Singing with more power is a goal of many new students in my studio. Commonly, students will come for lessons because they are trying to sing in “full voice” up in the higher ranges of their singing voice. The mistake that is usually made is that they try to drag their chest voices up past their first bridge and into where the mix should occur. This usually causes discomfort, hoarseness and ultimately damage over time. It is important to remember that when we are first building sound in the mix and head ranges, that the fullness and power that is desired is limited at best. This is because the necessary strength and coordination has not been attained that can manage larger amounts of air pressure that are required for the more powerful sounds.
Blasting a bunch of air through the voice is not the answer. It is necessary that a light, yet connected coordination be found first. This can be “leaned into” more and more over time provided that the larynx stays stable and relaxed, and that the vowels stay narrow through the bridges. The narrow vowels ensure that the resonance moves more and more behind the soft palate as the pitches ascend, rather than “splatting” out of the mouth resulting in a pulled, and strained sound and feeling.
This blog is not owned or operated by Speech-Level-Singing International, it is owned and operated privately by Guy Babusek. The views expressed herein are strictly his own.
