Teachers and the Voice: Warming Up in the Car

As a music educator with six years of experience, I've come to understand the profound impact teaching has on vocal health. Even with my training as a vocal health first aider and certified vocal coach, I've experienced the common pitfalls many teachers face—overusing and straining my voice.

Reflecting on my recent vocal health challenges, I've realised just how taxing teaching can be on the human voice. On average, teachers speak up to 33,000 words a day, significantly more than the average non-teaching adult, who speaks between 7,000 and 20,000 words daily. It's no wonder that teachers worldwide are at higher risk of vocal strain and injury.

With this in mind, I’ve outlined a handful of simple exercises that teachers can do in the car on the way to work:

1. Lip Trills

Exercise: Close your lips gently and blow air through them, creating a vibrating sound. Start at a comfortable pitch and sustain the trill for a few seconds. Then, move up and down your vocal range with the trills.

Duration: 5-10 minutes.

2. Humming

Exercise: Begin by humming at a comfortable pitch with your lips closed and teeth apart. Slowly move up and down a five-note scale (e.g., C-D-E-F-G-F-E-D-C). Focus on the vibrations in your lips and nasal cavity.

Duration: 5 minutes.

3. Sirens

Exercise: Start on a low pitch and smoothly glide up to your highest comfortable pitch, then back down without breaking the sound. Imagine a siren sound, like an emergency vehicle. Repeat this 5-10 times.

Duration: 5 minutes.

4. Tongue Twisters

Exercise: Start by saying a tongue twister slowly and clearly, such as “Red leather, yellow leather.” Gradually increase your speed while maintaining clarity. Repeat with other tongue twisters like “Unique New York” and “She sells seashells by the seashore.”

Duration: 5 minutes.