Speech pathologist Nicola Anglin at Box Hill Speech Pathology Clinic shares some established principles and new thinking on ‘vocal fitness’:
Plastic Fantastic
Our muscles are changeable (plastic). Athletes and musicians train specific muscles for specific tasks (eg. arms for playing tennis, fingers for piano). You can train and improve your voice!
Does Your Voice Fit Your Needs?
It’s easy to measure training times in sport but trickier to measure “vocal load” (duration and intensity of voice use) to determine “vocal fitness”. Your voice therapist can help you modify how you use your voice and how much you use it.
Hitting the (Vocal) Gym
When training muscles, consider these principles:
- Overload – Load yourself up (with professional guidance)
- Specificity – Be specific – exercise the right muscles for the task
- Reversibility – Keep up the good work – use it or lose it
One More Time
How do you use your voice at work and in social settings? How much and how loudly do you talk? Do you use amplification? Do you sing? How much recovery time do you have? Voice therapy involves learning skills and building resistance to muscle fatigue to prevent vocal injury.
“I’m too old”…
Even very old muscle (over 90 years!) can be strengthened with exercise.
Take Care
Voice is inseparable from our general health and wellbeing. Part of voice therapy may involve self-care.
Press Reset
You don’t need to stay stuck with a strained, tired voice all day. Learn how to ‘reset’ your voice quickly and easily to return to safe, comfortable talking
The State of (Vocal) Economy
Voice therapy is about achieving greater vocal economy, or “the most voice with the least muscle effort”.
Full article at https://www.speech-therapy.com.au/2017/08/20/voice-fit-lifestyle/
References
‘Vocal Performance Fitness’ webinar and PowerPoint slides (Mary J. Sandage, 20 July 2017)
The SAID Principle (Todd Hargrove, Jan 10 2009) (https://www.bettermovement.org/blog/2009/0110111)
Call 9899 5494 to book an appointment with voice therapist Nicola Anglin at Box Hill Speech Pathology Clinic. We are at 662 Elgar Rd, Box Hill North VIC 3129.
