11 Things You Don't Think Your Voice Can Do (It Can!)

I have the most wonderful job. I get to hear miracles take place with people's voices. These breakthroughs happen because of the team of teacher and student.  It takes both, as any good teacher knows. Just this week a happy Power, Path & Performance vocal student told me she wished everyone knew what was possible. So I told her I'd do a blogpost on it.

Here are 13 of the many surprising things your voice could do:

1. You can learn to sing without vocal strain. This blows some people away to realize.

2. You can learn to sing on pitch. Most of the time it's not even your ear that's the problem, but if it is, it's amazing what a little pitch practice can do.

3. You have more vocal range than you imagine. You can sing higher in chest voice, without strain, when you learn to use mixed or middle voice to do it. You can also sing lower than you think. You enable low notes just like you do high notes... by stretching, not crunching.

4. Your voice is capable of richer, more interesting tone than you think is natural to you. You find your full resonance by learning to open your 'voice cave' so that the vibrations from your larynx can reach all your resonators.

5. You can learn new vocal licks, and learn to use them appropriately to reach the heart of your audience instead of sounding fake. There are tricks good vocal teachers know to help you.

6. Even if you have breathing issues, you can have enough breath to sing. It doesn't take much when you do it right.You can sing long notes without running out of breath. The answer is to balance breath support and control.

7. Your voice can get better with age. As long as your physical health is good, you can find even more resonance and ability, not less, as you get older.

8. You can learn to sing in the studio with the magic you get in live performance. You can also learn to sing live as well as you record, if you are a veteran session singer. Performance coaches can do wonders!

9. You have all the voice you need to deliver a message in any style except classical, if you just know how to "play your instrument". (Don't you know a singer whose technique is lacking but whose voice moves you?)

10. You can sing "ee" and "oo" vowels (and all other ones, too) on high pitches without getting tight. You learn to modify the vowels more openly and vertically and no more squeaky highs!

10. You can get a handle on numbness and stage anxiety when you learn the psychological and body language secrets of making your performance about your audience, not you.

11. You can learn to speak more effectively...without vocal fatigue or strain. The lack of strain in the speaking voice can be life-changing for public speakers and teachers, but benefits your singing voice as well.

12. You can mend frustrating vocal breaks. I used to have the worst "break" I'd ever heard of. I conquered it and now I know how to help others do the same.

13. You can afford to train your voice. Even one Power, Path and Performance vocal lesson can help you. You can get PPP training materials online and have a vocal lesson every day if you want!

So... I'd like to hear from you. What do you think your voice can't do?

What A Tight Tongue Can Do To Your Singing

Your tongue is connected to more than you think. Use it the wrong way and it can cause trouble.
That sounds like something your mother would tell you, doesn't it:) Well, here's how speaking or singing with a tight tongue can affect your voice:

1. A tightness in the root or base of the tongue will cause or accompany a tightness in the jaw which will tighten and stiffen the soft palate, preventing the lifted palate necessary for an open throat. This will cause all kinds of vocal problems.
2. A tight tongue grabs the hyoid bone and lifts the larynx. This will cause thin, choked sound, limited vocal range and vocal strain.
3. Dr. Lance Robbins, DC, CPT, suggests we also check the digastric muscles. This set of muscles runs along the sides of the bottom of the jaw. Tension or spasm in either muscle can interfere with flexibility in the tongue, leading to the tight tongue we do not want.

So can we solve the tight tongue problem?

• Certain jaw exercises and tongue stretching can help relax these muscles, as well as manipulations by an intuitive chiropractor. 
• Put two fingers up under the jaw and check for a bulking, tight tongue base. Try talking or singing again, holding those two fingers against the tongue and willing it to relax.
• Articulate, or form words, with the tip and front sides of the tongue at the front of your mouth instead of back in your jaw. A deaf person should be able to read your lips for the lyrics. 

Your comments and feedback are always most welcome. If you are a student of Power, Path & Performance, focus on the exercises for tongue and jaw flexibility.

Jaw Popping, Tired Voice? Here's help

I just received a comment on one of my articles about the jaw. Here's the question:

"I am 13, and do a lot of singing. My jaw always pops in and out of place when I'm singing recently, and my voice is getting really tired. Is my jaw the cause of my voice feeling tired?"

Her voice getting tired and her jaw popping is most probably caused by too much breath pressure. Here's my suggestion to her, which I hereby pass on to you:

Try this--

• Find an empty wall; put your head and heel flush against it. You should notice that your ribs are open wide in this position. 
• Put your open hand about an inch from your mouth. 
• Sing to your hand, while trying to leave as little breath on your hand as possible.  This should cause you to back off the "air force" you normally think you have to use.
  

When you take the pressure off your voice, your jaw often just finds it's own comfortable flexibility and the popping will diminish. Let me know how it works for you.

ps... hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, with your jaws working on delicious fare!