Improving Your Vocal Technique: Tips 5 & 6
After a short hiatus I’m back with some more tips to help you save your voice from fatigue, and consequently increase your ability to inspire your clients!
As a voice coach in the fitness industry I hear the word ‘projection’ a lot. One clientrecently told me: ‘my students can’t hear me over the music, but when I try to project my throat tightens up and I go hoarse’. So here’s the deal: the voice lives within the body, so let’s stop trying to push it out! Instead, how about we try the following..
Resonate.
If we place the voice forward on the hard palate and teeth it sets the bones in our face into vibration, which essentially equals resonance. And the greater the resonance, the louder the sound. So if you learn to speak with forward placement you’ll never have to ‘project’ again. Experiment! Try some big yawns to open the throat and oral cavities. Then try speaking on the edge of a yawn. This will give you more oral resonance, leading to a richer, fuller sound. Then gently place your hands on your face and hum into them, playing with different pitches. Can you feel vibrations in your hands? That’s your bones resonating. Essentially if you fill the theatre of your head with tone and vibration, you’ll fill the theatre that you’re in with sound! The same goes for the studio, the classroom, the boardroom or the pub.
Articulate.
Once we have space and forward tone we need to shape the sound into words, which is where articulation comes into play. Most people don’t think about their lips, tongue and jaw when they lose their voice – they always hone in on the throat. But if
we really use the muscles of our face to articulate what we’re saying, there’s a much greater chance of us being heard without needing to ‘project’ or push the sound out. Also, if we work our articulators it will naturally bring our voices forward and thus relieve some pressure from our throat. Before each class why not try warming up the muscles of your face as you would the rest of your body. Move your lips, tongue, cheeks, eyebrows and jaw like you’re trying to stop mosquitos from landing on them. Keep breathing. Blow through your lips like a horse, trilling up and down like a siren, then explore some tongue twisters. Always practise with ease, curiosity and awareness.
Happy Voicing!
Rob is an experienced voice coach with a Masters Degree in Voice from NIDA. He works with performers and non-performers alike, applying vocal techniques and principles of actor training to help people develop a free, flexible and resonant voice. Rob coaches privately and also teaches voice and acting at NIDA.