Category: user feedback

Richard – phonation tube, the magical warm-up!

Michelle HarrisLeave a comment

If, like me, you often open a bottle of red wine, pour and drink, you may know that a wine aerator really improves the taste of the wine. As you pour the wine through the specially designed “funnel” the wine draws air down through two long holes in the funnel and aerates it. I have carried out many blind tastings with friends and every time they can distinguish between the wine straight from the bottle and the aerated wine.

Now, of course, you could be patient, uncork the wine in good time and allow it to breath naturally. Same result, wine that tastes better after breathing.

There is, however, no way to uncork the human voice. Even hours spent chattering to friends and family will not warm-up your singing voice. You have to start gently and give it time to warm-up. This is where the magic phonation tube apparatus comes in. Blowing bubbles through a piece of plastic tube into a bottle (with the right depth of water) seems to “smooth” the voice quality. Although you still need to warm up the singing voice, the process is helped EVERY TIME, by using the phonation tube technique. So simple but so effective and all you need to carry with you is the tube. A bottle and liquid can be found anywhere.

So next time I am travelling without my wine aerator, and need to enjoy a glass of red wine, perhaps I will remember to carry my phonation tubing with me, and see if blowing bubbles into the wine will speed up the aeration process!

Seriously, a phonation tube helps every time with the warm-up process. What I need to test next is whether it will help the sound quality AFTER my singing voice is warmed up, and also (and I have no idea how to achieve this) whether the tube improves not just voice quality in the warm-up process but long-term voice quality. Probably need some help from an interested university in researching this one. In return I can demonstrate the benefits of a wine aerator!

Richard

Carol – it’s utterly brilliant and a vital tool in assisting the singing process

Michelle Harris

As a keen amateur singer, this simple device has opened a much welcome door for me in my learning. Blowing down the tube while phonating opens my throat to the ideal shape and size for good singing. In so doing, it makes my abdominals the prime driver of breath and effort, not my throat. By remembering the physical sensation of how my throat feels, I can replicate it without the tube in my subsequent singing. I know more or less if I’ve remembered the correct physical technique when I sing, because my abdominals will be doing the work, with my throat doing no other than staying open and clear. This helps me to sing for longer whereas before I would tire very easily.

carol without glasses using lax vox tubeAdditionally, I have a tendency to over-articulate consonants which does little for legato singing, and also makes singing more tiring. However, using the tube helps me to correct this because my adjusted throat and mouth position favours vowel sound delivery, with my lips doing the minimum required to form the obstructive consonants. So it helps me sing a smoother line.

Lastly, after practising with the tube, both for warm-ups, and to run through individual songs, I find my tuning is much more accurate because it obliges one to sing with a good physical technique ie good abdominal support and open throat. I usually end a song in pitch. As a singing aid, I think it’s utterly brilliant and a vital tool in assisting the singing process.

Claire’s thoughts

Michelle Harris1 Comment

Claire is 17 – the tube has had a transformative effect on her singing….

> The phonation tube has been so helpful for me personally! I used to have no confidence singing high notes and would try to stay well away from them whenever I could.

Now with the help of the phonation tube I can comfortably sing in a much wider range. It has helped me develop my voice so much and with such ease. It is so helpful with warming-up and practising and learning pieces as well, it has completely changed my voice and has made it much more relaxed and simpler to sing high notes for me.
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Thoughts on the phonaton tube from a practical perspective

Michelle HarrisLeave a comment

Cathy Robinson

Hi I’m Cathy Robinson. I am a singer and singing teacher and I work with students of all ages and abilities including children, mature students and undergraduate performing arts students at Canterbury Christ Church University. When using the phonation tube, I generally start by getting students to just create bubbles by blowing into the tube the same way you might see a child do so with a straw and drink. Then I ask them to create the same bubbles but vocalising and we do some simple exercises with and then without the tube. My students notice an immediate difference in the way their voices feel and sound, just as I did when first using the tube. Often individuals are surprised, describing their voices as more relaxed and suggesting that the sound is easier to make. I have found this works particularly well with students who experience tension and strain especially on high notes. The tube has now become a must have for me when teaching and in my own singing practice!