On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Joe Naab, who is the founder and president of Vocal Nebula, which is a learning community online for those who love to sing. Joe has been an entrepreneur for more than twelve years, and during this episode explains why we should focus on our voices, talks about how to use your voice as an instrument, and teaches you vocal warm up exercises.
Main Questions Asked:
- What makes the voice an instrument?
- Why should we warm up and focus on our voice?
Key Lessons Learned:
Podcasting and Your Voice
- As a podcaster or public speaker, it is important to take your voice seriously.
- Treat podcasting as a craft and not simply a marketing tool.
- When people are listening to your voice through headphones for prolonged periods of time, you want it to be an enjoyable experience.
- Warm up your voice.
- Remember to save this podcast and go back to the vocal exercises!
The Voice as an Instrument
- The voice is an instrument because it makes music, but we tend not to think of it as an instrument.
- When you see the voice as an instrument, it helps accelerate your progress as a singer, speaker, podcaster, or voice actor.
- People are both the ‘player’ and the ‘instrument.’
The Three Parts:
- Aerator
- This is everything below the vocal chords.
- Lungs, diaphragm, abdominal muscles.
- The aerator provides air pressure to the intonator.
- This is where we make sound that is projected into the resonator, where we shape the sounds.
- Intonator
- The voice box and everything it contains.
- Larynx and vocal folds.
- Resonator
- The top of your neck and your head.
Focusing on the Voice
- When we focus on the voice, we replace inhibitory behavior with exhibitory behavior.
- Since early childhood, we are always taught to dampen the sound and lower the volume of our voice.
- When you are about to podcast or do a speech, you need to warm up your voice to ensure you aren’t pushing too hard.
Benefits of Vocal Exercises
- When you do these exercises, you are driving sonic energy into your brain.
- While you sing, your brain produces dopamine and other feel good neurotransmitters.
- Focus on a kinesthetic awareness of the feeling of the instrument. This is the secret to fast vocal development.
- The student that learns how to do vocal exercises correctly will develop much faster than a student who just does them.
Four Vocal Exercises
- Lip trill or lip bubbles
- Closed Mouth Vowels (CMV): humming
- Fricatives: Th, Z, S, (consonants with vowels behind them)
- Articulators: The scale where you have a sound for each note of the scales.
- Joe recommends: 1x lip trill, 2x closed mouth vowels, 2x fricatives, and 2x articulators.
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned
Vocal Nebula
