The Magic* of Vocal Function Exercises!

Vocal Function Exercises, or VFEs, developed by Joseph Stemple, are a set of 4 systematic exercises designed to improve strength, balance, adduction, and coordination - and anecdotally, also improve control, flexibility, and range. They are each intended to be executed with specific vocal qualities, vowel shapes, and volumes on set pitches, and are most effective when performed 2x each, 2x a day for 6 weeks with a taper schedule that is similarly exacting.

You may find yourself asking “But aren’t vocal exercises of any kind ultimately designed to improve function? Why these particular exercises when we already have so many functional exercises for the voice designed to improve strength, coordination, flexibility, and range? Why be so seemingly prescriptive? Aren’t all our exercises, by design, Vocal Function Exercises?”

Ah, but if only it were so! VFEs are different. Rarely do we see a set of exercises so prescriptively detailed, so extensively researched, and yet seemingly so impossible to do despite the near mythical status they’ve come to enjoy. And I’m beyond excited to show you this magic*!

This workshop will demystify the four VFEs, explain how they address rebalancing each of the voice subsystems, and help you determine what’s most important about both modeling and explaining them to help your client succeed.

We’ll get super practical as we learn and practice all four exercises together, and you’ll have the chance to ask questions and get feedback on your production. We’ll try different prompts and cues to elicit each target sound, and I’ll even share a tracking sheet to help your client keep track and stay accountable. We’ll also discuss how to know when a vocalist is on the right track or off the rails, and what - if anything - we can do about it.

And lastly, whether you’re calling it pivoting, individualizing, adapting, or winging it, we’ll look at how and where we can intentionally tailor these magical* exercises to each vocalist for maximum results. You’ll leave loving the fact that you gave VFEs an honest try.