Warm-up Exercises For You
August 10th, 2010 by Razile Dalap, under Travel and Leisure. No Comments
Just as athletes need to do warm-up exercises before a race or a game, singers need to prepare their voices before a rehearsal or performance. Vocal warm-up exercises get the air flowing and relax your muscles to get ready for the more strenuous activity to come. It’s perhaps the most effective way to prevent vocal fatigue and overuse damage.
It may confuse you – are you going to get strained with too much exercise? Yes. Your vocal folds are controlled by tiny muscles, and when they’re warmed-up they are more flexible, easier to use, and less susceptible to injury.
Do some whole-body stretching and relaxing before you start your singing warm-up exercises. Start with the “rag doll” exercise. From a standing position, bend forward at your hips, allowing your head and arms to dangle freely. Shake them a bit, then just let them dangle for another minute or so.
Follow that with a stretching exercise for proper posture alignment. Stand with your feet flat on the floor, about hip-width apart, and your arms at your sides. Bring your arms rapidly upward and across your body in a circular motion until they are over your head. Rising onto your tiptoes, take in a good, deep breath as you move your arms up.
As you slowly exhale, bring your arms back down to your sides and come back down to flat feet. After bringing your arms down, try to keep your chest up and shoulders back as they were at the top of the stretch. You will now be ready for singing after doing all these warm-ups.
The first warm-up exercise uses a technique that goes by many names: buzz, bubble lips, lip roll, or lip trill. You do this by exhaling with puckered lips to create a sound like a “raspberry” or a bit like a motorboat. This is due to the vibrations of the lips.
You will do the buzz slide between three tones: the base tone, up a fourth, and back to the base (do-fa-do): in the key of C major, it would be C,F,C. Repeat, moving up a half step each time (C#, F#, C#, then D,G,D, then Eb, Ab, Eb, etc.). You can also do this on the syllable “ee” or “oo”, but the buzz forces you to use good breath support.
The next warm-up exercise is the fifth-slide. Start on the fifth tone with the syllable “wee” and slide down to the base (so-do): in C major again, it would be G, C. Repeat on the same tones with “zoo”, then move up a half-step and repeat, “wee” and “zoo” on Ab and Db. Continue moving up by half-steps.
Next is the five-tone descending scale. Starting on the fifth tone, descend stepwise to the base: so, fa, mi, re, do. First do the syllable “na”, then “nay”, “noh”, and “noo”. Move up a half-step and repeat the scale on each syllable.
The fourth warm-up exercise is a descending 8-tone scale (do, ti, la, so, fa, mi, re, do) on the syllable “noo”. Again, move up a half-step with each repeat. You can also try other vowel sounds, such as “nah”, “nay”, “nee”, or “noh”, or use “m” instead of “n” as the initial consonant. Try to feel your mask, or upper resonance, as you do this.
Follow that with a descending arpeggio: do, so, mi, do, on the syllable “nah”. Repeat on “nay”, “nee”, “noh”, and “noo”, then move up by half steps and repeat on each syllable again.
The final warm-up exercise is the octave slide. As before, use the buzz and start on the base note; slide up an octave and back down to the base: do, do, do. Repeat on “oo”. Move up a half-step, do the buzz, and then “oo”. Continue moving up by half-steps.
Hopefully, if these are done properly, you have made a great warm-up exercise that will surely help you with your singing practice for that day.ce registries. These types of qualities are what infuse a voice with fullness, warmth, and personality.
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Changing A Zippo Flint
August 6th, 2010 by Ryder Michaels, under Travel and Leisure. No Comments
Fluid-filled lighters use a wheel and a flint to produce spark. The most well-known incarnation of this system is the Zippo lighter design which features a cloth wick, cotton reservoir and a steel wheel. The flint and the wick are the two parts of this system that require the most frequent replacement though the instances in which the wick must be replaced are fairly rare. The flints, however, wear down rather quickly.
Take the lighter insert out of the case and turn it upside down. On the bottom of the lighter one will see a felt covering with a hole in the middle and a screw off to the side. The screw is loosened to open up the tube in which the flints are held. This screw should be loose enough to remove by simply using one’s hands. Over tightening these devices is not good for the lighter and makes replacement difficult.
The screw is pulled out and the insert turned right side up to allow any remaining chips of flint to fall out of the lighter. Small chips of flint can become lodged in the spark wheel and prevent it from turning. In fact, a wheel that refuses to turn is oftentimes the first clue that one’s flint has been shaved down past the point of usefulness by use. One can usually just turn the wheel backwards to dislodge these chips if they become stubbornly-lodged in the devices.
The flints are simply loaded into the channel underneath the wheel from the access hole on the bottom. There are several different types of flints available and their sizes, being more or less standardized, should fit the vast majority of lighters. Once the flint has been dropped into the port, the screw is simply placed back in and the lighter is ready to use. Remember not to tighten the screw too much as it may damage the spring.
Some individuals will wish to place additional flints in their lighter for backup. Loading these in the tube is generally not the best idea. One can simply place them on top of the cotton reservoir and cover them with the felt before replacing the screw. If the flint should run out, one has another ready to take its place and there is no additional tension placed on the screw which can cause problems with the spark wheel.
Ryder is a consultant for an online specialty butane lighter store and has expert knowledge of cigar accessories, including table lighters.
David Beckham’s Recovery Behind Schedule
August 3rd, 2010 by Ross Everett, under Travel and Leisure. No Comments
When David Beckham suffered a torn Achilles’ tendon in a Italian league game in mid-March, doctors gave him an outside chance of returning in time for the World Cup or at the very least part of the MLS season. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like either of these favorable scenarios will transpire. In a recent statement Beckham broke the news that his recovery is behind schedule and he won’t be able to resume playing soccer until November at the earliest.
This timetable does leave open the possibility that he could return to action should the Los Angeles Galaxy make the MLS playoffs. He’s been assured that he’s welcome back at AC Milan in Italy’s Serie A league whenever he’s back in playing shape, though neither the team nor Beckham have indicated anything specific about his future with the team.
Beckham, who is still using crutches to get around, explained his recovery process:
“I won’t be running for another three months, so I will be playing again in, probably, November.”
“My mentality is to kind of push it and get moving and running and soon as possible. But it’s an injury that has to take time to heal. It’s frustrating. It’s obviously disappointing because I’ve been working for the last two years to get into the English squad [for the World Cup].”
“At the moment, it’s just getting the motion back into the ankle, the tendon, because it’s still repairing. I’m trying to get mobilization back into the ankle.”
Beckham also recalled the injury itself:
“It was like being hit by a hockey puck. I thought someone was behind me and kicked me. Obviously no one was there and I saw my foot hanging and then I felt down there and there was a hole.”
The former England captain would have likely served in a reserve capacity with the World Cup squad. Even without Beckham in the lineup and with lingering injury issues plaguing Manchester United superstar Wayne Rooney soccer betting enthusiasts are bullish on England’s prospects this summer. The ‘Three Lions’ are currently the third favorite in World Cup future betting behind Brazil and Spain.
Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer specializing in travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a staff handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, fencing and deep sea diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.
Eskimos Outlast Stampeders In Wild CFL Matchup
August 3rd, 2010 by Ross Everett, under Travel and Leisure. No Comments
The Edmonton Eskimos survived a wild back and forth CFL shootout against the Calgary Stampeders before prevailing 38-35 to take over sole possession of first place in the CFL West. Ricky Ray hit Fred Stamps with a 23 yard touchdown pass with just nine seconds to play to earn the victory, erasing the lead that Calgary had earned with their own TD pass less than a half minute earlier. Edmonton improved to 4-3 with the win, while Calgary dropped to 3-4.
Winning QB Ricky Ray said that he enjoyed playing in the shootout:
“That was a ton of fun. In the CFL you get to play in a lot of games like this, especially against a guy like (Calgary quarterback Henry) Burris, who has done this to us. It’s great to come out on the winning end of a shoot-out like that. It’s a great uplift for the team. It’s a huge win for us.”
Eskimos head coach Richie Hall said that the outcome couldnt have been timed any better:
“Regardless of what happens, we are coming back in first place. Now we have one up on Calgary. It’s going to be a dogfight for all the teams in the West and any chance you get to win, especially a win like this, it’s a real bonus. It’s great for our confidence.”
Calgarys Burris remembered a very similar game last year where Edmonton won by the same margin on a last play touchdown:
“They got us last year in this situation and of course you didn’t think it was going to happen again or even could happen again. It felt so great to get that late touchdown and with 38 seconds on the clock nobody was even thinking about last year. We had to stop Jackson and we didn’t. And we had to stop Ray and we didn’t. Kudos to Edmonton.”
Calgary returns to action on Aug. 28 in Toronto while the Eskimos will next play on Aug. 29 when they host Hamilton. The two CFL provincial rivals from Alberta will face each other twice more this season.
Ross Everett is a freelance writer and highly respected authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.
Rooney Scores Twice As Manchester United Beats AC Milan In Champions League Play
July 31st, 2010 by Ross Everett, under Travel and Leisure. No Comments
Manchester United is in good shape to advance to the Champions League soccer quarterfinals following a 3-2 win over AC Milan at the San Siro. The competition itself was overshadowed by the fact that it was the first time that David Beckham had played against his old team since leaving Old Trafford in 2003, and Wayne Rooney squashed Milan’s early hopes with two goals to put the game on ice. Clarance Seedorf scored at the 85 minute mark to make the score respectable, but Man U controlled play after the halftime break.
AC Milan got on the board first just three minutes into the game as Beckham set up Ronaldinho’s goal that sent the San Siro into a frenzy. Paul Scholes evened the score at the 36 minute mark and the teams went into the halftime break tied at 1-1. Rooney would net his first goal at the 66 minute mark and would score again just 8 minutes later to give Man U a 3-1 lead.
The 24 year old Rooney is becoming recognized as one of the best strikers in soccer. He’s now got 25 goals on the year with 19 games left to play. He’s also received high marks from the soccer press for his playmaking, heady play and overall attitude. The consensus is that he’s already one of the best in the world and is only getting better.
After the game, Beckham graciously complimented Rooney on his play and suggested that he receive consideration for the World Player of the Year award:
“I hope he is a contender for the World Player of the Year and the Ballon D’Or. I would love to see him win every title possible. I have seen Wayne from being a young lad. I played in his debut for England and I have watched him score goals week in and week out ever since. It is amazing to see.”
“He looks after himself and works hard. The way he plays is the way he trains. That is why he is so good and why Wayne is ready for any game. It doesn’t matter how many games he has played or how many he will be involved in to the end of the season, he will be ready for anything.”
There’s a good chance that Beckham and Rooney will be teammates on England’s World Cup team this summer. Beckham made note of that fact:
“I wouldn’t want to see him do it again against us in a few weeks but of course I’d like it in the World Cup.”
Rooney’s sizzling play and Beckham’s veteran leadership and dominant free kicks are a big reason why England is among the World Cup betting favorites before the team has even been made official. England will start World Cup play on June 12 against the United States.
Ross Everett is a freelance writer specializing in sports handicapping, harness racing, soccer coaching handicapping and hockey. He is also a well known expert on NFL football betting and has made many broadcast appearances on TV and radio. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a wombat.