Contents
- 01Projecting isn't shouting
- 02A tube that changes shape
- 03The mask is a sensation, not a place
- 04Brightness without nasality
- 05A little space at the back, clear words up front
- 06A calm larynx
- 07Swallowed and nasal: the two extremes
- 08Vowels that shift as you go up
- 09From 'ng' to a vowel: the bridge exercise
- 10'Nei': a ladder to your high notes
- 11Projecting in a room and with a microphone
- 12Ten-minute resonance routine
- 13What you take with you
Resonance and vowels: projecting without pushing
How you fill a room with the shape of the tube rather than with force: brightness without nasality, vowels that shift up high and a calm larynx.
What you'll learn
In this lesson you'll learn to project without pushing: to use the shape of your throat and mouth so your voice carries far with little effort. You'll also learn to tell brightness from nasality, to keep your larynx calm as you go up and to change your vowels a little on high notes so they come out without squeezing.
What you'll need
About 22 minutes and a place where you can sing at medium volume without worrying. You'll use the app's Vocalization tool, which gives you the scale to practice on, and the Tuner, to check that the note doesn't move when you change vowels. Keep a mirror handy, to watch your mouth and jaw, and your phone to record yourself and compare.
If you're just starting
Welcome: for this lesson you don't need a big voice, just a willingness to try small gestures and listen to what they change. It helps you stop looking for volume through force and start finding it through shape, something you'll use later on high notes, in phrasing and in any style. It's best if you've already been through 'How your voice works', because here we put into practice the map of air, vibration and timbre explained there. We'll go one gesture at a time.
Words you'll come across
- Resonance
- How the tube of your throat and mouth enlarges and colors the sound your vocal folds make.
- Vocal tract
- The tube that runs from your vocal folds to your lips: throat, mouth and nose.
- Mask
- The area of your cheekbones and nose where you feel your voice vibrate when it sounds efficient.
- Soft palate
- The soft part at the back of the roof of your mouth; it lifts a little at the start of a yawn.
- Larynx (Adam's apple)
- The box that holds your vocal folds; its front is the Adam's apple you can touch on your neck.
- Nasality
- When part of the sound escapes through your nose and your voice sounds pinched and nasal.
- Swallowed sound
- Sending the sound back and down, with a covered, dark result.
- Modified vowel
- A vowel that changes shape a little on high notes so the note comes out without squeezing.