INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Both strands should be 3 to 4 feet (1 to 1.2 m) long, and, to easily differentiate between strands, you will probably want to choose different colors. Securing your lanyard hook will make braiding easier. To secure your lanyard hook, you can hook it to a tack on a wall or a table, pinch it between your knees, or simply tape it down. Separate the strands by their color, keeping the same-colored ones together, and holding each pair in a different hand.

SUMMARY: Cut two equal lengths of material. Secure your lanyard hook. Separate your strands.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Start with short, fast panting for about 30 seconds and then do slower medium panting for another 30 seconds. Finish with 30 seconds of low, deep panting. Changing the depth of your breaths and the speed of panting will give you more control over your breathing. You should feel air moving deeply through your lungs when you do the deep panting. Learn to take deep breaths before speaking or singing so you don't run out of air in the middle of a line. Extend your arm and hold out your index finger. Take a deep breath and imagine your finger is a candle that you need to blow out 5 times. Release the breath in 5 bursts so they're equal in length and power. Doing this exercise will give energy to your breaths. This can prevent your voice from sounding flat or boring as you speak or sing. You'll damage your voice over time if you frequently speak or sing with vocal fry. Instead of making a low, creaking or rough sound based in your throat, practice bringing the sound from the front of your mouth. Take a full deep breath, bring your lips together and blow the air out of your mouth so your lips vibrate quickly or trill.  Trill through your entire range and play around with the sounds you make. If you have trouble trilling, try humming instead. This will also move the sound from your throat to your mouth. Stand up and bring your shoulders back with your feet apart. Use a deep voice with a full breath to say or speak "Maaaa, mayyyyy, meeee, mowwww, mooo." This will open your voice and help you relax. You should feel the muscles in your abdomen tighten as you sing these words. Most people are familiar with practicing scales that ascend and descend along with a piano. Start with a major scale in the key of C and sing solfege notes such as "do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do," while ascending the pitches. Then decline back down to the pitch "do." Solfege scales will help you train your ear to hear and adjust your pitch. If you can, work with a professional voice instructor to make a program designed specifically for you. You can also create your own 10 to 15 minute warm-up using basic exercises that you enjoy. If you're unsure how to begin, sit or stand with your shoulders relaxed and start with this simple warm-up program:  Whole body stretching (3 min) Breathing exercise such as controlled breaths (2 min) Loosen your lips and jaw by trilling or humming (2 min) Sing up and down scales or speak some of your lines (4 min)

SUMMARY: Pant at different speeds to build breath control. Practice blowing out a single breath in controlled bursts. Lip trill to prevent vocal fry. Vocalize your vowels to prepare your voice. Do solfege scale exercises to improve your pitch. Develop a simple warm-up program.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: " While "toda" is perfect for your everyday "thank yous," sometimes, you'll want to express that you're especially thankful for something. In this case, try "toda raba," which is roughly equivalent to "thank you very much" or "thanks a lot."  This phrase is pronounced "toh-DAH rah-BAH." "Toda" is exactly the same as above. The r in "raba" is pronounced very delicately at the back of the throat. It is very similar to the French r (as in "au revoir").  Note also that the stress is on the "bah" in "raba" (just like in "toe-DAH"). " The meaning here is roughly the same as for "toda raba".However this word is used very rarely. This phrase is pronounced "ruv toe-DOT." Remember to use the soft, "French" r sound at the back of the throat, rather than a hard English r. While Hebrew doesn't have strict tenses and word forms for formal situations, but if you want to say thank you in a very polite, formal way, you can use gender-specific grammar. This specific phrase is used when the speaker is a man. It doesn't matter what gender the person being thanked is. This phrase is pronounced. "ah-NEE moe-DEH leh-HHAH." The most difficult sound here is the "hah" at the end. It's not quite like the English "ha" used for laughter. The first h uses a raspy, almost r-like h sound produced in the back of the throat. It's the same sound used in traditional Jewish words like "Chanukah," "chutzpah," and so on. The meaning here is exactly the same as for the term above. The only difference is that it's used by females. Again, the gender of the person you're talking to isn't important. "ah-NEE mo-DeH lach. Here, we're ending "lach" with the "chutzpah" h sound discussed above. Note also that the second word in the phrase ends with a "dah" sound, not a "deh" one.

SUMMARY:
Use "toda raba" (תודה רבה) for "thank you very much. Alternatively, use "rav todot" (רב תודות) for "Thank you very much. Use "ani mode lecha" (אני מודה לך) if you're a male. Use "ani moda lach" (אני מודה לך) if you're a female.