Puffy cheek slides with shoulder roll

Attention to Shoulders and Chest

Next, we're going to bring our attention to our shoulders and chest, which can potentially be another source of strain for the singer.

Puffy Cheek Exercise

Instead of the straw exercise, we will do the puffy cheek exercise. This exercise serves a similar purpose, but you won't need a straw.

• How to perform the exercise:
  • Puff your cheeks out and blow sound through them.
  • Pause the video right now and give that a try.

Key Points to Remember

While you're doing this, keep the following in mind:

• Engage the vocal cords:

  • Don't just blow air; ensure that your vocal cords are engaging.
  • You need to produce tone. You'll be able to hear the difference.

• Sound above the nose:

  • We don't want any sound coming above the nose.
  • Plug and unplug your nose as you do it to ensure that the sound doesn't change.
  • This is a good way to know that you're not sending air through the nose.

Shoulder Roll

Now, let's focus on doing a shoulder roll backwards.

• Key to the shoulder roll:
  • Try to keep your shoulders moving smoothly up and around.
  • Many students make slight movements, lifting and lowering, but we want to achieve a nice, full roll.

Can you give that a try right now? Pause the video and practice the shoulder roll.

Combining Techniques

Once you have the shoulder roll going, we will combine it with the puffy cheek exercise.

• How it looks:
  • This will look similar to the straw exercise.

For the full exercise routine, refer to the MP3s as this demonstration is just a part of it.