Why You Don't Like The Tone Of Your Voice

In painting, tone is the shade of colour used. Much like in painting our vocal tone is the colour and shades we use in our voice. These vocal colours are used to portray the meaning between the words we say, conveying our emotions, our unspoken intentions and our personalities. Some say you can even tell a person's health from just the tone of their voice. Yet most of us shudder when hearing the sound of our own voice in recordings, whether in singing or speaking. We are present for every word that we say, so why do so many of us dislike our own voices?

To understand this, first, we need to know how the voice works. Sounds are vibrations, or more accurately, how your brain perceives these vibrations. We create our vocal vibrations with our vocal cords in the larynx and they travel up the vocal tract and out into the air. The frequency (how quickly the vibrations move) defines the pitch: the faster the vocal cords vibrate, the higher note you get. 

But there’s a little more to it than that. When we hear a pitch, we don’t just hear one note but a whole spectrum of frequencies layered on top of each other, these are called harmonics. The note our brains define as the pitch is the lowest frequency in the spectrum, the fundamental frequency. The rest of the frequencies in the pile, the harmonics, determine the tone. You can see a visual representation of this by using a Spectrogram.

We all have a unique tone because everyone’s body is different. The size and shape of our vocal cords and vocal tract define how strong or weak the harmonics are and this, in turn, defines the tone of our voice. In the same way a flute can play the same note as a trumpet but still sound like a different instrument, different voices can speak and sing at the same pitch but sound entirely different. In my opinion, much like each instrument in an orchestra, every voice has a unique tone that if used in the right way can be beautiful. 

But as I said earlier, the sound isn’t just the vibrations we hear, it’s more to do with how the brain perceives these vibrations. Before the brain processes the sound of our voice, it has to go through several filters. When we make a sound, the vibrations leave our mouth and travel through the air, entering the ear canal so that we can hear them. Makes sense, right? But that’s not the whole story…

Your vocal tract is made out of muscle, bone and tissue, all of which conduct sound waves. Some vibrations never escape the vocal tract, they never leave the body. Instead, they travel to your ears from the inside, via bone and tissue conduction.  Here is where something interesting happens—filter number one. When sound travels through bone and tissue, and it tends to (although not always) boost the lower frequencies in the voice, the part that makes the voice sound warm, rich and perceived as lower. That is why many of us are surprised by how high, punchy or annoying or voice sounds on recordings.

Want to know what your voice sounds like via bone conduction? Give it a go—cover your ears and speak out loud. This is bone and tissue conduction in action!

When we speak without covering our ears, we hear the sound that leaves the mouth and the sound that travels to our ears via bone and tissue conduction simultaneously. This distortion is why many people are surprised by how different our voice sounds on recordings. Although the sound we hear on recordings can be shockingly different than we imagined, different doesn’t mean ugly. I often ask my singing pupils to record themselves practising so that they can get a more accurate view of the sound they are producing. If we can learn to embrace and critique our recorded voice, it can facilitate a steep learning curve.

These two ways of hearing our voice are both heard by the sound entering our inner ear, one from sound exiting the mouth and entering the ear canal from the outside and the other via filter one, from the inside via bone and tissue conduction. There are more filters going on when we hear these voices though. The second filter is a protective reflex that happens when we hear a loud noise that is also triggered when we speak or sing. This reflex contracts muscles and causes the bones that connect the eardrum to the cochlea to become more rigid. This results in less sound being transmitted - we don’t hear our voice as loudly as it is.

The next filter happens at our cochlea, the part of your inner ear that processes sound. It’s programmed to filter out the sounds it hears most often, so we don’t have to spend the time and energy processing them unless we consciously pay attention to them. You might have noticed this if you live under a flight path. Your voice is one of the sounds you hear the most in your life, so your cochlea automatically filters some of this sound out.

So, your voice is distorted by bone conduction, dampened by a reflex and partially filtered out by the cochlea. It’s no surprise that when listening to a recording, it often doesn’t sound exactly as we expect. There is a final filter though—this filter happens in the brain. Neurologists found out that when you create a sound, your auditory cortex partially shuts down, selectively silencing and amplifying the sounds that are important for us to hear. This allows us to differentiate our voice from another voice and listen for danger whilst preventing sensory overload from the voice. In short, although we are aware we are speaking, we do not necessarily listen to the tone of our voice. We recognise our voice so little that in a 1967 study, only 38% of people were able to identify recordings of their voice within 5 seconds.

After all these barriers to hearing our own voice physiologically, there’s also a psychological element to consider. Many of us have a frequent dialogue with ourselves, our inner voice—the voice of our thoughts. This is the voice we use when rehearsing that big conversation with your boss, the voice that you hear when reading an article, the voice that tells you off when you are late for an appointment or hypes you up when you really need to get a task done. Scientists theorise that our brain is predicting and trying to copy our own voices' sound. But this voice can also be distorted. It’s filtered through our sense of self, our culture, gender and everything we think we are or want to be. Some people can manipulate and change their inner voices at will, and others have a very fixed tone. For some, it’s the clearest voice that they hear. Remember that study where people found it difficult to identify their voice? It’s interesting to note they also found that people with body dysmorphia found it more difficult to identify their voice. The more distorted the image of our self is, the more distorted the image of our voice is. It might be worth considering that perhaps you don’t have a faulty instrument, it might be just how you perceive it. 

So, we’ve learned there are many things that distort our idea of our voice. We build our vocal self-image on the distorted way we hear, rather than on reality. But do recordings capture our voice accurately? What is our real sound? Is everyone else hearing your voice in the same way? And do we have the ability to change our tone? I’ll talk about this in future blogs.

But for now, our recorded voice may be a little different than we expected, but by embracing and working with your tone's uniqueness, we can truly learn to master our vocal expression in speaking and singing. We don’t get to choose our instrument but in my experience, the uniqueness of our voice has an eerie way of echoing the uniqueness of our personality. Truly great speakers and singers don’t aim for a different voice but learn to use the instrument they have to great effect. A flute is different from a trumpet but equally beautiful, so maybe we just need to accept our place in the orchestra. 

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE GET IN TOUCH OR BOOK A LESSON HERE.

Resources

TedTalk - Why you don’t like the sound of your own voice | Rébecca Kleinberger

Spectrogram - A visual representation of the spectrum of frequencies

Guardian Article - The Real Reason Your Own Voice Makes You Cringe

Science Direct - Acoustic Reflex

1967 Study - Voice Confrontation

Time Article - Why Do I Hate The Sound Of My Own Voice?

Medical Daily - Brocas Area and Auditory Cortex and speech

Berkeley - Speech, Hearing and Auditory Cortex

Let's talk Epiglottis

What is the epiglottis and why is it important?

Picture by Mayo Foundation https://www.mayoclinic.org/

Not to be confused with the glottis (the opening between the vocal folds), the epiglottis gets it’s name from its location. ‘Epi’ meaning above and ‘glottis’ meaning, well, glottis. Therefore, our little leaf-shaped friend is located at the top of the larynx, above the glottis and vocal folds and is one of the 9 cartilaginous structures that make up the larynx with the stem attached to the internal surface of the thyroid cartilage. 

What is it made of?

The epiglottis a leaf shaped flap of elastic cartilage covered mucous membrane and few taste buds for good measure.

Picture by Pearson Education Inc https://www.pearson.co.uk/

What Happens when we swallow Food?

Swallowing requires over 20 muscles of the mouth, throat, and esophagus. It consists of three phases.

1.    The voluntary part of swallowing. The food is moistened with saliva and chewed up and the tongue pushes it to the back of the throat, the pharynx.

2.     The swallow reflex. The tongue blocks the oral cavity so that food does not come back up into the mouth, the soft palate blocks entry to the nasal cavity, the vocal folds close and the larynx rises with the epiglottis flipping over the entrance to the larynx protecting the airway to the lungs. This action is very important as food entering the lungs can be life-threatening.

3.    The food is propelled down the esophagus by a wave of muscular contractions and the larynx returns to its initial position.

Does it effect our sound? 

Generally no. However, in some languages like Danish, the epiglottis is used to produce an epiglottal consonant, though it is a rare sound in language.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE GET IN TOUCH OR BOOK A LESSON HERE.

Resources

NHS: https://www.nhs.uk/

Should You Raise Your Chin When Singing High Notes?

There is so much contrasting information on the internet on this one! So what does this mean? It is widely thought that raising your chin is bad technique, will cause neck tension and is an unhealthy singing habit. But if this is true, why do you often see professional singers from Pop to Classical do this in a variety of vocal registers?

Mixed voice

Ariana Grande raises her chin around 2.42 to sing a balanced high mix.

CLASSICAL HEAD VOICE

Anna Netrebko raises her chin at 1.27 while singing in a beautiful classical head voice.

Strong Mix/Belt

Watch Beyonce at anywhere from 2.50 onwards lift her chin on the high belt notes.

So, should I Raise my chin when singing?

There are pros and cons to head extension in singing, and it often depends on your voice and where you are in your vocal training. I want to point out that if it doesn’t work for you, don’t do it. Not every technique works for every person. As I am keen to make sure this technique is not misused, let's start with the cons.

CONS

• Can add to existing throat tension - If you are a beginner singer or suffer from a lot of throat tension raising the chin can add to this. Throat tension is unhealthy, unhelpful in reaching high notes and can make your sound tight or shrill. Keeping that chin down may help combat this. When beginning to explore your range and belt, it is essential to learn to sing without tension before looking at techniques like raising the chin, and if your chin juts forward or you feel tension, this may not be the right tool for you right now.

• It may raise the larynx - This is both a con and a pro depending on the sound you want to make. Especially in classical technique a raised larynx is something to be wary of. However, it can sometimes be useful in boosting higher formats when looking to achieve a high mix or belt sound

PROS

• Widens the Pharynx (Part of the Vocal Tract) - As found in recent MRI Studies, a wide pharynx can help boost resonance in the voice.

• It helps the Larynx tilt - It is essential to let the CA muscles to kick in and the larynx tilt to allow the vocal cords to lengthen and thin out when trying to achieve a healthy mix or head voice. A raised chin has been shown to promote this.

Raising the chin can be a useful tool but must be used with caution especially if you are a person who experiences a lot of tension or sings with a high larynx. It is vital that before using this technique, we learn to shift registers in a relaxed, comfortable and natural way and don’t raise the chin to try and force out the high notes. Moreover, remember we are all different so it might work for some people and not others, or maybe it works on one specific note for you. What is important is that we learn to sing in a healthy way that allows you to express your creativity.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE GET IN TOUCH OR BOOK A LESSON HERE.

SINGING LESSONS WITH BETH (VOCAL COACH) ARE AVAILABLE IN LONDON OR ONLINE VIA SKYPE.

References

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/20563698_Changes_in_the_pharygeal_airway_in_relation_to_extension_of_the_head

The Resonant Voice

The resonator for the voice is called the vocal tract. Unlike a bottle, the vocal tract is made up of multiple containers of air (resonators) that vibrate at different pitches.

Our voice is a unique instrument. Unlike a guitar or piano, we can control and adapt the resonance in the vocal tract by changing the shape and size of the vocal track by changing the shape with our mouth, lips, tongue, neck, jaw and velum (soft palate).  

Is the chest cavity a resonator?

When we sing lower notes, we can sometimes feel it in the chest area. That is how the term chest voice came about. This is actually sound waves traveling through the bones. The chest cavity is not a resonator as it does not have an opening for sound to escape and does not add to the overall sound.

What about head resonance?

Again, this is not a resonator and does not contribute to the overall sound. However, if it works for you, the feelings of resonance in your face and chest are a legitimate way of helping you find different tones and are often an indicator that resonance in your vocal tract is strong.

What about the nasal cavity?

This is a resonator. However, there is a lot of contradicting research of its viability as a resonator and as it is not adjustable for now, I will concentrate on the vocal tract.

As I said earlier the vocal tract is in fact made up of two resonators and we name the harmonic boosted in each area of the vocal tract formant 1 and formant 2.

Resonator 1

Image courtesy of Mike Gasser/Indiana University

•    Behind the tongue, from the top of the larynx to the back of the tongue.

•    Formant 1 is produced here and is the pitch of the air that vibrates in this space.

Resonator 2

•    In our mouths, or to be more specific in front and above the tongue.

•    Formant 2 is produced here and is the pitch of the air that vibrates in this space.

Why does this matter?

Depending on the different formant boosted, different tones and vowel sounds are formed and volume can be boosted.

from Encyclopedia Britannica http://www.britannica.com/topic/vowel/images-videos

For example

In the vowel for heed, eee or /i/

·      Resonator 1 is large therefore formant 1 is low, in this case around 300Hz

·      Resonator 2 is small therefore formant 2 in high, in this case around 2500hz

In the vowel for hawed, aw or /a/

·      Resonator 1 is small therefore formant 1 is high, in this case around 800hz

·      Resonator 2 in large therefore formant 2 is low, in this case around 1000hz

In the vowel for who’d, oo or /u/

·      Resonator 1 is large therefore formant 1 is low, in this case around 300hz

·      Resonator 2 is large therefor formant 2 is low, in this case around 900hz

Watch out for my next blog, in which I will help you discover what tones you can create and how to do it.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE GET IN TOUCH OR BOOK A LESSON HERE.

SINGING LESSONS WITH BETH ARE AVAILABLE IN PLUMSTEAD, LONDON OR ONLINE VIA SKYPE.

References:

Voice Science Works: https://www.voicescienceworks.org/

The Naked Vocalists: https://www.thenakedvocalist.com/blog/

Practical Vocal Acoustics: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Practical-Vocal-Acoustics-Pedagogic-Applications/dp/157647240X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1538584105&sr=8-1&keywords=kenneth+bozeman

What are formants and why are they important?

In my blog “What Happens When We Make A Sound?” I discussed how the vocal folds create a frequency that determines our pitch and in my blog “What are Harmonics?” we discovered that the vocal folds actually vibrate at multiple frequencies at once that determine the tone of the sound. But this isn’t the end of the puzzle, welcome to the world of Formants.

If you blow across the top of bottles filled with different amounts of liquid, different pitches are formed. When we blow into the bottle, it causes the air to vibrate and therefore a sound wave to be created. It forms what we call a resonator. Depending on the size, shape, density of the walls and size of the opening of the bottle different frequencies are boosted and therefore different pitches are produced.

What is a Resonator?

Before we work out how this related to the voice, it is essential to understand what a resonator is. A resonator does not create the vibration and therefore does not generate the frequency. In the example of the bottles, it is the action of blowing into the bottle that causes the air to vibrate and produce sound. Most instruments have a container of air or resonator, think of the body of a guitar. As with the bottles, the smaller the space in the tank, the higher the pitch and the bigger the space, the lower the pitch. Think of the instruments of the orchestra, with big instruments like the double bass and the tuba making low sounds and the piccolo making a high sound.

Formants vs Harmonics?

Formants: As we have discovered, the air inside the vocal tract vibrates at different pitches depending on its size and shape of the opening. We call these pitches formants. You can change the formants in the sound by changing the size and shape of the resonator, or in our case the vocal tract.

Harmonics: Harmonics are produced by the vocal folds themselves. You can change the harmonics present in the sound by changing the shape of the vocal folds and therefore the pitch being created. More closure in the vocal folds will produce stronger, higher harmonics.

It is important to note that when a sound wave meets another sound wave that is similar to the one they want to vibrate at, they join in with that vibration. So when a similar formant meets a harmonic, they join in vibration. When two sound waves join together the sound wave is strengthened.

How does this relate to the voice?

This is all very well, but how is this going to help us make a more beautiful sound? Like other instruments, we have our very own resonator, the vocal tract. Like the glass bottle, certain frequencies can be boosted by the size, shape, density of the walls of the vocal tract and the size of the opening (our mouths). The formants produced in the vocal tract filter the original sound source from the vocal folds. After the harmonics go through the vocal tract, some harmonics join with formants become louder and others are not boosted become softer. This changes the tone of the sound.

Every human has a slightly different shape and size of vocal tract. This is what gives us our unique tone. The fun thing is unlike the bottle, our vocal tract is very malleable and we have the choice to change and adapt our tone as we like. Although we have to work with our own vocal tract and its own unique signature, this allows us to create vocal pictures with multiple tones and qualities.

Watch out for my next blog, in which I will help you discover what tones you can create and how to do it.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE GET IN TOUCH OR BOOK A LESSON HERE.

SINGING LESSONS WITH BETH ARE AVAILABLE IN PLUMSTEAD, LONDON OR ONLINE VIA SKYPE.

References:

Voice Science Works: https://www.voicescienceworks.org/

The Naked Vocalists: https://www.thenakedvocalist.com/blog/

Practical Vocal Acoustics: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Practical-Vocal-Acoustics-Pedagogic-Applications/dp/157647240X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1538584105&sr=8-1&keywords=kenneth+bozeman

What are Harmonics?

In my blog “What happens when we make a sound” I state “When we produce sound, the airstream passes between the two vocal folds that have come together. These folds are soft and are set into vibration by the passing airstream, think of when you blew through grass as a child. They vibrate very fast from 100 to 3000 times per second, depending on the pitch of the sound we make. However many times per second the vocal cords vibrate is the pitch sung, e.g. 100 times per second is 100Hz.” but this isn’t the whole story.

The vocal folds and therefore the air actually vibrate at multiple frequencies at once. These faster vibrations are called Harmonics or Overtones and along with formants (blog to come) are part of what determines your tone. You may have come across the idea of overtone singing before with people like Avi Kaplan from the Pentatonix, in which a harmonic is boosted to produce the effect of two notes being sung at once. Listen to a fantastic example of overtone singing below.

Everything in nature has harmonics and vibrate at multiple pitches at once. The only way to produce a sound without harmonics is with a tuning fork or an electronic synthesiser.

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY THE FUNDAMENTAL PITCH?

When talking about harmonics, you will often hear the term fundamental pitch. This means the original, lowest and strongest vibration. The is the one that we name the pitch that we are singing.

HARMONICS VS FORMANTS

You may have come across the term formants and wondered how they differ from harmonics. Harmonics come from the vocal cords and formants are formed in the vocal tract. Therefore you change the harmonics by changing the shape the of vocal folds and the formants by changing the shape of the vocal tract.

HARMONIC SERIES

If the original vibration (fundamental pitch) and vocal folds vibrate in a periodic pattern, then the higher vibrations will be at predictable frequencies.

• The 2nd harmonic will vibrate twice as fast as the fundamental pitch.

• The 3rd harmonic will vibrate three times as fast as the fundamental pitch etc.…

If the fundamental pitch were 100 Hz, the vocal folds would create all the harmonics below as displayed on the staff.

• Fundamental Pitch: C2 or 65 Hz.

• Second Harmonic: An octave above the fundamental pitch. It vibrates twice as fast as the fundamental pitch. C3 or 130 Hz.

• Third harmonic: An octave and a fifth above the fundamental pitch. It vibrates three times as fast as the fundamental pitch. G3 or 195 Hz.

• Fourth harmonic:  Two octaves above the fundamental pitch. It vibrates four times as fast as the fundamental pitch.  C4 or 261 Hz.
  And so on.

When a person sings a C2, they are actually creating all these notes at once. However the higher the harmonic, the quieter the volume. Alone without the resonating tract, the higher harmonics can barely be heard. This is where the resonating tracks and formants come in. But I’ll save that for another blog.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE GET IN TOUCH OR BOOK A LESSON HERE.

SINGING LESSONS WITH BETH ARE AVAILABLE IN PLUMSTEAD, LONDON OR ONLINE VIA SKYPE.

References:

Voice Science Works: https://www.voicescienceworks.org/

Practical Vocal Acoustics: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Practical-Vocal-Acoustics-Pedagogic-Applications/dp/157647240X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1538584105&sr=8-1&keywords=kenneth+bozeman

What happens when we make a sound?

We rely on our voice every day to communicate with others, but just as we walk without thinking about it, we usually speak without thinking about how our body makes it happen. However, knowing how we make sound is useful to maintaining the health and effectiveness of our voices both when singing and in everyday life.

THE MAIN PARTS OF VOICE PRODUCTION

• The Power Source: Your Lungs

• The Oscillator: Your Larynx (Voice Box)

• The Resonators: Your Throat, Nose, Mouth, and Sinuses

• The Articulators: The Lips, Teeth, and Tongue

The Power Source

The power for your voice comes from air that you exhale moving through the vocal cords. When we inhale, the diaphragm lowers and the rib cage expands, drawing air into the lungs. This should be totally relaxed, shouldn’t make a huge sound and should not involve a substantial upward shoulder motion. A free ribcage will expand 360 sideways forwards and back. Because of the placement of our heart, most of the lung tissue is at the back of our body, we must remember that our ribcage must expand backward as well as forwards.

MYTH BUSTER: We cannot actually breathe into our belly as the lungs end at the bottom of our ribcage. However, this is a useful mental tool to help us avoid breathing with tension. As we exhale, the process reverses, the diaphragm moves up (and can move up to 12 cm up the body) and air exits the lungs, creating an airstream. This airstream provides the energy for the vocal folds in the voice box to vibrate and produce sound. Controlled air flow is essential when singing, it determines volume, clarity, and tone.

The Oscillator

We are talking about the larynx (or voice box) which sits on top of the windpipe. The primary function of the larynx is to in fact stop us breathing in food. It contains two vocal folds (also known as vocal cords) that open during breathing and close during voice production. A type of lid called the Epiglottis closes over the vocal chords when we swallow. When we produce sound, the airstream passes between the two vocal folds that have come together. These folds are soft and are set into vibration by the passing airstream, think of when you blew through grass as a child. They vibrate very fast from 100 to 3000 times per second, depending on the pitch of the sound we make. However many times per second the vocal cords vibrate is the pitch sung, e.g. 100 times per second is 100Hz. Pitch is determined by the length and tension of the vocal folds, which are controlled by muscles in the larynx.

The Resonators

By themselves, the vocal folds produce a noise that sounds like simple buzzing, much like the mouthpiece on a trombone. All of the structure above the folds, including the throat, nose, and mouth, are part of the resonator system. We can compare these structures to those of a horn or trombone. The buzzing sound created by vocal fold vibration is changed by the shape of the resonator tract to produce our unique sound. We all have our own unique tone determined by the shape and size of the spaces in our body, but we can change the sound by changing the shape of our mouth, tongue and vocal tract (the tubes that make up our throat). It is important to note that although it often feels like the sound is in the “chest” or “head”, this is not actually where the air is, but the feeling the sound in these areas is a useful mental tool in creating different tones.

The Articulators

The last place the sound is created is at the articulators. Or to put it simply, your lips, teeth and the tongue. These are what allows us to form consonants and ultimately words.

• Plosives (P, B, C, D, T, Q) – A voiceless sound where the air builds up behind an area of the mouth or vocal tract then released explosively.

• Nasal (M, N, Ng) – A voiced sound that requires the vocal cords to be used. The air is again trapped by a part of the mouth or vocal tract and escapes through the nose.

• Affricates (ss, vvv, fff) – can be voiceless or voiced. Air builds up behind an area of the mouth or vocal tract and is released slowly.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE GET IN TOUCH OR BOOK A LESSON HERE.

SINGING LESSONS WITH BETH ARE AVAILABLE IN PLUMSTEAD, LONDON OR ONLINE VIA SKYPE.

References

Anatomy of the Voice: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anatomy-Voice-Illustrated-Singers-Therapists/dp/1623171970/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1538584175&sr=8-1&keywords=anatomy+vocal

This is a Voice: https://www.amazon.co.uk/This-Voice-exercises-project-harness/dp/1999809025/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1538584209&sr=8-2&keywords=gillyanne+kayes

Voice Science Works: https://www.voicescienceworks.org/

How to find your own unique voice

In order to build a creative vocal performance, you need to sing intelligently. Intelligent singing is the process of planning your song, interpreting the lyrics and melody, mapping out how you are going to express your ideas creatively. It's about taking responsibility for your ideas and making them work in your own unique way. No one has your voice or can say what you want to say better than you.

A great way to look at performing a song is imagining the song as a blank canvas, your voice is the paintbrush and the vocal nuances are the colours you use. Vocal nuances are the shades and textures of sounds you use to create your own version of a song. If you only have one colour or shade your painting will be one dimensional, why not paint in glorious Technicolor! Ultimately we sing to express ourselves, show an emotion and tell a story. It must be noted that every vocal nuance must come from a place of emotion and that using these nuances allows you to relay your individual emotional interpretation.

Here are just a few of the vocal nuances you can use; the list of creative ways we can use our voice is endless. Listen to your favourite artists and work out what it is that they do that makes them stand out to you.

Dynamics – Dynamics are vital to the expression of a song. Dynamics describe the volume of how you perform the piece. When preparing a song to think about each phrase and what you can do to bring it alive:

1. Could it be loud or soft? How does the difference in volume make you feel?

2. Could it crescendo (get gradually louder) or diminuendo (get gradually softer)?

These dynamic queues are very powerful in music, can really bring a piece to life and good performance will generally have a mix of different volumes throughout.

Articulation – Articulation refers to the pronunciation of words and formation of clear, coherent sounds. The way you enunciate the words can affect the style and emotion you are trying to express.

1. Could the music be sung Legato (smoothly) or staccato (short and sharp)?

2. Do you use the consonants in the words to make it sound percussive? Michael Jackson is an artist who is great at using percussive sound in the performance of his song.

Melodic Modification – Within most musical theatre, choral music and classical music you are you are mostly required to sing what the sheet music asks. However, in solo singing particularly working within the pop, jazz, and modern musical theatre styles improvisation and playing around the melody can be encouraged. When working within a choir, setting any modifications have to be worked out together as a team because what each member is singing affects how another member sings their part.

Check out how the Civil Wars change this version of Billy Jean to make it their own both melodically and rhythmically. As you can hear a small change can make a huge difference.

Tone – When you sing you have your natural tone caused by the shape of the resonant spaces in your body but you can also use these spaces in a variety of ways to produce different tones. Here are some examples:

1. Nasal – Kristin Chenoweth and Nina Simone often use nasal tone.

2. Breathy – Birdie uses a breathy tone to express her music.

3. Full/warm tone – Adele uses a warm chesty resonance and round vowels a lot in her music

Vowel Modification – Playing with the shape of vowels not only makes it easier for you to sing certain notes but also can affect how you portray a song.

Listen to Felicia Ricci’s modification of Silent Night. The first version uses rounder open vowels to produce a musical theatre style version and the shows rolling open to closed diphthongs that make it more poppy.

Adele has a very specific way of rounding her vowels that make everything she sings truly her own whereas Katy Perry tends to close on the end of her vowels.

Diction – Diction is a very important feature of musical theatre singing. If you are telling a story it is vital that the audience know what you are saying.

Having said that many pop singers like Sia use little diction and this again defines her style.

Vibrato – Vibrato is that wobble that you often hear with singers at the end of a note. Vibrato can really define a voice. The track below shows you some different examples: Amanda Seyfried who has light and fast vibrato singing “A Heart Full of Love” from Les Mis, Ella Fitzgerald with a slower jazz style vibrato singing “Summertime”, RAYE with a modern style pop vibrato singing “By Your Side”, Dominic Cooper singing with no vibrato in “Lay All Your Love On Me” from Mamma Mia and last of all Maria Callas Opera style vibrato in “Madame Butterfly.”

Flip – Flipping between head and chest voice is a technique that has been popular in recent years. An example is Ella Henderson, who regularly uses this technique.

Whistle – Whistle is a higher part of range used by singers demonstrated by Minnie Riperton.

Scoops - Scooping the notes is mostly used in Jazz singing. Frank Sinatra uses this to define his tone.

Growl – Growl is exactly what it sounds like. Think of Christina Aguilera

Creak/Vocal Fry – Make the sound of the grudge. Now use that to start a note. Britney uses this technique a lot.

Riffs and Runs – A riff in singing (unlike a guitar riff) is an often improvised quickly moving melodic modification. Jessie J is the perfect example of an artist who has mastered riffs and runs.

Belt – Often characterised by musical theatre singers which sounds as if the chest voice has been brought up above the passagio at a loud volume. This sound can be achieved technically in many different ways however most modern singers prefer using a strong, mixed register as it is a much healthier way of singing.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE GET IN TOUCH OR BOOK A LESSON HERE.

SINGING LESSONS WITH BETH ARE AVAILABLE IN PLUMSTEAD, LONDON OR ONLINE VIA SKYPE.

Why we need to warm up

Daily warm-ups and practice routines are an essential part of taking responsibility for vocal health and development. Here is a simple A to F of reasons why vocal warm-ups are not just beneficial, but essential.

A. Athlete - You wouldn't expect a marathon runner to go straight into a marathon as soon as they get out of bed, would you? So why would you expect to be able to sing before you warm up your voice? Your vocal cords are made up of muscles (amongst other things) after all! Just like the marathon runner, you need to prepare your muscles for the workout they'll get during your practice or gig. Warming up will decrease the chance of damage and optimises vocal performance.

B. Balance - If you are out of balance, your voice might feel breathy or squeezed and will lose tone, which in a concert or gig setting is not what you want! Warming up will help you find your vocal balance quicker than singing songs will. It is advisable to work with a vocal coach to build a routine that is tailored to your voice and helps you overcome any imbalances that you may be experiencing at the time. If you are at your optimal vocal balance, then you are more likely to be able to sing and perform at your fullest potential.

C. Consistency - Not warming up your voice before singing can lead to other problems. Again, think like an athlete. They wouldn't risk getting leg, ankle or hip injuries from running without having fully warmed up and stretched out their bodies, would they? So why would you risk vocal injuries that are preventable? Singing with a "cold" (not warmed up) voice can lead to things like pushing for the high notes. This, in turn, may lead to other problems with the voice, such as the development of polyps or nodules. If this goes on for an extended period of time, you may even require surgery on your voice to enable you to sing again and in some cases, singing is permanently affected.

D. Durability - It can also help to prolong the time you can spend singing without incurring damage to the voice. If you don't warm up your voice before you sing, chances are you'll burn out before you've achieved your goal for the day. However, if you warm your voice up thoroughly before you sing, then you may even exceed the goal you have set for yourself.

E. Exploration - Warming up allows you to explore your voice and see where you are on that day. Remember, the voice can be unpredictable it is okay to have off days. Get to know your voice, work out your strengths and weaknesses and use your warm up to work on it. The more you explore, the more creative you can be and the more comfortable the singing will become. Working on discovering more vocal tools allows you to express yourself more freely without restraint.

F. Focus - Warming up your voice allows you to get in the zone and prepare yourself mentally. Singing a familiar set of scale patterns, words and exercises will relax your mind and help to take away any stress or anxiety you might feel. So, really it's not just about getting the voice ready to sing, it's also about getting YOU prepared to sing at your fullest potential.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE GET IN TOUCH OR BOOK A LESSON HERE.

SINGING LESSONS WITH BETH ARE AVAILABLE IN PLUMSTEAD, LONDON OR ONLINE VIA SKYPE.

How to look after your vocal health

Why is vocal health important?

Our vocal folds are made up of layers, the outer of which is a delicate membrane. These membranes need to come together solidly to create a clear sound. Sometimes infection or over-use causes these membranes to swell, resulting in hoarseness. Continued over-use, shouting, and even whispering can, over time, result in damage to the vocal cords, which needs medical attention. It is easy to damage your voice, and if we do not look after our voice correctly, the damage can be permanent. It is your responsibility to look after your vocal health to get the best out of it over the long term.

What can you do to look after your voice?

The best course of action is to prevent any damage happening in the first place.

Hydration

Moisture is the key to maintaining healthy vocal folds as the membrane dries out easily. Drinking plenty of water is vital. Most people don't realise that when we drink, the liquid doesn't actually wash over our vocal folds. When we swallow, the epiglottis flap comes over the windpipe to prevent food and liquid from going down into our lungs. You need to be drinking plenty of water many hours before you start to sing, to ensure that it is absorbed by the body and distributed to where it is needed. Drinking water is also crucial because it dilutes & flushes mucous in the throat so it won't collect on the vocal cords. Check out the picture below for some more general benefits of keeping hydrated.

Some people promote the use of sprays and steamers when singing. Although these are helpful and can help you overcome dehydration quicker, nothing beats drinking water and preventing dehydration in the first place.

Tips for keeping your voice hydrated:

• Drink plain still water to keep your vocal cords moist.

• Drink water many hours before you start singing as the cords need to be hydrated from absorption through your system.

• There are no sprays or potions that help the voice more than consuming a lot of water.

• Sip water on breaks when singing.

• Place a vaporiser about two feet away from your nose when you sleep.

• Use a steamer or vaporiser when living in dry climates, or after plane journeys or places with air conditioning units.

Sleep

Most of us understand that sleeping 7 to 9 hours a night is important to our physical and emotional well being. But sleep is also vital for our vocal health.

• Sleep helps us combat stress, which can affect the immune system as well as increasing tension in the body.

• Increases energy and focus - therefore the ability to accomplish.

• Increases tolerance and decreases irritability.

• Increases willpower and energy so we can choose to eat healthy food, exercise and drink water instead of sugary drinks.

• Well rested people smile more and are engaging to others, which is important in performance.

• Most of us understand that sleeping 7 to 9 hours a night is vital to our physical and emotional well being. But sleep is also crucial for our vocal health.

All of these good habits contribute to becoming or continuing to be a great singer and compelling performer, but without proper sleep, at appropriate times, the voice can become tired. A tired body can slump out of alignment and will not support the voice correctly. Without correct support, you can develop strain, polyps, nodes, and other vocal problems. So as you can see, good sleep is essential for the singing voice and having respect for your body is vital to keeping your voice in top shape.

Diet and Exercise

Overall health promotes vocal health. The best diet for a vocalist is one that supports this and avoids fatty and fried foods. Your diet should include plenty of fruit, whole grains, and vegetables. Foods that are rich in vitamins A, C and E help to keep the mucous membranes healthy. And yes! We do need a certain amount of mucus to keep our vocal cords lubricated, problems arise when we have too much or not enough. Keeping generally healthy and fit will always benefit your voice, lift your energy and help your performance, but beware not to strain if you are lifting weights as that can also damage the voice.

Food and drink that you should avoid:

• Alcohol - It might feel tempting to hide behind Dutch Courage, but drinking can lead to damage of your cords. Usually, when you've not had a drink, you know when your voice is tired or when you have pushed your voice too far because you can feel it, but alcohol numbs the sensation and hinders your ability to notice the warning signs. Combined with dehydration and abnormal mucus production drinking alcohol can be a recipe for disaster.

• Dairy - Dairy causes Phlegm! Well, actually this is a bit of myth. The fat in dairy thickens the natural mucus on our vocal cords and it does this in varying degrees to different people. Dairy with low-fat content can combat this but avoiding anything high in fat, especially before singing, is advised.

• Caffeine - Another big myth. Caffeinated products are not the cause of dehydration. However according to a 1999 study on the effect of caffeine on vocal folds, caffeine can have a negative impact on a singer's vocal quality, but the results vary significantly from person to person.

• Smoking - Okay, it's not a food or drink but it's definitely bad for singing. Smoking affects your lung capacity and irritates the membranes in the windpipe. This can result in excessive mucus, a cough and inflammation of the vocal cords as well as all the other health problems associated with smoking.

Food and drink can affect different people in different ways depending on intolerances, allergies and just the way your body processes food, so really pay attention to what foods work for you.

Vocal Practice and Health

It's essential that you put together a proper warm-up and cool down routine for your body and your voice, as well as work on your vocal technique to check you are singing healthily and efficiently. I recommend visiting a voice professional who can tailor a practice for your voice. Short, daily practice sessions are much better than a long practice once a week for both development and health. It is also very important that we avoid certain things like

• Shouting and screaming: can cause inflammation of the vocal cords.

• Whispering: actually causes more trauma to larynx than normal

  speech.

• Clearing the throat and coughing: creates enormous pressure on your vocal cords

• Talking too much: this one can be difficult, especially if you have a busy job, but give your voice a chance to rest.

• Rest: in our busy lives today it is often hard to find time for ourselves, but to use our voices to the fullest potential, it is very important that we rest our voice, mind, and body. If you feel any discomfort when practicing or singing, stop and rest your voice for 30mins and then do a cool down exercise. Warm up thoroughly before your next session and come back to whatever you were singing the next day. Continued huskiness, pain, loss of voice and change of tone can be a sign of vocal damage so be aware and get your voice checked out before you go back into singing; either by a reputable teacher or an Ear Nose and Throat doctor.

What if I get ill?

You can do all you can to prevent illness but sometimes illness still finds its way to you. What can we do if we get a cold or virus?

• Lemon, Ginger and Manuka Honey - Many singers swear by lemon, ginger and honey teas to help ease a cold. Lemon, ginger, and manuka honey have natural antibiotic qualities and drinking warm tea can steam and hydrate your vocal chords.

  NOTE: The high sugar content in honey can actually attract bacteria to the affected area, so it's important to choose manuka as is the only honey that is antibiotic.

• Steaming - Putting your head over a bowl of steam or using a vocal steamer can help hydrate and loosen mucus.

• Throat sweets - Throat and cough sweets can help with a sore throat. However, be careful that your throat sweet does not contain any anesthetics or numbing agents. These numbing agents do the job but will stop you feeling if you are pushing or hurting your voice and this can bring about more damage. It is advisable to use a singer specific throat sweet such as Vocal Zone.

• Drink water - Hydration is a singers’ best friend.

• REST - There are many herbal remedies and wives tales that may or may not work to a certain extent, but there is nothing more healing than rest. Your body cannot heal if it is constantly being put to work. Sometimes, as busy people, it can be a tough choice for singers to step back from work, but you may risk long-term damage if you don't.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE GET IN TOUCH OR BOOK A LESSON HERE.

How to cover any song and make it your own

Covering a song can be a daunting task. It is easy to get stuck in a rut and follow the ideas of the original artist. How can we make covers our own?

1. Work out what the lyrics mean to you

Look at the lyrics separately from the song, detach yourself from the emotions conjured by the accompaniment and the original artists' interpretation. What emotions do the lyrics bring about for you? Do they relate to something specific in your life? Do they bring up an image, a character or an emotion? Remember there is no right or wrong, just your story, and creative interpretation. If this is the opposite of the original artists' ideas, all the better.

2. Discover an emotional journey

Once you have your overarching theme or emotion, it is essential to find your emotional journey. An emotional journey is necessary for a couple of reasons. If your audience hears the same chorus or verse sung over and over again in the same way it gets a bit boring, but also within any story or emotion, you have a lot of emotional nuances. For example, if you decide to make your cover a break up song, you won't experience just one emotion, you might experience moments of anger, pain, sadness and perhaps even hope and empowerment.

3. Vocal Nuances

You need to find vocal nuances that reflect the emotional nuances you have chosen so that an audience know what to feel. Vocal nuances are the colours you give your voice to paint your emotional picture, they can cover anything from the use of tone to riffs and runs. You can't really go wrong with your creative decisions. This is your creative piece, your voice and your emotions, so what these emotions are and how you choose to express them are entirely up to you. Check out my video below to see how I explore how different vocal nuances, rhythms, and tempos affect the feeling of Rita Oras "Your Song".

4. Tempo and Rhythm

Most pop songs are around 120 beats per minute, this is because it is a nice tempo to dance to and it makes songs very marketable to clubs. At this tempo, a lot of songs feel lively but if you slow it down it can change the whole feeling of the song. To me, a slower pace often feels more reflective and sad. You also have the option of swinging the rhythm, this is a device commonly used in jazz music and can make the songs feel more laid back or sexy.

5. Have fun and explore the song

You will instinctually fall into a way of performing your cover, but it is vital to take your time and mess around with it. Once you find something, try the opposite, it might not work, but it might also lead you to find a moment of unexpected genius. There are so many times I have made a vocal mistake and realised that it sounds much better than my original idea. Record all your practice sessions so you can listen back and analyse what sounds good to an audience. It's important to approach listening back with a constructive and open mindset. If it doesn't sound how you would like, how can you change it to sound better?

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE GET IN TOUCH OR BOOK A LESSON HERE.

How to reduce Tongue Tension

Suffer from a tight jaw, tightness in the neck and surrounding muscles, distorted or airy tone, closed throat or cracks and wobbles in the voice? If you experience any of this, it could be tongue root tension. But don’t worry, most singers suffer from a bit of tongue tension at some point.

What is tongue tension?

It really is what it says on the tin. A tightening at the root of the tongue.

Where is tongue tension?

Tongue tension stems from the root of the tongue, labeled in the picture below. The tongue root is connected to the hyoid bone, which is a free-floating bone that supports your larynx. We only actually see a small portion of tongue in our mouth and it forms much of the front wall of the vocal tract. People often think the muscles under your chin are the tongue root. However, these are actually the mylohyoid and digastric muscles and although these do also attach to the hyoid bone, their function is really to form a supportive structure for the tongue and the hyoid bone and don’t tend to affect the voice too much.

Why is tongue tension a problem?

As I mentioned earlier, the tongue root forms the front wall of some of the vocal tract and the back of the mouth. Tongue tension can significantly reduce the resonating space, which in turn can result in a loss of tone, clarity and power, a general feeling of constriction and often contributes to a nasal tone. As it is also attached to the hyoid bone, it can push and pull the larynx around, affecting its mobility, reducing the ability to hit high notes and adversely affecting pitch. I’ve found with my students that tongue tension really impinges on the mix and head voice and a reduction in tongue tension can significantly improve range, control, and freedom in these areas.

Why do we get tongue tension?

There are so many reasons you could get tongue tension and I see it in most of my students at some point, whether they are professional or beginners. It could be the result of a lot of technical issues such as accent, breath support problems, muscle weaknesses, and vowel shapes. I have found in my students the no.1 reason for tongue tension is due to nerves or insecurity about a part of their voice. The tongue root is exceptionally responsive to emotions and often the most severe cases have come about when a student is anxious.

How do we fix tongue tension?

Tongue Stretchers - Watch one of my favourite tongue stretchers in the clip to the left, this one was introduced to me by London vocal coach Joshua Alamu. If you struggle with this, grab a kitchen towel and literally hold the tongue out. I love to start my daily practice routine with this.

Tongue Releasers - It's effective and fun to keep the tongue stretched out on a scale, maintaining a feeling of openness and space at the back of the mouth. You can use the straw or the kitchen towel or just stick it out. Doing the scales helps build an awareness of where in your range the tongue tension starts to kick in as the tongue will tug backward (or drop the straw). I’ve seen people find a dramatic change in tone and freedom with this exercise. As you can’t sing with the tongue out, repeat the scale with the tongue resting on the top lip, then resting in the mouth just behind the teeth. The aim is to sing through your entire range and get to a place where the tongue does not react to the pitch and movement of the larynx.

Tongue Movers - These exercises get the tongue moving and are great for tongue mobility. I like to use Tik-Ka Tik-ka Tik-ka, glay-gla glay-gla glay-gla and lee-yah lee-yah lee-yah (thank you to the Naked Vocalists for this one). These combinations of consonants and vowels really get the tongue moving and promotes flexibility. Spend a few minutes on these exercises at the bottom of your range, making sure you have enough space between your top and bottom teeth, you can literally use your thumb as a stopper, and focus on relaxation and clarity of sound. Your tongue may get a bit tired and slow during the exercise, if so just stop for 15 seconds and resume. If you feel nice and relaxed, then head up through the passagio (break) to a couple of notes above it.

Moving forward

These exercises can really help release the tongue, find freedom and most importantly build an awareness of what the tongue is doing. Tongue tension can return so you may need to maintain these exercises as part of your daily practice to keep it in check. If you are really struggling with it, it may be caused by an issue somewhere else and you might need help from a voice professional or vocal coach.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE GET IN TOUCH OR BOOK A LESSON HERE.

SINGING LESSONS WITH BETH ARE AVAILABLE IN LONDON OR ONLINE VIA ZOOM.