Lessac Madsen highlighted how three energy components of resonant voice (structural, tonal and consonant) work in concert. Verdolini Abbott integrated two of these energy components into LMRVT: structural resonance and tonality resonance.
Resonant voice training aims to achieve a minimally abducted/adducted vocal fold posture that multiple studies have found to cause minimal phonotraumatic damage (Verdolini 2000). Functional goals, like having a strong and loud voice with less effort required from you, and health outcomes such as reduced nodules may be achieved through this therapy program.
Vocal Straw Exercises
Vocal straw exercises are easy and enjoyable ways to build vocal strength. Use drinking straws to practice basic sounds from your range; pay attention to how the sound feels in your throat; if uncomfortableness arises try switching up straw sizes.
Vocal Straw Exercises, otherwise known as Vocal Cord Acoustic Resistance or VCRA, form part of Lessac-Madsen Voice Therapy’s (LMRVT) Lessac-Madsen approach to voice therapy (LMRVT). These exercises involve speaking or singing into a partially blocked-off straw to allow backpressure from one’s own voice to unload and relax the vocal folds for improved acoustic quality as well as reduced phonatory effort resulting in less breathiness or other voice issues.
When performing straw exercises, a long narrow or short wide straw is best. Narrow straws will provide more resistance while wide straws offer less. Placing it in water may increase resistance further. As more pressure will be put onto vocal folds with higher resistance straws; selecting one with an ideal level of resistance would be preferable.
Katherine Verdolini, a speech/voice specialist and researcher, created the Lessac-Madsen voice therapy technique in the early 2000s to honor Arthur Lessac and Mark Madsen as mentors renowned for pioneering work in resonant voice therapy and motor learning. Based on biomechanics, biology, and motor learning principles.
LMRVT involves full-body introspection, observation and demonstration using scan-gel-show-tell to bring out clients’ best representation of resonant voice behavior. Clinicians then train clients on how to use this voice for everyday communication including conversational speech and imitation speech imitation. Lessac-Madsen vocal training emphasizes developing one’s most natural state with maximum resonance while increasing strength and endurance of the vocal apparatus.
Vocal Cord Acoustic Resistance (VCRA)
This program utilizes a flow-resistant tube to teach patients how to breathe properly through their vocal cords, alleviating tension that leads to nodules and other vocal problems. In addition, exercises focus on creating balance among breath support, easy voicing and resonance; known as Vocal Function Exercises (VFE), which have been shown to improve patient’s ability to produce clear and loud voices with minimum effort as well as increase efficiency and economy of speech production.
Lessac Madsen Resonant Voice Therapy (LMRVT) stands out among other resonant voice therapy programs by employing vocal cord acoustic feedback as part of its training approach for resonant voices. Where other approaches rely on verbal instructions to guide clients, LMRVT uses sensory awareness training instead. LMRVT clinicians tend not to give verbal directions because studies suggest too much focus on how something should be performed can have adverse consequences both immediately and over time.
LMRVT clinicians guide their clients using scan-gel-show-tell, physical manipulation and demonstration until they reach their ideal representation of resonant voice. This occurs due to physical changes that take place when someone produces resonant vocalizations such as increased vibratory sensations on the anterior alveolar ridge and decreased pressure on vocal cords when producing this form of expression.
Following this step, bridging exercises are used to increase the difficulty of the resonant voice behavior and facilitate its transference into everyday communication, including imitation and conversational phrases that fit the lifestyle of each client. Furthermore, LMRVT includes a post-therapy self-care plan for continued success within their home environment.
Clinical and experimental evidence demonstrate that resonant voice posture can help decrease nodules, polyps, reflux symptoms, and phonotraumatic injuries in daily life. Unlike most voice therapies that use acoustic feedback alone, the Lessac Madsen program also employs vocalization techniques designed to promote more controlled resonant vocalization that minimizes risk of nodule formation while improving vocal quality and pitch stability – one of the most effective and least invasive nodule prevention techniques available today.
Voice Function Exercises (VFE)
Joseph Stemple developed this treatment approach, known as vocal cord acoustic resistance (VCRA), to unload and coordinate subsystems of voice production. Patients speak or sing into a partially blocked-off straw that allows backpressure to unload their vocal folds, with evidence showing improvement in acoustic quality, reduced effort, increased endurance and overall vocal health benefits. VCRA can be combined with other voice therapy techniques to treat numerous voice disorders.
Vocal cord acoustic resistance can also help patients learn how to control and avoid overusing their voices. By training patients on how to reduce frequency of voice use and manage its sound, the aim is to develop healthy sounds that will enhance acoustic quality, reduce effort levels and extend endurance.
Lessac Madsen Resonant Voice Training is an innovative program that integrates nonspeech exploration exercises and speech articulation training for improved voice clarity and resonance. This technique has proven its worth among multiple patient populations including Parkinson’s disease and stroke patients.
Lessac Madsen Resonant Voice Therapy differs from other speech articulation programs in that it targets all parts of the body to increase flexibility, muscle coordination and awareness of one’s voice. To this end, vocal exercises called Vocal Function Exercises (VFEs) are conducted as part of training; initial warm up involves holding nasalized vowels in an SOVT posture for as long as possible – known as warm-up exercise VFE1 is recommended.
Step two of VFEs teaches patients to modify their tone by combining an inhales-exhales breath sounds (/i/) with an upward pitch glide (F4) on F4. Step three involves performing SOVT posture with downward glide on /o/.
These exercises enable individuals to gradually find their natural resonance, helping them retrain their voices as nature intended. Humming is another effective technique used, requiring patients to place their fingers in front of their mouth, close their eyes, and breathe deeply through their nose before breathing out slowly through their nose with each breath inhalation. Humming also stimulates energy flow from nostrils up through bridge and cartilage into brain resulting in healthier voice production.
Humming
Humming is an easy yet effective vocal exercise that offers many benefits for voice development. Humming can help warm-up vocal cords, correct pitch accuracy and expand vocal range while simultaneously strengthening them against harmonization scales and musical scales. Varying the tempo or pitch to stretch vocal cords or increase pitch accuracy by training your brain to recognize specific frequencies more easily.
Lessac-Madsen Resonant Voice Therapy (LMRVT), developed by Kathrine Verdonlini Abbott and based on the principles of voice therapy pioneers Arthur Lessac and Mark Madsen, is a therapeutic approach designed to improve articulation, voicing and phonation that was designed by Kathrine Verdonlini Abbott. LMRVT relies heavily on this concept: healthy articulation requires three energies (structural, tonal and consonant) working in concert to produce resonant vocal sound. Lessac taught that only when these energies come together can resonant vocal sound could be created; LMRVT concentrates on training articulators into positional optimal oral cavities when speaking out loud as well as encouraging easy larynx phonation as well as anterior oral vibratory sensations during vocalization.
To conduct a humming exercise, close your mouth and relax your lips before breathing through your nose and placing your tongue against the soft palate. While humming, notice where vibrations feel strongest in your throat and nasal cavity. Keep your throat relaxed to allow resonance to extend into upper portions of your chest area; as you continue humming shift your resonance point toward the back throat so you can project your sound more easily.
Remind yourself to breathe from your diaphragm and utilize proper articulation techniques when singing or speaking publicly, to avoid straining vocal cords as this could damage them – these muscles and ligaments were not meant to endure extended vocal efforts like those seen during speeches and songs, although short term hoarseness or laryngitis may pass – overtraining can result in permanent vocal cord damage so work within your vocal comfort zone when singing or speaking publicly and do not overexert yourself during song or speech performances.