Consonants are required for good singing diction, but did you know they also contribute to a healthy singing technique? Here’s a resonance exercise to make the most of your voiced consonants.
Clear consonants create engagement in the support muscles, like a check-in for your vocal support. That real engagement helps trigger real release during inhalation, so they contribute to a functional breath cycle. And finally, consonants are formed in the articulators – the teeth, tongue and lips – which are at the front of the mouth, so they guide the resonance and vocal placement forward, just where we want it.
What’s not to love!!??
Today’s exercise takes advantage of this natural combo of breath engagement and forward placement with the voiced consonants “Z” and “NG.” Each time we buzz those voiced consonants, we place our voices forward, and then carry that forward resonance into the vowels that follow. Give it a try!
How to do the Zingazoo:
This exercise is easy to do, but a little tricky to describe. If you’re familiar with solfège, the pitches are Do-Mi-Do-Mi-Fa-La-Fa-La-Sol-Fa-Mi-Re-Do.
- Sing on “Zinga-zinga-ZOO-zinga-zinga-ZOO-zinga-zinga-ZOO-zinga-zinga-ZOO-zinga-zinga-zinga-zinga-ZOO”
2. Keep the pace lively so you can really wake up the breath.
3. Be sure all your Z’s stay voiced – don’t let them turn into S’s, especially on those “zoos”
I hope you enjoy this exercise – it’s a fun one!
The Hng-Ah and VVVooo exercises also work this way, carrying a resonance position from a voiced consonant into a vowel, so be sure to check those out as well.
And thanks for practicing!
