Student Q & A
Answer: There are two types of nasality: “hyponasal” when little to no air enters the nasal cavities, and “hypernasal” when too much enters the nasal cavities. Try singing starting with allowing no air into your nasal cavities and then slowly allow the muscles in that region to relax and let the air flow through the nasal cavities. Listen to how the sound changes and find the balance of sound that you like and practice to hold that balance.
How can I get my voice to project more?
Answer: Focusing on tone based exercises will cultivate a natural amplification and richer sound without spending extra air or effort. This is helpful for any music genre, whether you use a microphone for performing or not.
Is it true that you are born with the sound of your voice?
Answer: If you can speak, you can sing. The sound of your voice is the result of your influences which you mimic, adapt and program. So the reason why some people find it easier to sing than others is because they were exposed to music and took interest in it more so than others. This means that singing is something we all can learn.
I don’t like the sound of my voice. How can I change it?
Answer: The sound of your voice is a result of life experiences and influences. This means that you can change it by doing tone based exercises, exposing yourself to new sounds and styles of music and dedicating a lot of time to diligently vocalize, record yourself, self diagnose and make small adjustments.
Should I keep my larynx down when I’m singing?
Answer: Intentionally placing the larynx down or up can be beneficial in scenarios where you are looking to create a specific sound or distorted overtones. There’s also certain tone based exercises where we mindfully relax the larynx down to consciously stop negative behaviors such as pushing the larynx upwards when singing high notes. But generally speaking within a song we want the larynx to be able to float up and down naturally.
