Weekly Insight #17: Building Your 12-Minute Practice Plan—Start with Breath

In Weekly Insight #11, we explored the importance of breath as the foundation for vocal production, introducing the Farinelli Exercise as a way to reconnect with and steady your breath. This week, we’ll build on that foundation by demonstrating how to sustain counts in the Farinelli Exercise and showing how it fits into a complete 12-minute practice plan. 

Margaret Harshaw, one of my greatest mentors, often reminded me that short, intentional practice sessions were the key to consistent growth. She suggested sessions lasting 11–12 minutes, tailored to your unique needs but grounded in fundamental exercises to strengthen your voice. 

To frame this, let’s draw from Aristotle’s timeless principles of rhetoric: ethos (credibility), pathos (emotional connection), and logos (logical clarity). 

When you think about your voice, these principles resonate deeply: 

• Ethos: Your voice’s steadiness and clarity reflect your credibility. 

• Pathos: Emotional resonance is conveyed through your tone and breath. 

• Logos: Logical expression depends on precise articulation and control. 

All three rely on one critical foundation: your breath. This is where we start—with the Farinelli Exercise, a simple yet powerful technique to activate and steady your breath. 

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The Farinelli Exercise: Master Your Breath

The Farinelli Exercise helps prepare your voice by focusing on the inhale, suspend, and exhale phases of breathing. It’s a foundational tool for aligning your breath with your vocal technique, ensuring power and control. 

Step-by-Step:

1. Inhale deeply, feeling the expansion in your ribs and abdomen. 

2. Suspend the breath for a few seconds. 

3. Exhale slowly on an unvoiced “S,” maintaining consistent airflow. 

Objective: Steady your breath, focus your mind, and ground your voice for practice. 

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Watch the Video:
To see this exercise in action, watch the video below. I’ll demonstrate how to sustain the counts and share my own adaptation of this timeless technique: 

Mastering the Farinelli Exercise: A Quick Guide for Singers and Speakers

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Introducing Your 12-Minute Practice Plan

Margaret Harshaw’s philosophy of short, tailored sessions aligns beautifully with Aristotle’s principles. Here’s an overview of a 12-minute plan: 

1. Breath Work (2–3 minutes): Start with the Farinelli Exercise. 

2. Foundational Warm-Up (5 minutes): One Note Exercise to practice vowels and observe articulators. 

3. Range Exploration (4–5 minutes): Extend your range by transitioning smoothly between pitches. 

4. Resonance Building (3–4 minutes): A Five-Note Scale on /a/, focusing on control and natural vibration. 

This week, focus on mastering the Farinelli Exercise. In the coming weeks, we’ll explore the other exercises with accompanying videos to guide your practice. 

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The Key Takeaway

Aristotle’s rhetoric and Harshaw’s philosophy both remind us that intentionality is key. A short, focused practice plan allows you to build clarity (logos), express emotion (pathos), and project confidence (ethos). 

Start small. Begin with the Farinelli Exercise to connect your breath to your voice, and build from there. Over time, these simple routines will strengthen your voice and help you communicate with clarity, purpose, and authenticity—whether you’re singing, speaking, or presenting your ideas to others. 

📸 In this scene from La Traviata, Germont-père comforts his son while bearing the weight of a difficult truth. It’s a moment filled with emotional complexity—a reminder that life and communication are rarely black and white.

Engage with Me

I’d love to hear your thoughts! Have you tried using IPA symbols or specific vocal exercises in your practice? How do you approach improving your vocal clarity? Share your experiences, ask questions, or let me know what topics you’d like to see explored in future posts. 

And if you’d like to dive deeper into these techniques, I explore more practical exercises and insights throughout my book. It’s all about making the process of voice production practical, accessible, and tailored to your unique needs. 

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