What does "sovt" mean?

SOVT stands for Semi Occluded Vocal Tract. A fancy way to say - the mouth is partially closed.

what is the benefit?

Short answer
When the mouth is partially closed, increased back pressure reflects at the lips back to the vocal folds to help the folds vibrate with more ease and less effort. ​

For a more in depth explanation on these benefits, visit our
​Straw Phonation page

We highly encourage the exploration of non-petroleum based plastic straws.  8.3 billion single-use plastic straws end up in the ocean each year and will never biodegrade.  We have had great success with paper straws, corn-based plastics that will break down over time, and metal straws.  OkStraw is an affordable option.  See www.thelaststraw.com.au  for more information on plastic straws and what you can do to help mitigate the damage they are having on our world.  Another option is to use paper cups and poke a hole in the bottom of them.

How do you use the straw?

Put the straw in your mouth and sing like you normally would!

Pretend your lips now end at the edge of the straw

• Try using a paper cup, poking a hole in the bottom with a pencil, and singing with the rim of the cup sealed around your lips.  The acoustic benefits are similar, and you can move your lips more.  Smaller cups with smaller holes create a greater amount of back pressure.
  
  
• SOVTs allow you to focus more easily on upper harmonics in your sound, opening your ears to new focus opportunities.
  
  
• Focus on the sensations of creating the sound rather than the volume of the sound. Singing through a straw will never be as loud as open mouth singing.
  

helpful hints

• Make sure no air is escaping around the lips or through the nose. You want to maximize the amount of air pressure the vocal folds recieve.

• Think of a vowel like /b/ rather than an /m/ to help ensure that all acoustic energy stays in the vocal tract.  Pinch your nose on and off to see if any is escaping through the nasal cavity.

 

• Try different sized straws. Each person will enjoy a different size depending on a number of factors. The opening of the straw plays the most important role in how much back pressure it creates. Use smaller straws in multiples to measure the amount of back pressure and efficiency over time.
  

• Put 2 straws together side by side for less back pressure. You can use the same kind of straw side by side in multiples to measure differences in back pressure (3 straws worth will be less pressure than 2 straws worth, etc.).
  
  
• Put 2 straws together lengthwise for more back pressure.
  

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• Use for repetitions in  rehearsal to avoid fatigue.

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sovt exercises

Slides, slides, slides, glides, glides, glides
any pitch, high to low, low to high

Octave leaps

Arpeggios

​Scales

​Vocal fry through the straw

Use as a Warm  Up, Cool Down or Reset button

Prosody (follow the pitch pattern of how you speak)

Think of different vowel shapes

Start with the straw for an onset then go into an open mouth exercise

​Alternate every other exercise or phrase with the straw

Sing rep through the straw

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​Research says for maximum benefit, use the straw
​15 minutes a day -
Warm  Up, Cool Down or Reset Button

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can't find a straw?

These SOVT exercises  work as well because the mouth is partially closed and back pressure will return to the vocal folds-

MMMMMMMM

NNNNNNNNNN

NNNGGGGGGG

VVVVVVVVVV

ZZZZZZZZZZZZ

DDDJJJJJJJJJJ

Lip Trill

Tongue Trill

Cup Phonation

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when do you use Sovt exercises?

If you hear a breathy sound. The back pressure created helps the vocal folds come together preventing less air from escaping.

If you hear a disconnected sound. Sliding through the straw encourages legato in singing.

If you hear a break in the voice. The back pressure created also helps the fold line up during transitions in the voice.

If you hear a pressed sound. The back pressure created helps vocal fold vibration without muscular effort so muscles can be trained to engage less.

If you hear a tired sound. SOVT phonation is less fatiguing but still requires the focus and coordination of full volume singing.

First sound of the day, last sound of the day, warm up, cool down, or reset button, or as a reset during days of heavy vocal activity.

​Start your day with straw phonation!
It's easy, it's subtle, you won't disturb your neighbors, and you can do it in the car or on the train

Visit our  Free  Handouts & Materials  page for a printable  handout on the benefits of straw phonation

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Who is using straw phonation?

Renee Fleming told Ingo Titze and 2015 PAVA conference. Renee said that "Straw phonation changed my life".

Straw phonation is definitely helpful on the tour bus in between gigs

Using SOVTs in choral rehearsals opens a world of new opportunities. When learning, singers receive the acoustic benefits, open their ears to hearing the sounds around them more, and avoid distracting other singers. Try letting leaders sing without the straw, while others sing with the straw. When working with one section, let the others sing along on the straw to rehearse in a more quiet and acoustically advantageous way.

Personalized straws can be fun!

Straws are the new business cards! Metal straws are an exciting way of promoting your business, and helping vocalists out.

Watch Dr. Titze, the man who started it all,  explain straw phonation application: