Voice exercises to help me when I perform...?

Question:

Voice exercises to help me when I perform...?

I've been rapping for about a month now and in that two months, I've performed twice. While, i did a pretty good job, each time I was OUT OF BREATH! I play basketball so I'm in pretty good shape, but are there any exercises I can do to help me through my performances. Thank you...

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Surprisingly, when a singer (rapper, in your case) feels out of breath from singing, the singer is usually holding the breath. Then, the singer takes more breath to try to compensate, holds it, and only makes matters worse.

The keys to not running out of breath are to 1) learn how to take a more natural breath, 2) learn to take just the right amount of air, 3) learn how to manage the breath flow (instead of holding breath), and 4) learn to fuse the breath with a free and resonant vocal tone. All the breathing gymnastics in the world won't help if the breath and tone are not coordinated.

Relax the six pack abs and allow your mid-section to move freely. Athletes and dancers tend to over-use the upper abs.

I can give you an exercise. But doing it without supervision can be harder than it sounds on the surface.

Hmmm lightly. Place your hand gently around your neck, as if your hand was a turtleneck sweater. Feel all the muscles in your neck and under your jaw relax. Say, "Umm-hmm," in your natural speaking voice. You should feel a vibration in your face and under your hand on your neck. Feel how easily the "hmm" part of umm-hmm comes out. Now, speak with that same easy hum in your voice. Keep the sense of an easy hum in the front of your face. Don't push. Let your speaking voice grow out of that easy hum. If you lose the hum, you lose your breath connection.

Depending upon how well you do with that exercise on your own, it may or may not help you. Source(s):
I have taught voice (Orange County, CA) to singers and speakers for over 30 years.