welcome to your
Straw Phonation Station!
Here's where you'll find easy, efficient, voice-friendly warmups and cooldowns – anytime, anywhere.
🥤 What Is Straw Phonation? 🥤
Straw phonation is a simple but powerful voice exercise in the SOVT (semi-occluded vocal tract) family — which is just a fancy way of saying "exercises that create a little resistance at the mouth to help your voice work more efficiently."
Think of it like stretching your voice with a built-in support system — it’s gentle, effective, and backed by tons of science-y goodness.
🧠 Why Use It? 🧠
Purpose:
To help your voice feel smoother, stronger, and more sustainable — whether you’re starting your day, winding down from a long rehearsal, or recovering from a rough patch.
Goal:
To rebalance your voice subsystems (breath, phonation, resonance) so they work together instead of fighting each other — giving you more power, control, and ease.
Frequency:
Use it daily as a warmup (before heavy voice use) or as a cooldown (after long vocal tasks). Just 2–5 minutes a day can make a huge difference!
🎯 The Not-So-Boring Details
- Start on a comfy pitch — your speaking range is perfect
- Feel for vibrations in your face/lips/nose/tongue/roof of mouth
- Adjust until it feels smooth and buzzy (not tight or tense)
- Keep the throat easy and open — no strain allowed!
- Stop if anything feels uncomfortable, then reset
🔥 Warm Up Your Voice
Goal:
To gently activate your voice for the day ahead, so it feels responsive, ergonomic, and ready to go.
Getting Started:
- Start on a comfy pitch — your speaking range is perfect
- Feel for vibrations in your face/lips/nose/tongue/roof of mouth
- Adjust until it feels smooth and buzzy (not tight or tense)
- Keep the throat easy and open — no strain allowed!
- Stop if anything feels uncomfortable, then reset
How To Do It:
- Buzz and Hold – Blow a steady sound like “hoo” through the straw on one pitch
- Glide Around – Do sirens or glides (small → big) to stretch your range
- Stretch High/Low – Glide up to your highest pitch and down to your lowest
- Try It Out – Speak or sing a line of text/song into the straw
Tips & Tricks:
- Feel more buzz on low notes; that’s normal!
- Support should come from your core, not your throat
- Relax your face and lips for better airflow
- Try pinching your nose to keep airflow going through the straw
- Want a pitch target? Try your “mmhmm!” and glide from there
❄️ Cool Down Your Voice
Goal:
To decompress your voice after lots of use, reduce tension, and reset your vocal system.
How To Do It:
Same steps as the warmup — just start with your high notes first and work your way down. Think of it as gently landing your voice after a flight.
Cool downs are especially helpful after:
- Singing or speaking for long periods
- A show, rehearsal, recording, or teaching day
- Feeling vocally fatigued or tight
💧 In or Out of Water?
You’ll see two versions of each exercise:
- In The Air (just a straw): super portable, quick, easy
- In Water (straw in a cup): adds extra airflow feedback for smoother results
💡 Try both and see what your voice likes best!
A note from Melanie Tapson, voice therapist:
You might wonder… "with all the different ‘vocal straws’ out there, do I need to buy a special one? "
Absolutely not - unless it makes you feel excited and motivated! What does matter is how the straw interacts with your voice.
A lot of the research is based on a 6 mm internal diameter - a common size for drinking straws - so there's a common misconception that this is the "right" straw size for you. It's a great place to start, for sure!
But differences in straw diameter and length lead to different levels and sensations of resistance, which all give your vocal system useful feedback and workout.
That’s one reason why "specialty straws" exist: different sizes can feel different and offer varying benefits, and it's sometimes a treasure hunt trying to find a coveted size! But it’s perfectly fine to start with - and even stick with - whatever straw you have on hand, so long as you feel like it's giving you benefit.
The punchline: pick what feels good to you!
Hi! I'm Melanie
and I'm incredibly passionate about
all things voice!
As a professional singer, a voice teacher, a voiceover actor, a voice educator, and a clinical voice therapist, understanding the human voice has been my life's work.
But it hasn't always been an easy path unpacking the mysteries of this incredible instrument. As a performer, the demands of the job took their toll. My once-seemingly-invincible singing voice slowly became frighteningly unreliable, and my teaching voice was burning out faster than I could recover. I had no idea what was happening, and I was scared.
And ashamed.
I thought it was my fault - that maybe I actually wasn't good enough, or that my technique was at fault. I had all this training and I still couldn't figure out what was wrong.
Learn More About My Journey
Need something else?
No worries! I'm here to help! Fill out the contact form below, tell me what or how you want to learn, and I'll do my very best to make it happen!
