(lively upbeat music) - Hi everyone.

I'm Mackenzie and these are my friends, Audrey and Lila.

- [Both] Hi.

- Today, we're going to talk about the four ways we can use our voices.

So Audrey, can you tell me one way we use our voice?

- We could talk.

- Yes, talking.

We use our voices to talk.

It's a great way to communicate with others and share our feelings or tell a joke or give someone a compliment.

Lyla, what's another example of how we use our voice?

- We could whisper.

- Yes, whispering is another way.

We whisper when we are in quiet places like the library so that we don't disturb others.

Okay, Audrey, give me another example.

- We can shout.

- Oh yeah.

So we shout when we're super excited, right?

Like when we're cheering on our favorite sports teams or when we shout surprise at a surprise party.

Okay, Lyla, give me one final example of how we use our voice.

- We could sing.

- Yes.

Singing.

I don't know about you but that's my favorite way to use my voice.

What about you guys?

- Yeah.

- I love doing that.

- Yeah, I sing all the time.

So the first thing you should always do before you sing is to warm up your voice.

So why do you think that's important?

Well, just like it's important to warm up the muscles in our bodies before we exercise so that we don't pull a muscle, it's essential that we warm up the muscles in our voice before we sing.

So how can we do that?

So one great way to warm up is through breathing, which sounds easy enough, right?

- Yeah.

- Okay, do you guys want to do a breathing exercise together?

- Yeah.

- Sure.

- Okay, great.

And hey, you guys at home can try this too.

Okay we're going to stand up straight with our feet shoulder width apart.

Good.

Okay.

Now we're going to breathe in through our noses for four seconds slowly.

Hold it for two seconds and then breathe out through our mouths for four seconds slowly.

And we're going to do that twice.

Does that sound good?

- Yes.

- Okay, are you guys ready?

Okay, good.

So breathe in, one, two, three, four, hold for one, two and breathe out.

One, two, three, four.

Good, breathe in.

One, two, three, four.

Hold for one, two and then breathe out.

One, two, three, four.

Awesome.

Perfect.

So another way we can warm up our voices is through vocal exercises.

One of my favorite vocal exercises is singing scales.

Scales are just, they have eight different tones.

So you've probably heard this one before.

♪ Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do ♪ you've heard that?

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

So I just sang an ascending scale.

That means that as I sang the notes got higher.

So can you guess what a descending scale is?

- Mm-hmm.

- Okay.

- It's instead of going down to up, we go from up to down.

- Exactly.

So it would be like, ♪ Do Ti La So Fa Mi Re Do ♪ All right, well, do you guys want to do that and we'll put them together?

Yeah.

Okay, good.

So we're going to see sing an ascending scale and then a descending scale.

All right?

All right, are you guys going to try this too at home?

Great.

Are you ready?

- Yes.

- Yep.

- All right.

♪ Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do ♪ ♪ Do-Ti-La-So-Fa-Mi-Re-Do ♪ Good.

That was, I know it is hard, but you did amazing and great job at home.

Okay, I think we've got time for one more exercise.

So this one might seem a little bit silly but it is a great way to warm up our breath and to warm up our lips.

Okay, t's a lip trill.

So it goes like this.

So repeat after me.

(Mackenzie buzzing lips) You have to get a big breath.

I know it is hard.

Go ahead give it a try.

(Audrey and Lyla lip buzzing) - I can't.

- I know you have to take a big, big breath.

Okay, so you guys try this at home too.

Do you guys want me to try it with you?

- Yeah.

- Okay.

Make sure you take a deep breath.

Ready?

(together buzzing lips) (girls chuckling) Hey, you guys did better than- (Audrey speaks indistinctly) Yeah, it's easier when you've got somebody doing it with you.

- Mm-hmm.

- Yeah, exactly.

Well, good job to everyone watching at home.

You did amazing.

I hope you guys had fun learning about singing with me today.

I know I had fun.

Did you guys have fun?

- Yeah.

- Amazing.

All right.

Well, we'll see you next time on Rise and Shine.

- [All] Bye.

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