Using a Drinking Straw to Develop Your Singing Technique

Hi, in today’s blog we’re going to look at how an everyday item that many of us have in our cupboards can help us develop our singing.

Many singers have discovered the benefits of singing through a straw to warm up, cool down and develop their overall singing technique; it’s not a new concept, and the science behind it is simple, but it can have dramatic results.

SOVT – semi-occluded vocal tract

Singing through a straw is a semi-occluded vocal tract exercise (SOVT), which is a fancy way of saying there is some sort of part-closure creating resistance to the air being exhaled. That resistance could be something as simple as closing your lips and bubbling the air…

...or trilling the tongue, or using a straw.

By interrupting the airflow coming out and creating a small amount of resistance to that airflow, you reduce the pressure of the air at the vocal cords so they can work more efficiently, the added advantage of using a straw is you can see the change in the bubbling, which can help you feel more connected to the airflow and pressure, which is crucial to good, efficient singing.

Finding the right straw for you

In the photo above you can see I have a straw in a glass of water that is just over half full and the straw is around 4cm into the water. When you start working with a straw, or with any SOVT exercise, you want to find a level of resistance that feels good for you. A very small diameter straw will create more resistance so if that’s all you have then try that, but don’t put it in water. Cocktail straws are usually only 3mm across so they already provide a lot of resistance, putting them in water may be too hard.

Where to start?

1 - The thing to remember is that you don’t want to let air escape out of the sides of your mouth or down your nose. After that you can try a few things out, initially try humming down the straw while sliding up and down your range, starting near the bottom and moving your voice upwards and downwards to get a feel for how much air you are moving, and whether you are adding unnecessary air and creating quite dramatic bubbles, or not using enough to keep a consistent sound with the bubbles fading in and out.

2 – If you are working on a song with a section that you find challenging, try singing it (humming) down the straw into water. It can be interesting to feel how your body wants to add a lot of effort for higher notes, effort that won’t work down a straw (without soaking you and your floor!) yet if you keep a more consistent workload and effort level, and you can see that in the bubbles and feel it down the straw, you can still hit those notes. Often, after using a straw, those notes become much more achievable with a clearer sense of the appropriate amount of effort and air.

Which Straw?

You can purchase all sorts of singers’ straws online, some of which are very expensive, but to start with any straw will do, though I would advise you to look for something that isn’t a single use plastic. One of my favourite straws, which I’m using above, is metal straw and came in a packet of six for £1 from a supermarket. It is reusable, easy to clean and can even go in the dishwasher, but you can also find bamboo, paper and even pasta straws that are much better for the environment than plastic.

Having a regular practice routine, knowing how to effectively warm up your voice and get prepared to sing is something we look at in detail on my Domestika course, in Unit 2. Lesson 2 focuses on several ways to keep your warm up fresh, and includes some of my favourite ways of using a straw to stretch your voice and prepare it for singing. Enjoy your singing, grab a straw and a glass of water and try it out!