Why is humming good?
- Takes muscle effort away from the throat and into the face and mouth
- Helps your vocal cords to come together effectively
- Releases tension in your voice box
- Releases tension at the back of your tongue
Exercises
- Say “mhm” as if agreeing to something that has been said
- Release breath through the nose audibly, as if exhausted
- Repeat but allow voice to come in on the breath, almost a nasal grunt
- Imagine eating a delicious food – imagine chewing and tasting it
- Express how delicious the food is by saying “mmmm”
- Try humming into a cup
- Throw the sound forward, towards the bottom of the cup
- Feel the cup vibrate
- Hum down a straw or a kazoo
- Feel the air coming down the straw or kazoo
- Keep the lips tightly together – feel the buzzing on your lips as you hum
- Place your fingers gently on your cheek bones to help you feel the vibrations on your face
- Place one hand on your upper chest and feel the vibrations (chest voice)
- As you hum, allow the jaw to open slowly to produce “aaah”. Do not do anything extra, simply drop your jaw.
- Elongate the “mmm” before making a smooth transition into a vowel e.g. keep the pitch level the same between mm and the vowel
Hum + Vowel
Mmah Mmee Mmay Mmy Mmoh Mmoo
Single word ‘m’
Mine Maze Moan Mean Moon Man
Men Meal Mole Map Mock Mad
Mill Mum Moat Miss Mat Max
Phrases ‘m’
Mama
Mama made
Mama made me
Mama made me mad
Many
Many more
Many more men
Many more men on the moon
My
My moon
My moon may move
My moon may move many
My moon may move many mountains
Please use the following QR code or website link to access the video that accompanies this leaflet:
For further information
Contact details
North Cumbria Adult Speech and Language Therapy Department,
Room 1450, Lower Ground Floor, Cumberland Infirmary, Newtown Road, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA2 7HY
Tel: 01228 608332
Email: VoiceSLT@ncic.nhs.uk
North Cumbria Adult Speech and Language Therapy Department,
Level 4, West Cumberland Hospital, Homewood Road, Hensingham, Whitehaven, Cumbria, CA28 8JG
Tel: 01900 705082 (referral line)
Email: AdultSpeechTherapy-AllerdaleandCopeland@ncic.nhs.uk
Useful websites
If you would like further information about health conditions and treatment options, you may wish to have a look at the NHS website at www.nhs.uk
Visit the NCIC Adult Speech and Language Therapy website at https://www.ncic.nhs.uk/services/speech-and-language-therapy
https://www.britishvoiceassociation.org.uk/ has free literature with advice on voice care.
We kindly thank the ENT SLT Team, Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for permission to reproduce and share this advice sheet and video link.
Disclaimer: This publication is designed for the information of patients. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, the information contained may not be comprehensive and patients should not act upon it without seeking professional advice.
Confidentiality
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For further information on confidentiality contact the Information Governance Team:
Information.Governance@ncic.nhs.uk | 01228 603961
Feedback
We appreciate and encourage feedback, which helps us to improve our services. If you have any comments, compliments or concerns to make about your care, please contact the Patient, Advice & Liaison Service:
pals@ncic.nhs.uk | 01228 814008 or 01946 523818
If you would like to raise a complaint regarding your care, please contact the Complaints Department:
complaints@ncic.nhs.uk | 01228 936302