Before DoctorVox, There Was A Fish Tank

Sometimes the most important discoveries happen completely by accident.

Long before I became a vocal coach, long before I wrote Raise Your Voice, long before I shattered glass on MythBusters, and long before I worked with singers from bands like Dream Theater and Papa Roach, I was just a kid cleaning a fish tank.

Back in the 1980s, I had a large aquarium in my bedroom. One day I was changing some of the equipment and removed a large plastic tube from the tank. If memory serves me correctly, it was part of the air system. The tube was much larger than a drinking straw, probably three quarters of an inch to an inch wide and roughly ten to twelve inches long. As I stood at the sink cleaning it, I filled the sink with water and stuck one end of the tube beneath the surface. For no particular reason, I put the other end in my mouth and blew through it.

It reminded me of drinking a giant milkshake through a straw, so I kept doing it. Then I started humming through the tube and making different sounds like “oooh” and “ahhh”. Looking back, I can still remember the feeling in my throat. It felt relaxed, easy, and surprisingly comfortable. Of course, I wasn't thinking about vocal training at the time. I was a teenager making bubbles in a sink. Eventually I stopped doing it and moved on with life.

A few years later I discovered Jim Gillette's Vocal Power program. Like many singers in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I became fascinated with vocal exercises and vocal strength training. One of the exercises involved lip bubbles, which is another form of semi occluded vocal tract training, although I didn't know that term at the time. I practiced the exercises, built my voice, and eventually forgot all about the fish tank experiment.

Then, around 2009 or 2010, one of my students from Australia asked me a simple question: "Do you ever use straws for vocal warm ups?" My answer was no. At the time I had never seriously considered using straws for singing. Still, the question sparked my curiosity. I started experimenting with different types of straws and quickly discovered that not all straws are created equal. I tried the tiny soda straws you get from fast food restaurants and found them far too restrictive. I tried coffee stirrer straws and disliked those even more. For my voice, they created too much resistance and simply didn't feel natural. Eventually I experimented with larger smoothie straws, which felt much better, but I never fully committed to using them as part of my daily routine.

Everything changed after my glass shattering accident in Tokyo, Japan. I was dealing with significant vocal discomfort and was desperately searching for anything that could provide relief. During that period I was introduced to the original glass DoctorVox device. What struck me wasn't necessarily an increase in range, power, or stamina. What I noticed first was that my voice simply felt better. The discomfort eased, the voice felt freer, and I found myself wanting to use the device more and more.

As I continued working with DoctorVox, something clicked in my brain. The bubbling, vibration, and feeling of openness in my throat reminded me of that afternoon decades earlier when I was standing at the sink experimenting with the fish tank tube. Suddenly the dots started connecting. What I had accidentally discovered as a teenager was based on the same fundamental concept behind modern SOVT training. The sensation was remarkably similar, but DoctorVox was far more refined, consistent, and effective.

The more I used DoctorVox, the more convinced I became that singers needed an easier way to access this type of exercise. Eventually I spoke with Dr. İlter Denizoglu about creating a portable version that singers could use anywhere. That conversation helped lead to the development of the PocketVox, a simple device that could attach to virtually any water bottle. Many singers today know DoctorVox because of the bottle system, but the PocketVox actually came first. The goal was portability. Singers needed something they could throw into a gig bag, carry on an airplane, use backstage, or take into a recording studio without hauling around extra equipment.

What I love about today's DoctorVox kit is that it takes the benefits of bubbling exercises and improves them in almost every way. The curved tubes allow for a more natural head and neck position. The dual tube design gives singers the ability to vocalize through one tube while inhaling moisture through the other. The bottle markings make it easy to find the ideal water level and repeat it consistently from session to session. Most importantly, it works.

After decades of studying the voice, coaching thousands of singers, writing books, appearing on television around the world, and constantly searching for better training methods, I still find it funny that part of my journey started with a fish tank. At the time I thought I was simply making bubbles in a sink while cleaning an aquarium. Years later I realized I had accidentally stumbled onto one of the most effective vocal training concepts in the world. Sometimes the voice teaches us things long before we understand what we're learning, and in my case, that lesson started with a fish tank, resurfaced through straws and lip bubbles, and ultimately helped lead me to DoctorVox.

Your Vox Coach,

Jaime Vendera