Accreditation Questions – Strange Exercises
Why do singing teachers sometimes ask singers to do strange exercises?
One of the questions that came up recently inside our Teacher Accreditation programme was wonderfully honest:
“When we were changing tongue position and experimenting with different sounds in the practical session… I became confused about why we were doing it?”
I love this question because I think many singers quietly wonder the same thing during exercises.
Particularly with what appear to be strange exercises that feel awkward. Or produce sounds that are definitely not “performance ready”.
Expectations
Many singers assume that every exercise should:
- sound beautiful
- directly improve singing
- become part of final technique
- or immediately transfer into repertoire
But that’s not always what exercises are for.
Sometimes exercises are exploratory.
Sometimes they are diagnostic.
Sometimes they are there to increase awareness rather than create a finished sound.
And that distinction matters enormously in vocal training.
For example, changing tongue position might alter resonance balance, vowel shape, larynx behaviour, jaw tension, pharyngeal space, airflow patterns or perceived vocal colour
Not because the tongue position is “right” or “wrong”, but because the vocal tract is an interactive system.
Everything influences everything else
Strange exercises can help reveal patterns singers were previously unaware of.
A singer may suddenly notice:
- tongue tension
- jaw gripping
- excessive darkening
- rigidity
- over-manipulation
- instability
- or effort patterns
that were hidden during ordinary singing.
And awareness is often the beginning of change.
This is one reason some exercises temporarily exaggerate behaviours.
Not because we want the exaggerated behaviour permanently, but because contrast helps perception.
If a singer cannot feel the difference between free movement and tongue tension, then briefly exaggerating tension may help them recognise it.
Negative practice
Teachers sometimes call this negative practice or contrast work.
It’s similar to how a physiotherapist might briefly explore an unhelpful movement pattern so the patient can recognise and release it more effectively.
Again, the exercise itself is not necessarily the final goal. It’s information gathering.
This is where singing exercises sometimes get misunderstood online. People see strange exercises and say:
“But why would anybody want to sing like that?”
Usually, they wouldn’t. Because the exercise is not the performance. The exercise is a tool. And different tools serve different purposes.
What vocal exercises are designed to do
Vocal exercises and routines can be designed to:
- coordinate airflow
- explore resonance
- reduce rigidity
- improve flexibility
- build strength
- increase awareness
- develop range
- uncover compensations
- or simply provide sensory contrast
A good teacher is not only listening for whether an exercise sounds good.
They’re observing:
- what changes
- what releases
- what compensates
- what stabilises
- what becomes easier
- and what carries back into actual singing
That’s why exercises are always contextual.
The same tongue exercise might help one singer, confuse another and be completely unnecessary for somebody else.
Is there a magic exercise?
No, unfortunately we have never discovered a universal “magic exercise”.
There are only useful tools applied at useful moments.
And honestly, I think this is one of the biggest shifts teachers make as they become more experienced.
Early on, many teachers search for the best, the correct, the guaranteed vocal exercise
Later, they often realise the more important question is:
“What information does this exercise give me about this particular singer?”
That’s a very different mindset.
It moves vocal training away from “fixing voices” and towards understanding coordination.
And ironically, that often leads to better results.
Reflection Question
When you use vocal exercises, are you primarily trying to create a sound, right a wrong, extend a voice or discover information? Think about a specific exercise you use regularly – how specific is your use for each person?
We’re getting some brilliant questions from our Accreditation teachers at the moment. If this post raises questions for you about vocal exercises, teaching or coordination, send them over. We may answer them in a future article.
Or for a more personalised and private conversation, book a 45 minute “terminology translation session” with me or with Gillyanne
