Straws, bubbles, lip trills and more, all on one printable page

Blonde woman holding a glass of water with a straw in it, held up to her mouth, in sunlit surroundings

If you’ve ever been handed a straw in a singing lesson, or seen singers on social media blowing bubbles into a bottle of water and wondered what it’s actually doing, this one’s for you.

SOVT stands for “semi-occluded vocal tract”, which is a fancy way of saying the sound comes out through a partly closed space: your lips, a straw, or a hum. These exercises are some of the most researched tools in voice training, and they’re brilliant for warming up, building stamina, and resetting a tired voice.

This crib sheet takes everything from my blog post on SOVT exercises and puts it on one handy page. Print it out and keep it by your piano or on your music stand, or save it to your phone for rehearsals, so you always know which exercise to reach for, and why.

What’s on the page

  • Common SOVT options from hums and lip trills to straws and water bubbles

  • What they’re good for: stamina, blending your registers, easier high notes, a more resonant tone, and more

  • Which to choose: how much resistance each exercise gives, and what that’s useful for

  • When to use them: warm-ups, technique work, tricky song passages, and cooling down

  • Top tips: for getting the most out of your SOVT exercises

Who it’s for
Singers of any style and level who’d like to add to their singing toolkit and look after their voice, whether you have lessons, sing in a choir, or practise on your own. No equipment needed beyond a straw and a glass of water.

You can do bit more reading about SOVTs here and then if you want the handy crib sheet version you can get it below: