This is a vocalise that I like to torture my students with. I say “torture” because they groan when I ask them to do it. But I ask them to do it because it works. I have never seen an exercise that so quickly changes the coordination of someone’s voice for the better as this exercise does.
The main thing to remember is that the notes are marked staccato. Therefore, there should be no sound between the notes. This includes wasted air, which will become very clear when your articulators are in the shape of [z] (or [s], since they are the same shape). Control your air with your big breathing muscles in your belly and ribs and not in your throat.
After you’ve worked this for awhile, try it on [a].
[sibembed score=”https://iansidden.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/z-on-arpeggio.sib” height=”896″ width=”604″ align=”bottom”/]
Here’s a .png if you don’t have Scorch installed.
[Click on the picture to get something more legible]
Have fun singing!
