I had the opportunity to ask my friend Jo Loi, a highly experienced singing and piano teacher, to share her favourite vocal exercises. With Jo's extensive experience of over 25 years and training in various vocal styles and methods, she provided me with a list of exercises that she personally loves to use in her routine.
Jo's Vocal Exercise Routine:
Jo's routine presented in the 16-minute video below, closely aligns with the one in my Vocal Exercise Routine Guide. The main difference is the exclusion of the breathing exercises and the inclusion of the Nya Twang exercise. Both routines follow a sequential functional approach, emphasising Resonance, Chest Voice, Head Voice, and Mixed Voice (blending registers).
Let's take a closer look at the exercises in Jo's routine:
Humming - Resonance Yah
Yah - Chest Voice
Dark Ah - Chest Voice
Meow - Head Voice
Oo 3rd Slides - Head Voice
Nya Twang - Mixed Voice (Jo does this differently)
Yah Arpeggio - Mixed Voice
Glay Arpeggio - Mixed Voice
(Please read the description on the YouTube video for further instructions.)
The Nya Exercise - A Twist in the Routine:
In Jo's routine, she incorporates the Nya Twang exercise but with a slight variation. Instead of using the witchy sound "Nya," as demonstrated in the video, she prefers the warm open sound "Nyah." This alteration changes the exercise's effectiveness and expands its range. It also changes the relevance of the comments in the video.
The Nya Twang Technique:
The Nya sound or Twang is a technique that adds brightness and nasal resonance to your voice, allowing you to sing louder and clearer with less effort. By narrowing your vocal tract and directing the sound toward your nose (distinct from nasality), this technique enhances the power and clarity of your voice, making it easily heard over instruments or recordings.
Shifting the Focus: Nya to Nyah
Switching from "Nya" as in the word "cat" to "Nyah" as in the word "father" changes the sound to a more open vowel with a lowered tongue, resulting in a warmer vocal quality while retaining the same consonants. It's worth noting that the "Nyah" sound may not be as effective for developing mixed voice, but it offers a greater sense of openness in the throat.
YOUTUBE COMMENTS - 16 MIN VOCAL ROUTINE
@deborahmonde7304 This is my favorite singing routine on whole youtube! Thankkkss, your comments in yellow are sooo precious!
@good afternoon i'm Tom Tucker. You girls are absolutely phenomenal amazing energy, super fun exercise and incredibly helpful even from the first time! Thank you so so much!!
I'm always excited to discover fresh ideas and incorporate them into my vocal exercise compilation videos. Thank you for joining me in exploring Jo Loi's vocal exercise routine, and I hope you find these exercises beneficial for your own vocal practice!
Share Your Ideas and Suggestions:
If you have a set of vocal warm-up exercises from Dots Singing channel that you'd like me to compile, please feel free to email or leave a comment below with the names or links of the YouTube exercises.
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