Top 7 Pharyngeal Exercises

Watch and sing along as vocal coach Charmaine Brown takes a group of Worship Vocalist subscribers through a set of pharyngeal exercises and answers questions from students about their voices!

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Responses

Kay Salter August 31, 2022

This is one of my favorites! Pharyngeal resonance is so hard for most of my students because they feel it’s too nasally – I have to assure them that it’s a means to an end. I know I had personally been confused for some time about the purpose of the pharyngeal resonator – that it wasn’t “connected” to head or chest voice. But when you realize that it is what helps connect resonance and slow down the cord coordination from unzipped (chest) to zipped (head), it is so helpful. I feel that it’s like a vocal neutralizer. I have also learned that what worked yesterday may not work today – so don’t be afraid to change up the exercises.

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1. Charmaine Brown September 3, 2022
  
  Yes – so true and so helpful to understand these things!
  
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Debbie Holland August 27, 2022

Love the angry cat and the monkey exercise. We will be doing the mix voice exercise very soon and love these other options. Also, great tips on when you have multiple services on when to practice and not to tire the voice out. Good reminder.

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1. Charmaine Brown August 27, 2022
  
  Glad you enjoyed the tips!
  
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Sarah Cross July 22, 2022

I LOVED everything you talked about in the first section of the video. Thank you for you vulnerability. Whole body health is so important for so many things. What an encouragement.

The section where you talked about your voice flipping over the resonant space in the middle and what the vocal chords are doing – very helpful demonstration. Also understanding that pharyngeal isn’t its own resonator but needs to layer on top of the foundation of head and chest.

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1. Charmaine Brown July 31, 2022
  
  So glad to hear this was encouraging for you!
  
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chesneyallen February 28, 2022

What if the creamer is dairy-free?? 🤣 I kid… but I’m totally that person. I loved the first part of this video, so challenging but so necessary! This being the last day of the month, it was motivating to hear encouragement to be doing the workouts 3-5 times a week. I’m on church staff (i.e. I get paid to do vocal workouts every day if I want to!) and many days I still don’t fit them in. So this was a great reminder.

A “lightbulb” for me was that three-circle diagram when you circled the section of mix voice! Those 2-3 minutes where you broke down a mix voice and how pharyngeal isn’t its “own” resonator, just head and chest… that was really helpful. I definitely tend to overemphasize pharyngeal in my mid-range like you said, which might be why I struggle with pitch in my lower range at times.

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1. Charmaine Brown March 4, 2022
  
  Glad to help remind you of the important things! 🙂 Haha—well the most important thing is to stay away from dairy products as much as possible, especially around when you’re singing. Dairy-free milks/creams are often ok, but try to stay away from the overly processed ones (that have added sweeteners, preservatives, etc.).
  
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sharminee February 23, 2022

So many lightbulbs here. The first being, Charmaine you need to do a lesson on how to demo a flip!! I need to be able to when I teach and I can’t. Haha!!

And its only just clicked that my head and chest voice are registers, not the pharyngeal. I also love having so many options for pharyngeal exercises. My favourite is still the “Nay-nay-nays” though.

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1. Charmaine Brown February 26, 2022
  
  Haha! Have you checked out the “Master Your Bad Demos” lesson in the coach training program lessons yet? I do go over it in that video!
  
  Reply

Top 7 Pharyngeal Exercises

What a Beautiful Name by Ben Fielding, Brooke Ligertwood

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