Using Your Natural Voice

[Traindom]

Hey guys! I found an awesome article that really dispels misunderstandings and myths (the best thing any author or blogger can do for me, ever) about a man's voice.

A very easy and eye-opening read. It basically says that trying to imitate deep-voiced people like James Earl Jones is not good for the vocal chords. It also states that one should opt to find their natural tone and optimal tone by projecting through one's mask.

It says one should focus on having a clear voice natural to oneself and not on trying to have the deepest voice possible. It also cites various examples of people who make their voices work for them.

What I found fascinating is that like many other subjects on this forum, one can adopt bad vocal habits, which can include breathing from the chest or projecting from the nose, which results in a nasal voice.

It's a very eye-opening read for me. It also talks about diaphragmatic breathing to add power to your voice and perhaps deepen it a little bit. I found awesome cues in the comments section, like "breathe low and full." Awesome stuff.

I believe Mark talked a bit about voice projection in his book, so I thought it would be nice to add on to it.

Here's the link: http://artofmanliness.com/2011/11/13/masculine-voice/

[IdEngager]

Quote:Bottom line: Do your best with the voice you have, but don’t fret too much about whether it’s “manly” enough. Just own it. That’s the manly thing to do.

Probably the best line in the article.

Besides that though, I can identify with a lot of this article. I fancy myself a bit of a singer these days, but growing up, I had no confidence in my voice. I actually sang choir in grade school, but my mumbling when I spoke was really bad, to the point where my parents always got on me about it and friends in college called me "McMumbles".

Trying to copy a voice you like is generally a bad idea, especially if you have no idea what your range is. When I was 16, my favorite musician was Jimi Hendrix, and I figured, "hey, he can't sing, I can sing like him!" But his range is naturally much lower than mine.

I think the part most guys confuse is projecting from the mask. Everyone hears about projecting from the diaphragm or projecting from your chest, but it's easily confused if you've never had any vocal training or anything like that. People hear project from the chest and I think it makes people think everything should vibrate from the throat. It should not! That's how you hold back your own voice and how even great singers like Adele end up in vocal cord surgery (obviously even with poor technique she could power over it cause that girl can sang).

I've had a couple friends ask me for help about singing, and I'm always like, aim for the top of the mouth. It's like if you can envision a woodwind or brass instrument (I was a clarinet player growing up), the holes where you change the pitch are fairly far up, but you project from the bell. You want enough airflow to project through the bell (this is where the diaphragm comes in), but use your whole windpipe!

[Zelazny]

Hey, this is a very good thread. A different technique I use to finding your optimal timbre / sound is simply going from high to low (Humming or singing or just continually speaking a vowel) through the reach of your voice. At some point, you will feel it tickle or vibrate on the front of your face (or your 'mask' as the article calls it). But you can also vary around that point by finding the point where you feel the tone resonating more inside your mouth.

The feeling is hard to describe, but at some point, the spaces between your throat and your mouth feel more 'filled' with resonance. At this point, your voice sounds richer and warmer.

On a related note, I feel like I gained control of a sort of bass boost, where I can turn the resonance on and off. With resonance on I do get a lot of compliments of women, stating that they like my voice, "You sound nice" and/or "you should be on radio."

Now to only improve my articulation, because I'm a lazy speaker and tend to mumble a lot. But that's also a point of forming the words and at the very end of your mouth, near the teeth and lips.

[Traindom]

It's good to see other people can relate to this article. I myself tried to project frpm my chest and realized my throat felt strained soon afterwards. The only time I tey to even hit a low range is for maybe fun voice impressions.

You guys seem to have a firm grasp of projecting from your mask. I need a better cue to project from the mask. I feel like I get to close to using my nose. Is this what you mean about aiming for the top the mouth?

I also tend to mumble. My friends would go "WHAT?" It's laziness on my part. It's like I need to take a more active role in articulation. A clear voice is better than an artificial voice.

[Zelazny]

Well, if you want to articulate more, simply try to form words between your teeth and towards your lips. We'd use a warming up where you'd imagine you're some sort of chipmunk nibbling on a little nut just in between your front teeth, that's where most of your clear articulation is.

If your aim is to simply be able to become louder or more distinctly hearable, you could try to incorporate more "twang" into your voice. (It's the thing you do where you 'move' the tones you create towards your nose. It leads to a bit of the nanny "Oh mr sheeffiiieeeeld" / witch-y kind of sound, but if you learn to use it in a more subtle way, it can be used to underline what you say. Alan rickman is a hero in this. And there's the added benefit that the higher frequencies used are perceived as being 'louder')

In my opinion, these techniques together can give you great control of your voice:
- Breath control / singing from the diaphragm. Basically using your belly instead of your chest
- Using the tone that gives you the best/warmest/richest timbre that fits your voice
- Articulating well
- Being able to actively use inflection (lower,higher,equal) and twang to give your voice options to communicate.

[Traindom]

Thanks Zelazny. I'm been practicing my breathing for a week now. I'm also going to implement your tips. I didn't notice that about Alan Rickman! I think a trip to youtube is in order.

[Creatine Dreams]

Yeah, this stuff is good.

Something you guys should also think about is this.

Whether or not you voice sounds high or low does not only have to do with the actual frequency of your speaking voice.

In my opinion, the positioning of your larynx is more important. Think of the larynx as being the equalizer of your voice. If your larynx is low, your voice will sound mare bassy. If you larynx is high, your voice will sound more trebly, even is you are speaking in a low frequency.

[Zelazny]

Well, that's normal. When you make low notes, your larynx moves down, if you make high notes, it goes up. It's usually done automatically by those making sound.

Personally, I find this to be more of a result of using your voice than something you'd actively train.

[Matty]

Nice, i'll have to check this out. I'm cursed with what I perceive to be a boyish voice (think Leonardo DiCaprio). Although i'm sure this is just my insecurities, i'd like to man it up a bit. I took theatre in university, so I do know something about using your voice correctly, but have any of you guys found any ways to make this into a habit?? My problem is I can use my voice properly, but I often don't make it a habit, and slip back into my top register.

[Zelazny]

Well, if you have theatre experience : Make it a habit to 'ground' and to keep your breath low. Just note when it isn't and compensate. That way you'll build a new habit of assuming a slightly dominant stance, have good posture and will relax more. The more relaxed you are, the more your voice can just flow.