Singing Tips: 4

Tone:

• The tone of the singing voice is created in the resonating pharynx and oral cavity and is focused as it is passed through the jaws, tongue, teeth and lips.
• A properly focused sound will cause a buzzing or tingling in the teeth, lips and nose
• The vocal range is a function of the length and thickness of the vocal fold, but a singer's vocal part classification is determined by the frequencies where the tone naturally resonates based on the size and configuration of the throat, mouth and sinuses
• For example, a tenor's voice resonates or rings most strongly between middle C and high C even though he may be able to sing down to the same low C pitch as a bass singer
• Your voice's tone sounds differently inside your head than it does to others listening to you, so practicing with a tape recorder can be a help to determine and practice singing with a proper tone
• The strings of an acoustic guitar set up vibrations that resonate in the body of the guitar which naturally amplifies their sound

Dynamics:

• Playing a guitar's strings harder or softer controls its dynamics, but the essential volume of the guitar is a function of its resonating body
• Air from the lungs that flows through the larynx is vibrated by the vocal fold and resonates in the pharynx and the oral cavity
• Increasing or decreasing the air pressure through the vocal fold controls vocal dynamics, but the essential volume of the voice is a function of the resonating pharynx and oral cavity
• Trying to singing loudly and powerfully simply by increasing the flow of air through the larynx will cause the vocal fold to tighten to handle the increased air pressure and that will produce a distorted and unpleasant sound
• Singing loud dynamics requires opening the resonating space more fully and ensuring the tone is focused toward the front of the face