How to sing louder and clearer without strain – vocal warm-ups to improve resonance
Resonance is a term used to describe the vibrations that create the tone of your voice. If used skilfully, resonance can deliver amazing volume and powerful sound without straining the voice. To take full advantage of resonance, you need to learn to use your resonators, i.e. your throat, mouth, and nasal passages. You also need to become skilled at ‘navigating’ your soft palate to adjust the resonance and the tonal quality of your voice.
What are the main ingredients that help to achieve a resonant sound?
- Open space in the back of the throat (adequately adjusted for different singing styles)
- Solid breath coordination
- Precise vowel shapes and sounds
- Twang technique (depending on musical style)
- Allowing the sound to ring in all resonating spaces
- Visualising the sound moving forward and into the room
What are the best vocal warm - up exercises to practise resonance?
- HUM (mmm)
This exercise helps to access the natural brightness and ringing quality of your voice. As you sustain the ‘m’ consonant, you should feel a buzz / vibration around your lips and the bridge of your nose. Once you feel the resonance in the front of your face (the mask area), try to transition from ‘mmm’ to ‘mmm-ee’, ‘mmm-ooh’, and ‘mmm-ah’ without losing the placement of the resonance.
2. YAWN / SIGH
This exercise helps to open up the back of the throat by lowering the position of the larynx. This subsequently widens the supraglottal space. To do this exercise, take a deep breath and make a yawn / sigh sound gliding smoothly through the notes along the way.
3. TWANG
Practising twang exercises involves the narrowing of the aryepiglottic sphincter to create a high-intensity tonal quality whilst maintaining low vocal effort. To practise twang, you can try using the following sounds:
- crying baby
- cartoon witch
- meow like a cat
- quack like a duck
4. SINGING PLOSIVE CONSONANTS ‘B’ and ‘P’
This exercise helps to move the breath forward. Plosive consonants are ideal for building strength and bringing energy into the voice.
Sing ‘P-B-P-B-P-B-P-B’ on a single, comfortable note whilst maintaining a steady flow of breath.
5. SIREN ON ‘NG’
This exercise will help to train greater vocal endurance and stability, whilst also helping to extend the vocal range. To do this exercise correctly, aim to glide through your range smoothly without intervals / pauses between the notes. It should feel easy on the throat, but you may feel slight effort in the roof of your mouth because the soft palate needs to be actively engaged throughout this warm-up. Aim for a soft sound, but avoid sounding breathy. If your sound becomes too airy, stop and readjust the mechanisms to produce a more connected ‘ng’ sound.