In this week’s video I’d like to address something that I’ve encountered several times among my students: a nasal voice. It’s usually more common in singing, although it can also happen in speaking.
In the video below I explain what a nasal voice is and I give practical tips to correct it.
Correcting a nasal voice is not hard and doesn’t take long. Try this and let me know how it goes:
“Can I sing with a cold? Or a cough?” So many students have asked me this question! The answer is…no…and yes. 😁
If you have a performance and you have a bad cold, with your sinuses completely clogged, or you’re coughing and you sound like your voice is two octaves lower than usual, then it’s probably not a good idea to sing.
However, you can always practice and do your warm-ups, as long as you do it in the right way. My teacher would never let me skip a singing lesson because of a cold or cough. She actually insisted that it’s a great opportunity, because in order to sound even decent you have to make an extra effort to use your vocal technique properly. If you don’t, you’ll probably hear only guttural noises but no sound.
I think she had a very good point. Of course, you have to accept the fact that your voice will not sound great. So don’t try to “fix it” by pushing it out, because you’ll only make things worse.
For example, sometimes it’s hard to hold the pitch when you have a cold or a cough. The reason is that the extra mucus may block the sound. So, again, don’t try to fight it by pushing the voice to its right pitch. It’ll just make it tired and hoarse. The bad pitch could also be cause by your ears being plugged, which is often the case with this kind of condition.
So, when you have a cold or a cough:
What’s the most important aspect of the singing technique that you would like to learn?
If you’re like most aspiring singers I know, you will probably say “expand my vocal range“, or “singing high notes without effort.”
How can you learn to expand your range and sing high notes without effort? Is that even possible? Heck yes!
Not only is it possible, but it’s the way to do it, if you:
Once you learn to use your head voice properly, high notes become your friends. Singing them will be so much fun, and you will look back with amusement at the time when you were trying to hit the high notes by pushing and straining your voice, because you didn’t know any better.
In this video I show you how you can access your head voice and develop your higher range without creating tension in your throat.
I’m sure you’ll find it helpful:
One of the main features of a professional in any field is the ability to make what they do look easy and effortless.
The same happens in music and singing, of course. Because singing comes easy for me, people tend to think that I was born with that ability, and all I had to do was open my mouth and let the voice do the rest.
Not at all!
Developing my voice was hard work that took years. In many ways, it’s still going on, because I think you’re never really done refining and improving your technique.
In the video below I tell my story of how I started singing and the challenges I went through. I thought it might inspire you, in case you’re someone who loves singing, but they think that they’re not gifted enough to try it.
Let me hold your hand as you take your first step:
Let me hold your hand as you take your first step:
Incorrect use of the low range is one of the most common issues that I run into in working with singers. Most women resist singing in their chest voice and tend to sing everything in their head voice. I believe this is because it’s easier and the quality of the tone is more ethereal and less masculine.
There are significant problems with this approach:
There can be other reasons for not wanting to use the chest voice, ones that are rooted in our emotions and psyche. I discovered this while helping public speakers develop a strong, resonant speaking voice.
A strong, yet relaxed speaking voice is deeply connected to self-confidence. Often those who speak with a breathy voice were told many times as a child to be quieter. They may have been told to not sing, or to just lip sync because they were judged to be inadequate singers. When working with these students and we touch on making their voices fuller, buried emotions are often released, revealing the deep connection between the voice and our emotions. Working on the voice acts as a catalyst to bring deeply rooted issues to the surface.
A full voice communicates clarity of expression and conviction. If it’s forced out it’s often perceived as revealing insecurity. A voice that is full, strong, resonant, and without strain, conveys an attitude of self-confidence that is not imposing and is without ulterior motive. This predisposes the audience to be more receptive to you and what you have to share.
For a singer, a full, resonant voice means a larger “bandwidth”, better suited to sharing energy and inspiration. The correct use of the chest voice ensures that inspiration is grounded, practical, and accessible by the audience. Fullness and volume are but one aspect of what you are offering to your audience. Remember to remain open to the flow of inspiration, which can only work unimpeded when you get the ego out of the way.
Learning to balance strength and self-confidence with selfless expression of inspiration is a constant process of fine-tuning and recalibrating our intentions as performers. The reward, however, is the growing, overwhelming realization that we are part of something much greater, and through singing, we can access this and share it with the world.
One of the questions I hear a lot is, “Do I really need vocal training? Why can’t I just sing following my inspiration, and not worry too much about technique?”
It’s a very good question, and I want to give it proper consideration.
Interestingly, I’ve never heard the question, “Do I need training to become a violinist?” But when it comes to singing, many people are under the assumption that we’re all born singers!
In this video I address the question of vocal training and why, I feel, it’s important in order to effectively convey inspiration through our singing. I hope it’s clarifying.
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Do you have any thoughts on this subject? Please share them with me in the comments below! 🤗
Happy singing, –Ramesha |
In working with singers, mainly women, I’ve often noticed the tendency at the beginning of their training to sing with a “breathy” sound, meaning a sound that is not pure but mixed with some air.
I don’t know if there’s a physiological reason why women in general have to deal with this issue more than men. What I have observed is that many women instinctively tend to sing with a softer, almost ethereal sound, and to shy away from using their voice in a way that perhaps feels almost masculine to them.
The problem with this tendency is that the voice needs the proper support that comes from correct placement; that lack of support will become more and more noticeable as you move higher in the range. Your high notes, if they’re there at all, will probably sound so weak as to be almost non-existent.
Some singers, especially sopranos, make the mistake of singing lower notes in their head register, instead of the chest register. This is sort of like driving your car in the parking lot in fourth gear: not very efficient! Their voice seems to “kick in” only at a certain height, the point at which it becomes appropriate to sing in the head register.
Here are a few suggestions to correct this tendency:
I think we can all agree that breathing correctly is an important component of a good singing technique. Breath is the motor that makes it possible for the vocal cords to produce any sound.
There’s a lot of literature out there that claims that in order to be able to sing, all you have to do is learn the right breathing exercises (diaphragmatic breathing) and everything else will fall into place. Wishful thinking…It’s sort of like saying that if you learn the correct breathing technique you automatically know how to play trumpet! You can have the most perfect diaphragmatic breathing and still not be able to sing. On the other hand, if you learn how to place the voice correctly, you will automatically also breath correctly.
What do we mean by “breathing correctly”?
The diaphragm is the most efficient muscle of breathing. It is a large, dome-shaped muscle located at the base of the lungs. Your abdominal muscles help move the diaphragm and give you more power to empty your lungs. When you inhale, move your stomach out, like a balloon that’s getting inflated. When you exhale, tighten your stomach muscles and pull your stomach in.
It is easier to be aware of this mechanism while lying down on you back. Place your hands interlocked on your stomach and feel your stomach move out against them as you inhale and then fall back inward as you exhale.
In singing, feel that your breath is coming from your abdominal area, rather then your lungs. Don’t just expand you chest when you inhale, but feel your stomach going out and then gradually feel it come in as you sing (exhale).
Some people who are by nature more soft-spoken might find it helpful to practice the following breathing exercises separately from the actual singing in order to strengthen their diaphragm and abdominal muscles.
Breathing Exercises
1. Lie on your back on a flat surface or in bed. Interlock your hands over your belly. Inhale slowly through your nose and feel your stomach move out against your hands, like a balloon that’s getting inflated. Now tighten your abdominal muscles and exhale through your mouth, making a sound like “Tsssssssss”. Feel your belly under your hands move slowly back down toward the floor. Repeat several times. Stop if you feel you start to feel dizzy!
Once you’re comfortable doing the exercise while lying down, try it while sitting upright on a chair.
2. Another breathing exercise that is good for strengthening the diaphragm is known in the Yoga tradition as Kapalabhati Pranayama:
“Draw the diaphragm inward sharply, forcing the air out through the nostrils in quick thrusts. Let the inhalation take place automatically; all of your effort should be spent in the exhalation. Each respiration should take about one second to perform. Do this exercise 12 to 24 times to begin with – then more, as you become accustomed to it.”
~ From The Art and Science of Raja Yoga by Swami Kriyananda (J. Donald Walters)
