How to fix breathy singing?
When singing, we usually want to aim for a clear, resonant, ringing tone, but sometimes however hard we try, all that comes out is a weak, breathy sound.
So, why do we sound airy and how to fix breathy singing?
One of the major reasons for breathy singing is incomplete closure of the vocal folds. When we sing or speak our vocal folds come together and vibrate to create sound. However, when the vocal folds don’t come together completely and there is a little gap between them during speaking or singing, a stream of air will escape ‘leak’, which in turn creates a breathy singing tone.
Incomplete closure of the vocal folds may be caused by a number of things, including:
- Weakness or poor coordination of the muscles which bring the vocal folds together.
- Poor breath support, either insufficient or too much of a forceful exhale.
- Mutational chink (phonatory gap) – usually observed in adolescent girls when they go through puberty. They may then experience a breathy sound due to a slight gap that is sometimes present at the back of the glottis (opening between the vocal folds). This is due to the fact intrinsic laryngeal muscles (muscles within the larynx), which are responsible for abduction, adduction and longitudinal tension of the folds, may be developing at different rates. This results in a temporary lack of coordination and balance. The gap leaks air and thus translates into a breathy tone.
- Medical problems, such as nodules, polyps, other conditions affecting the closure of the vocal folds
- Imitation of other singers who have a breathy sound.
Why is prolonged and habitual breathy singing bad for the voice?
During breathy singing the vocal folds do not adduct fully, which means the initial sound that we produce is weak and lacking energy. This weak initial sound source means we cannot achieve as good a resonance as we could do with a clear, ringing tone.
Another reason why airy singing is not beneficial for the voice is that when the vocal folds do not come fully together during sound production and when a lot of air is passing through them, the air has a drying effect on the mucosal lining of the vocal folds. This may have an adverse effect on the health of the voice and result in various medical conditions, including vocal nodules.
Exercises that encourage full vocal closure and reduction of breathy sound:
- Pick a note in the middle of your lower register and sustain that pitch on an ‘ng’ sound as in ‘sing’. Once you’re comfortably achieving full vocal closure on your chosen pitch, move up the scale by a semitone and repeat the exercise for other notes.
- Practise singing a syllable ‘gi’. When we pronounce ‘gi’ our vocal folds close before producing the sound, which helps with vocal fold closure training.
- Try a ‘call out / calling’ technique, i.e. speak a variety of energised phrases, such as: ‘ugh oh!’, ‘ahh’, ‘ohh’, ‘oh no!’, ‘wow!’, ‘no way!’. These phrases (when spoken) help to bring the vocal folds in balance and achieve a full closure and thus eliminate the breathy quality. Once you are comfortably achieving a full vocal fold adduction during speaking these phrases, then repeat the ‘calling’ exercise on pitch.
- Make use of ‘twang’ – twang refers to the ‘bright’ quality that results from the narrowing of the Aryepiglottic Sphincter (AES). The Aryepiglottic Sphincter are muscles located on the top of the folds, connecting them to epiglottis (a flap in the throat that keeps food from entering the windpipe and the lungs). During twang the muscles pull the epiglottis in and the sound becomes stronger, brighter, and more resonant. Twang enables us to produce more volume with less power and strain. To practise ‘twang’ use some of the following exercises: a bratty ‘nyeah’, a meowing cat, a witchy ‘ee’, a duck ‘quack’ sound, ‘naan’ sound, etc.
Whilst breathy tonal quality can be a great addition to your singing, as it can add some texture and dimension to the sound, it should only be reserved for decorative purposes.
Happy singing!
Sources: Wikipedia, Voice Foundation, Vocalzone