Do you think Michael Jordon became a great basketball player by reading a book on the subject? How about Lionel Messi? Do you think he became one of the world’s greatest soccer players by listening to a pile of CDs?
In both cases, these athletes might have become more motivated or more inspired, but neither one learned the techniques of the game by listening to audio or reading a book. The same holds true for great actors, musicians and singers.
If you are interested in discovering your ‘real’ or true voice, you need to not only hear what is happening but you must see it as well. There is no doubt that you have a better voice inside of you. In order to find it, however, you must see how to do it and as well as how not to do it.
You body has 5 resonators responsible for voiced sound. Presently you are using 4 of those resonators which would include your voice box, throat, mouth and nasal cavities. The one that is missing is the chest cavity.
The problem that results from not capitalizing on your chest cavity, obviously the largest of your resonators, is that you are pushing your other resonators to speak. And, in order to increase your volume, you are pushing much too hard. This is why so many people yell or shout when they are trying to be heard in a loud environment. If you do enough yelling or even just talking for great lengths of time, you could end up with vocal abuse.
The beauty of using your chest cavity as your primary amplifier is that it requires no pushing. Just the act of speaking is so much easier. When you want to increase your volume, you pull in your pelvic muscles and allow your chest to do the work. What this means is that you will be reducing the wear and tear on your vocal folds and throat. It is truly amazing to feel the difference between your ‘throat’ voice and your ‘chest’ voice.
It is also truly amazing to hear the difference between those two sounds. Your ‘throat’ voice is probably higher in pitch and may be nasal, whiny, childlike or too soft, to name just a few characteristics. Your ‘real’ voice, on the other hand, is richer, warmer, more mature-sounding, and probably deeper in pitch.
Forget the books and CDs if you want to discover your true voice. Find a good video program or personal coach so that you will can see, hear, and feel the difference in your voice.
I think when people hear the term “placement” (especially without knowledge of the voice) it creates some confusion. “Placing” the voice or “speaking from the diaphragm” causes some people to tense up or speak to deeply thereby not being heard in a “loud environment”. I find even a simple “mmm-hmm” as in agreement several times a few notes above vocal fry places the voice very effectively for correct vocal cord function. My dad does this at the dinner time very often and he has a very “warm” and large voice. Also, I’m wondering if you can tell me how you aim a high head voice note? I understand there may not be a general answer for this, but I’m wondering what correct laryngeal function would be for someone at a higher range. I hear a lot of rock and heavy metal singers take their chest voice far too high and aim the note at the soft palate. I understand from your previous articles that you took some singing lessons, so I’m hoping you can shed some light on this. Lastly, I’m wondering if you know of an actor Kevin James and wondering what you think of his voice quality. I apologize if this is too wordy and unrelated to your article. I think what you’re doing for people’s self esteem is great. It’s nice to find someone who finally knows what they’re talking about in terms of voice. Thanks in advance.
Wow, DLM. You’ve got quite a comment. And I apologize for not responding sooner; however, you have too many side issues to discuss in one reply. As far as shedding some light on the singing aspect, I keep away from talking about singing. It is definitely not my area of expertise.
I’m really not concerned about people not understanding the term ‘placement,’ however, because I do not feel anyone should try to find their ‘real’ voice without coaching in some fashion. This is why so many radio DJs have done damage to their voice — primarily because they try to force their pitch too deep.
By the way, a true ‘deep’ or bass voice can be well understood, however, as long as the diction is good as well as the volume. If one is speaking below his optimum range, however, it will be more difficulty to understand.
Again, my apologies for not getting back to you sooner.
Oh, I forgot. I like Kevin James voice. Comedians often speak in a higher pitch for effect. James doesn’t. A good example is Jane Curtin. As the comedian, her voice is nasal and high. When she is interviewed, however, she has a lot of warmth and depth to her voice.