Vocal Resonance in Singing

Do you want to know how to develop a strong and powerful voice when singing? Then learn how to improve vocal resonance!

On this page, I will tell you everything you need to know about vocal resonance. Enjoy and learn!

According to Google, resonance is “the quality in a sound of being deep, full, and reverberating”, which is really cool because that is the goal of every singer, right?

But this definition really does not help us understand how to get resonance in voice.

So, let’s continue.

Google also says that in the field of physics, resonance means “the reinforcement or prolongation of sound by reflection from a surface or by the synchronous vibration of a neighboring object”.

What???

I know.

This is not the clearest definition but bear with me.

The most important word in this definition is “the reinforcement”.

One of the key ideas about singing resonance is making the sound bigger and louder. Vocal resonance is a process during which the fundamental frequency created by vibrating vocal folds is enhanced by passing through the air in the vocal tract.

If we could take the vocal folds out of your throat and make them vibrate, the basic sound would be very ugly, buzzy and weak.

But let’s put the vocal folds back into your throat and this ugly and weak sound has to pass through the air-filled vocal tract. The sound energy is boosted and the character of the sound is changed due to the presence of overtones.

The vibrations from the vocal folds travel through the air in the larynx, throat, mouth and nose. 

The final sound will depend on:

• the size of the vocal tract
• the shape of the vocal tract
• the type of openings to and from the resonating spaces
• the thickness of the walls
• the surface of the walls of the vocal tracts.

That is the reason why we all sound different. By manipulating the vocal tract, we can change our voice and sound like someone else.

But singers can manipulate the vocal tract and sound louder, richer and better.

Humans have several resonators that they can adjust to serve this function. For example, the position of the larynx, movements of the jaw and tongue, the shape of the lips, the position of the soft palate and coupling of the nasal cavity are just a few examples.

Here is a video that introduces vocal resonance. Watch it now:

Link to the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFIKly8yAU8

Vocal Resonators

There are two types of resonance:

• Free resonance is when vibrations travel through the air.
• Conductive resonance happens when vibrations transfer through bones, muscles and other body tissue.

You are probably most familiar with the second type of resonance during singing, especially when singing in the lower register of your voice, when you can feel vibrations in your upper chest.

But this type of resonance does not contribute to the external sound that is heard outside of your body.

The sound that people around you hear when you are singing is the result of free resonance when the basic frequency, the basic sound is created at the level of vocal folds and then travels through the air in the vocal tract, where it transforms into a beautiful sound.

The vocal tract is the best resonator because:

• It is a cavity or a series of cavities,
• They are adjustable,
• There are openings to and from these cavities.

For this same reason, the chest and the head are not good resonators because they do not have an adjustable cavity and there is no opening through which the sound waves could leave.

The pharynx is the most important resonator in your whole body because you can adjust its:

• size,
• shape,
• openings to and from the pharynx, and
• tension of the pharyngeal walls.

Your mouth is the second important resonator. You can adjust its size and opening to and from the mouth, therefore it is an effective resonator.

You can change the shape and size of the oral cavity by moving the jaw, tongue, and the soft palate.

Lastly, the nasal cavity also plays an important role in resonance. However, you cannot change the size and shape of the nasal cavity, maybe slightly by flaring your nostrils.

The nasal cavity is important for production of nasal consonants, which in English are the M, N and NG sound, like in the word sing.

In singing, you can increase or decrease the degree of nasal resonance by the action of the soft palate.

In this video, I share more about this topic as well as an exercise to add more resonance to your singing. Enjoy!

Link to the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jlWFv30ZfI

Nasality in Singing

What is nasal resonance?

People have several vocal resonators that amplify or change the basic sound created at the level of the vocal folds, including the pharynx, the mouth and the nasal cavity.

If the sound resonates in the nasal cavity, your nose, we talk about nasal resonance. In English, we know three speech sounds, so called nasal sounds requiring nasal resonance: M, N and NG like in the word sing.

We call all other English sounds oral sounds and they don’t have a nasal component.

During production of the nasal sounds, the port to the nasal cavity, your nose, is open so that the vibrations, the sound can travel through this opening and then it resonates in the space of the nasal cavity.

In order to open the port to the nasal cavity, the soft palate has to be lowered.

On the other hand, when you want to produce oral sounds, the soft palate has to be lifted and close off the nasal cavity from the pharyngeal and oral cavities.

Here is a video, in which I explore these concepts further.

Link to the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y307qHCguJw

During singing, we use various degrees of nasal resonance depending on the style of singing, personal preferences, and experience. Some singers are known for their “nasal voices” and in some music genres, a higher degree of nasality is even admired, like in pop or country.

But what does it mean to be nasal?

Even though there is no agreement on how much nasal resonance is too much, there are two extremes that we need to consider: hyponasality and hypernasality.

Perceived Nasality

And to make things even more complicated, being “too nasal” can also be a result of a high laryngeal position or overly bright sound, which are not good for most singers as they may lead to vocal straining.

What is interesting about this type of perceived “nasality” is that the sound appears to be “nasal” but in fact there is no nasal resonance present, so no air travels through the nose.

And let me mention one more concept: “singing in the mask”, which is known for more nasal sounding type of singing but again, there may not be any air travelling through the nose.

In fact, you can produce completely oral sounds (so no air traveling through the nose) but you can still feel vibrations in these facial bones.

That is because the vibrations amplified in your larynx, pharynx and the oral cavity travel through the bones and other body tissues and you can feel them right here.

Soft Palate Function

You may have heard it many times: lift soft palate, lift the soft palate. But is it always necessary to lift the soft palate when you sing? 

Let's find the soft palate first. Place a clean finger up behind your upper teeth and then slowly slide it back. Feel the hard, bony structure at the front of your mouth, then feel the soft part. This is the transition between the soft palate and hard palate. If you move your finger even more back, then you will feel the soft palate.

The soft palate can be raised and it can be lowered.

The Function of the Soft Palate

The primary function of the soft palate is to close off the nasal cavity from the throat and oral cavity during swallowing.

When the soft palate is lowered or relaxed, the port to the nasal cavity is open, which means that air can travel through the nose. When the soft palate is raised, the port to the nasal cavity is closed and air can travel only through the mouth.

The soft palate is also important for correct sound production during speaking and for adding nasal resonance during singing. In speech, the soft palate is lowered to make nasal sounds, which in English are M, N, and NG (like in the word sing).

The soft palate also plays a role in producing the K and G sounds – these sounds are created by lowering the soft palate and by lifting the back of the tongue. 

So, should you be lifting soft palate all the time when singing?

Many vocal teachers with classical training will always recommend lifting the soft palate to achieve a balanced resonance while singing. By lifting the soft palate, a singer creates more resonating space in the oropharynx, which is the space behind your mouth.

This is of course a good thing.

However, not every singing style requires lifting of the soft palate.

How to raise soft palate?

Lowering your soft palate is easy.

Lifting the soft palate can be trickier.

Watch this video to learn how to lift the soft palate with an easy trick!

Link to the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTlRU2GXX2o

Vocal Resonance Exercise

Now, let's put our knowledge into practice and do some resonance vocal exercises.

STEP 1:

Hum on a 3 note scale.

Pay attention to vibrations that you can feel during the exercise to build more voice resonance. Depending on the pitch, you will be able to feel vibrations either on your chest, or in the bones of your head, or in your lips, teeth, nose or in a several of these locations at the same time.

The more vibrations you can feel the better.

Also pay attention to the ease of sound production because you don’t want to sacrifice freedom and invite tension to achieve more volume. Rather focus on adjusting the position of your jaw, tongue, soft palate and larynx to achieve a stronger hum.

STEP 2:

Bring your lips together, inhale through the nose and hum on a comfortable pitch in your speaking range.

Now, play around with the configuration of the vocal tract, more specifically the position of the jaw, tongue and soft palate.

For example, first hum with teeth close together, then hum with your jaw open as much as possible but with lips still closed.

Then, find the optimal jaw position between these two extremes, where your hum is most resonant and the sound production feels easy.

Then, do the same for the tongue position – find the most optimal tongue position. Is it a tongue tip down behind your lower teeth or a tongue tip up? Is it the back of the tongue up or down? Find a position that gives you most vibrations and ease of sound production.

Do the same for the position of the soft palate and the position of the larynx.

STEP 3:

Once you find the most resonating hum, practice it on easy scales.

Here is a video that demonstrates the exercise and provides free accompaniment to your humming. Link: https://youtu.be/B8WFkajFcSc