drop into a little squat as in the
increases the stretch. Keep the squat and twist at the
waist to point the band behind you. You must squat to
rotate or you will twist at the knees. Not good for
knees or back and ineffectual for singing.
Photocopy the words of the song about four times and
stick the extra copies around you ) maybe one behind
you. Move from copy to copy to read the words as you
sing the song to the backing track, rotating, stretching
and pointing to read the copies which are not in front
of you, one foot always anchored by the band.
Points to Remember
! The band must be under the heel and some of
the foot
! The heel sends the messages which affect your
posture
! Use both arms to increase the stretch. Fingers
are part of this ) stretch them as well.
Always associate extension of the voice with extension of the body. Sing any or all
of the songs you have on the CD using these stretches. You will easily sing any high
notes this way!
Page 62
The toothbrush
Clean your teeth while singing your song. This will
open the back of your jaw and position your tongue
further back in your mouth. A low larynx will sing
higher pitch with less effort than one that is pulled
up the throat. Stretch your face wide, smile and
maximize jaw translation ( chapter 9
Jaws and teeth). You may dribble a bit but the sound
will be great.
The Mirror
Use your mirror to check that the tongue generally
keeps away from the front teeth when you speak and
about. When consonants implode onto vowels the

tongue works hard to leap its way through your
articulation while your jaw slides forward and down to stay out of the way, closing
only when it has to (Revisit Part 1 ) Scattered Bricks). Tongue back, jaw forward
and down.
Get it together
Having worked rhythm and words; melody and harmony separately, it is time to put
everything together and improve all aspects of your speaking voice by singing.
Having worked through this programme you have lots of ways to connect voice,
body and brain. Use your imagination, your sense of play to connect parts 1&2 of
this programme with expressing yourself in speech and singing.
Use everything you have done.
! Push your face up, as in POOOOOR, as you sing a song
! Bounce your rhythm ball to the rhythm of the song
! Swing your bum to the rhythm. As in the bouncy poems
! use a whole body stretch when you feel the body tension created by high
pitch
! Sit on your ball, use your band and talk the words through to the music
! Use your stretch band to bring shoulders back and down.
! Click the tongue against the palate while you listen to the introduction
and between each phrase to encourage nose breathing.
! Hit the chair with both hands just before you begin and between each
phrase. (Keep a smile)
! Balance on your board to sing and recite, or squat on it, drop your heels
or merely stand on one leg
You now have a comprehensive set of tools to work with. Discover how they can
work for you
Songs with backing tracks Send in the Clowns
Isn't it rich? Are we a pair? Me here at last on the ground,

you in mid air.
Send in the clowns.
Isn't it bliss? Don't you approve?
One who keeps tearing around, one who can't move.
Where are the clowns? Send in the clowns.
Just when I'd stopped opening doors.

Finally knowing the one that I wanted was yours.
Making my entrance again with my usual flair J
sure of my lines. No one is there.
Don't you love farce? My fault I fear.

I thought that you'd want what I want.
Sorry my dear.
But where are the clowns? Quick send in the clowns.
Don't bother they're here.
Isn't it rich? Isn't it queer? Losing my timing this late in my

career?
And where are the clowns? There ought to be clowns
Well maybe next year.
by Stephen Sondheim
Page 64
Songs with backing tracks Scarborough Fair
Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.
Remember me to one who lives there
For she once was a true love of mine.
Tell her to make me a cambric shirt
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Without any seam or needlework
Tell her to wash it in yonder dry well
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.
ain fell
Traditional English Song

Songs with backing tracks Memphis in June
Memphis in June, a shady veranda, under the Sunday blue sky
I can hear the clock inside a:tickin a:tockin
Ic :
Memphis in June with sweet oleander bl
Up jumps the moon to make it that much grander
brother take my advice
Words by Paul Francis Webster, Music by Hoagy Carmichael

Page 66
Songs with backing tracks The Very Thought of You
The very thought of you

And I forget to do
Those little ordinary things that ev'ryone ought to do
I'm living in a kind of daydream
I'm happy as a king
And foolish though it may seem
To me that's ev'rything.
The mere idea of you

The longing here for you
You'll never know how slow the moments go
'til I'm near to you.
I see your face in ev'ry flower

Your eyes in stars above
It's just the thought of you
The very thought of you
My love.
by Ray Noble
Songs with backing tracks Skylark
Skylark, have you anything to say to me

Can you tell me where my love can be?
Is there a meadow in the mist
Skylark, have you seen a valley green with Spring

Where my heart can go a journeying
Over the meadows and the rain
To a blossom covered lane
And in your lonely flight
Wonderful music, faint as a willowJtheJwisp, crazy as a loon

Sad as a gypsy serenading the moon
So if you see them anywhere
Words by Johnny Mercer, Music by Hoagy Carmichael

Page 68
Songs with backing tracks
There may be trouble ahead

But while there's moonlight and music
And love and romance
Let's face the music and dance
Before the fiddlers have fled

Before they ask us to pay the bill
And while we still have the chance
Soon we'll be without the moon

Humming a different tune
There may be teardrops to shed

So while there's moonlight and music
And love and romance
by Irving Berlin
Songs with backing tracks Walk on by
If you see me walking down the street

and I start to cry each time we meet,
Walk on by, walk on by.
Just let me breathe in private,
You walk on by (x 3)
And so if I seem broken in two,

Walk on by, walk on by
So let me hide the tears and the sadness

You gave me when you said goodbye,
So walk on by (x 3)
Walk on by, walk on by
So let me hide the tears and the sadness

You gave me when you said goodbye,
So walk on by (x 2)
Now you really gotta go so walk on by

Take yo
Words by Hal David, Music by Burt Bacharach

Page 70
Songs with backing tracks Eleanor Rigby
Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in a church where a

wedding has been
Lives in a dream.
Waits at the window wearing a face that she keeps in a jar
by the door
What is it for?
All the lonely people. Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people. Where do they all belong?
Father McKenzie writing the words of a sermon that noJone

will hear
No one comes near.
Look at him working, darning his socks in the night when
What does he care?

Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with
her name
Nobody came.
Father McKenzie wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks
from the grave
No one was saved.
Ah, look at all the lonely people.
by Lennon and McCartney

Songs with backing tracks Tonight
Tonight tonight won't be just any night,
Tonight there will be no morning star.
Tonight tonight I'll see my love tonight,
And for us stars will stop where they are!
Today the minutes seem like hours,
The hours go so slowly
And still the sky is light.
O Moon grow bright,
And make this endless day endless night.
Tonight!
Music by Leonard Bernstein, Words by Stephen Sondheim

Page 72
Postscript
I hope that by now you realise that anyone can open up and enjoy using the
voice in speech and singing, rather than close down and always sound
ineffectual or defensive.
But why do we become defensive when using the voice?
The voice is a fundamental part of why we are human. Speech separates us

from our ancestors, but on the evolutionary scale we have had little time to
learn how to use it. There is also a mistaken belief that inadequacies in the
voice do not matter and can be hidden by the use of clever technology.
Consequently the voice remains the single most neglected part of our
education, at any level.
I hope that you no longer need to go back to your original photo or your
recordings to discover improvement, but you feel it every time you speak or
sing. My aim is that having worked with this programme your perception of
voice development is now associated with achieving personal and professional
goals.
: they are what it says
fundamental to any other voice work that you do in speech or singing!
Professional Singers
Singers who have an extensive performance commitment should take this

opportunity to step outside their familiar repertoire and use the songs in Part 3
to experiment with new information they find controversial. When changing
your tongue position works well in
know you can safely apply it to the Schubert or Verdi.
In rehearsal, sometimes use a balance board to free off your legs. Educate your
accompanist to expect this. Check your pelvic floor is still working for you by
sitting on a ball, rotating and lifting a knee during the convoluted running
passages of Bach or Handel. Ignore the amazement of your MD or the Berlin
Philharmonic. It may astonish, but rehearsing is meant to push boundaries to
find deeper meanings. You may later stand up with an easily balancing posture
and a freely translating jaw to give the public performance of your life.
The Audio CD Page 73
The Audio CD
© 2014 VoiceGym Ltd., all rights reserved
! Vocals Alexander Evans
Simone Laraway
Andrew Gill
Angela Caine
! Keyboards and musical Richard Scott)Copeland

arrangements Tim Murray
Humphrey Roberts)Powell
! Drums Darren Lewis
! Recording and mastering Bob Ross Studios, Portsmouth

Chris Lewis
CD track list
1.! Beetle on its Back with%voice% 24.! Poem with rhythm ball with%voice%
2.! Push up off the Floor with%voice% 25.! Poem to hit the chair with%voice%
3.! Rotation on the Floor with%voice% 26.! Poem to music with%voice%
4.! Upside Down Reading with%voice% 27.! Poem to music music%only%
5.! POOOOOR with%voice% 28.! Improvisation voice%on%beginning%
6.! Scattered bricks with%voice% 29.! Send in the clowns with%voice%
7.! Rastvyetali learning%track,%spoken% 30.! Send in the clowns no%voice%
8.! Rastvyetali learning%track,%sung% 31.! Scarborough Fair with%voice%
9.! Rastvyetali up%to%speed,%with%voice% 32.! Scarborough Fair no%voice%
10.! Rastvyetali up%to%speed,%no%voice% 33.! Memphis in June with%voice%
11.! Toothbrush poem with%voice% 34.! Memphis in June no%voice%
12.! Tongue exercise with%voice% 35.! The very thought of you with%voice%
13.! Cats with%voice% 36.! The very thought of you no%voice%
14.! Let it rain with%voice% 37.! Skylark with%voice%
15.! Let it rain no%voice% 38.! Skylark no%voice%
16.! Mice with%voice% 39.! with%voice%
17.! Mice no%voice% 40.! no%voice%
18.! The Reptile Rap voice%on%beginning% 41.! Walk on by with%voice%
19.! Caro voice%on%beginning% 42.! Walk on by no%voice%
20.! Listen with%voice% 43.! Eleanor Rigby with%voice%
21.! Listen no%voice% 44.! Eleanor Rigby no%voice%
22.! Isabel with%voice% 45.! Tonight with%voice%
23.! Isabel no%voice% 46.! Tonight no%voice%
Credits and Sources for Songs and Poems
Credits and Sources

The Songs
! Rastvyetali Traditional
! Send in the clowns From A Little Night Music by Stephen Sondheim;
© Rilting Music Inc. and Revelation Music Publishing Corp.
! Scarborough Fair Traditional
! Memphis in June Words by Paul Francis Webster; Music by Hoagy Carmichael
© Edwin H Morris Inc.
! The very thought of you Words and Music by Ray Noble
© Range Road Music Inc. and Quartet Music Inc.
! Skylark Words by Johnny Mercer; Music by Hoagy Carmichael
© George Simon Inc.
! Let's face the music & dance By Irving Berlin
© Irving Berlin
! Walk on by Words by Hal David; Music by Burt Bacharach
© Blue Seas Music Inc. and Warner Chappell Music Ltd.
! Eleanor Rigby By Lennon and McCartney
© Northern Songs Ltd.
! Tonight From West Side Story
Words by Stephen Sondheim; Music by Leonard Bernstein
© Bernstein and Sondheim
The Poems
! The Grand Old Duke of York Traditional
! My Cat By Colin McNaughton
! Reptile Rap From There's an Awful Lot of Wierdos in our Neighbourhood (Walker
! If you Find that your Books)
Dinos Lazy and Slow © Colin McNaughton
! A song of the weather By Michael Flanders

© Chappell & Co. Ltd.
! The toothbrush poem ld Dahl
! Cats By Elizabeth Farjeon
From If You Should Meet a Crocodile (Kaye & Ward)
© Kaye & Ward Ltd.
! Let it rain 'The Engineer' by A.A. Milne
From Now we are Six (Methuen)
! Mice By Rose Fyleman
© Kaye & Ward Ltd.
! Listen From Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas
© Trustees of Dylan Thomas
! Adventures of Isabel By Ogden Nash
© Kaye & Ward Ltd.
! In Parliament n)
! By Percy Bysshe Shelley
! The lesson of the moth
! Futility By Wilfred Owen
Background music from Symphony No. 5 by Gustav Mahler
(Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra: Polydor GmbH, 1971)
Appendix Required Equipment Page 75
Appendix
Equipment needed to complete the VoiceGym course
Some additional equipment will be required to complete the VoiceGym course. A

correctly sized physio)ball and a resistance band are essential if you are to get the
full benefit from the exercises. The exercise book also shows you how to use a
bean bag (part 1, page 25) and a balance board (part 2, page 42) and we
recommend that you consider investing in these as well. These are available from
online physiotherapy suppliers such as www.physiosupplies.com, as well as
Amazon.
The Resistance Band

Resistance bands are also known as exercise or stretch bands. They come in a range
resistance levels coded by colour. The green (heavy) band produced by 66fit
(www.66fit.com) or Thera)band (www.thera)band.com) is likely to be the most
suitable for adults. You will need a 1.5m length.
The PhysioJBall
Physio)Balls are also known as gym balls or swiss balls. It is important that you buy
one of physiotherapy quality, such as those produced by 66fit (www.66fit.com),
Gymnic (www.gymnic.com), or Thera)band (www.thera)band.com). Beware of
cheap toy balls!
To get the full benefit of the VoiceGym exercises you must buy a ball that is
correctly sized for you. While sitting on the ball, the knees should be lower than
the pelvis; i.e. the angle between the thighs and upper body should be bigger than
90°. You can find the correct size by stretching your arm out in front of you and
getting someone else to measure the distance (L) from the back of your neck to
your fingertips as shown in the diagram below. Find the ball diameter (Ø) in the
table that corresponds to your arm measurement.
L Ø
cm inch cm
46!+!55! 18"+!22"! 45!

56!+!65 23"+!26"! 55
66!+!80" 27"+!31"" 65"
81!+!91" 32"+!36"" 75"
As a rough guide, a U.K. average (167 cm tall) adult female and an average (175 cm
tall) adult male should both need a 65 cm ball.
Warnings
! Keep your ball away from sources of heat such as the sun, lamps or
radiators.
! Watch your clothes and the area in which you are using the ball for sharp or
angular objects that could puncture it
The Balance Board

The balance board used in the VoiceGym exercises is a rocker board, which allows
for only one plane of instability at a time. It should not be confused with a
wobble board (round, with a central hemisphere underneath), which provides
multiple planes of instability. Suitable rocker boards are produced by 66fit
(www.66fit.com) and Thera)band (www.thera)band.com).
The original VoiceGym balance board, shown in the exercise book, was narrower
than most commercially available boards. It was designed by a chiropractor with
the aim of maintaining freedom in the hip joints while exercising and balancing,
having an ideal width to revisit and revitalize cross)patterning while encouraging a
parallel foot position. A wooden VoiceGym balance board can be made from the
plans below if you have a band saw and basic woodworking skills. However, you can
use one of the above commercial boards just as effectively provided you stand with
feet no more than hip width apart. This is different from hip joint width apart: a
narrower position for the feet makes it harder to brace your legs while working
with the board.
Appendix Required Equipment Page 77
The Bean Bag

The work with a bean bag complements the exercises in VoiceGym for pelvic stability and a
strong pelvic floor. Postural stability can only be achieved by working on the upper and the
lower body together, while retaining the imagination and a sense of fun.
The original VoiceGym bean bag was designed to direct the weight onto the two temporal
bones on the sides of the head by dividing the gravel into two separate pouches. Long,
narrow bean bags, sold by some educational suppliers for throwing and catching games
(see, for instance, www.bishopsport.co.uk), can be used just as effectively to provide
feedback for postural change, through the following )
! A freely translating mandible

No)one can fail to smile with a cat on their
head, stimulating Anterior Temporalis, a
key trigger in jaw translation
! Balance on two feet
Through the vestibular canals housed in the
Temporal bone
! An efficient breathing system
Through the suspension of the larynx from
the Styloid Process of the temporal bone
! An efficient voice mechanism
Through the suspension of the larynx from
the Styloid Process of the temporal bone
! Good tongue posture
Through Styloglossus, the muscle most
responsible for natural resting position of
the tongue; also attached to the temporal
bone
Postural integrity and pelvic stability are encouraged by wearing the beanbag while
reading, singing, and walking. You can also try wearing the beanbag while
! Singing on a balance board while walking your feet

! Reciting a poem and swinging your bum to the rhythm
! Doing all tongue exercises
! Bouncing on the physio)ball
Voice Exercises with Audio CD
7th Edition
Published November 2014 by VoiceGym Ltd.
www.voicegym.co.uk
Copyright © 2003 J 2014, A Caine and C Lewis.

Copyright © 2014, VoiceGym Ltd., all rights reserved.

VoiceGym Exercises Book 2014

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Voice Exercises

7th Edition, published April 2014 by VoiceGym Ltd.

Copyright © 2003 J 2014, A Caine and C Lewis.

" give you a

opening jaw and an

and much more/

available from www.voicegym.co.uk

development of the voice and the development of posture, coordination and

The Devil Within the story of recovering a lost voice

Before you begin

There are three parts to this exercise system

Part 1 Introductory wholeJbody exercises to connect voice, body, brain,

How to Inflate your PhysioJball

There are two stages

What to do with your Ball

Sit on the ball to watch the TV or listen to

sure that you always sit upright, with feet

Help this situation by using the ball to

feet on something that allows your

Part One Introductory Exercises

Beetle on its back 1

Scattered vowels for eetle on its back

Push up off the floor 2

Oh, the grand old Duke of York,

He had ten thousand men,

He marched them up to the top of

The hill and he marched

Them down again.

And when they were up they were up.

And when they were down they were down.

And when they were only half way up,

They were neither up nor down.

Traditional nursery rhyme

Rotation on the floor 3

What you do with your body

For maximum rotation

My cat gives me serious cause for concern.

I've tried, but I do not know which way to turn.

It's not just the suit or the paisley cravat

Or the pink patent boots; I can handle all that.

But now he's developed a worrying trait:

He's mugging my guests as they come through the gate!

Although he denies it and says it's all lies.

Should I call the police or the vet or the zoos?

Should I offer to buy him his clothing and shoes?

I've tried, but I do not know which way to turnJ

My cat gives me serious cause for concern.

Upside Down Reading 4

Aims of this exercise

If you find that your dinosaur's lazy and slow,

Then take my advice, it won't cost you a cent.

Just follow these rules, it's money well spent

give him a smack and say "GET MOVING, MAC!"

If he starts to complain that you're causing him pain,

And say "Now will you do what you're told!"

Bounce on your ball and use your stretch band

Aims of this exercise

Getting in touch with your tongue

Closed Face Open Face

Reading while lying backwards over your ball

Aims of this exercise

Backwards over ball

JANUARY brings the snow