5.3. Voice exercises: vocal effects

It is useful to have at your disposal a range of voice effects for different situations. You can start to practise these as add-ons once your Better Voice is well established – not before, otherwise with your attention on the effects you risk slipping back into your old way of voice production. 

Many tone variations are different mixes of two voice types: a breathier/softer tone and an edgier/harder tone. 

The two exercises below introduce the basic techniques involved. (These exercises can be used in parallel with those in Section 5.4.) Just be careful in all of them to maintain a head-focused tone.  

Exercise 20: Breathier/softer tone  

NB: A pure breathy tone is for close-up use only. Never try to project it! 

Not surprisingly, the tone is produced by allowing more breath out of your mouth as you speak. 

  • Place your hands on your abdomen and become aware of its rise and fall as you breathe gently in and out. 
  • Still monitoring your breath with your hands, say in your normal voice a few repetitions of a friendly phrase such as Why o why o why. 
  • Maintaining the head focus of your voice, continue saying the phrase while gently pressing your hands on your abdomen to consciously exaggerate the out-breath and expel more air. 

There is only a subtle difference in sound between a Better Voice breathy tone and one that is throat-based, but a world of difference in how it is produced and the effect it has on your vocal folds. As always, with Better Voice the extra air is felt flowing safely downwards from your head, as opposed to forcing it up through your throat.  

Exercise 21: Harder/edgier tone  

A harder/edgier tone is achieved by allowing more sound through and actively projecting and radiating your voice. 

As an introduction to the technique you will be saying the word ‘No’. 

  • Choose a place in the room to which you want to send your ‘No’. 
  • Start a gentle nnnn hum then gradually allow the sound to grow louder, and give it ‘edge’ by visualizing a point of focus at the top of your nose just before it meets your forehead. 
  • Now, still keeping your attention in your head, allow your mouth to open onto the ‘o’ and feel the power you developed in the nnnn being sent to your chosen spot. 

The tone quality you want is often called the ‘ring-ping’: edgy but still rounded and not too nasal. Once you know what it feels like you can start to practise it using the friendly phrases and then everyday speech. 

Expect it to take time for both these voice effect techniques to ‘click’, especially the edgier tone. 

Once you can do the two basic effects, you can try mixing things up. Different blends of the breathy and edgy tone, combined with changes in the pitch of your voice, will give you a range of ‘voices’. 

As long as you maintain your Better Voice as the basis of these effects, you can use any you want without harming your voice. 

 Q: What was your experience of trying the vocal effects exercises?

5.3. Voice exercises: vocal effects

It is useful to have at your disposal a range of voice effects for different situations. You can start to practise these as add-ons once your Better Voice is well established – not before, otherwise with your attention on the effects you risk slipping back into your old way of voice production. 

Many tone variations are different mixes of two voice types: a breathier/softer tone and an edgier/harder tone. 

The two exercises below introduce the basic techniques involved. (These exercises can be used in parallel with those in Section 5.4.) Just be careful in all of them to maintain a head-focused tone.  

Exercise 20: Breathier/softer tone  

NB: A pure breathy tone is for close-up use only. Never try to project it! 

Not surprisingly, the tone is produced by allowing more breath out of your mouth as you speak. 

  • Place your hands on your abdomen and become aware of its rise and fall as you breathe gently in and out. 
  • Still monitoring your breath with your hands, say in your normal voice a few repetitions of a friendly phrase such as Why o why o why. 
  • Maintaining the head focus of your voice, continue saying the phrase while gently pressing your hands on your abdomen to consciously exaggerate the out-breath and expel more air. 

There is only a subtle difference in sound between a Better Voice breathy tone and one that is throat-based, but a world of difference in how it is produced and the effect it has on your vocal folds. As always, with Better Voice the extra air is felt flowing safely downwards from your head, as opposed to forcing it up through your throat.  

Exercise 21: Harder/edgier tone  

A harder/edgier tone is achieved by allowing more sound through and actively projecting and radiating your voice. 

As an introduction to the technique you will be saying the word ‘No’. 

  • Choose a place in the room to which you want to send your ‘No’. 
  • Start a gentle nnnn hum then gradually allow the sound to grow louder, and give it ‘edge’ by visualizing a point of focus at the top of your nose just before it meets your forehead. 
  • Now, still keeping your attention in your head, allow your mouth to open onto the ‘o’ and feel the power you developed in the nnnn being sent to your chosen spot. 

The tone quality you want is often called the ‘ring-ping’: edgy but still rounded and not too nasal. Once you know what it feels like you can start to practise it using the friendly phrases and then everyday speech. 

Expect it to take time for both these voice effect techniques to ‘click’, especially the edgier tone. 

Once you can do the two basic effects, you can try mixing things up. Different blends of the breathy and edgy tone, combined with changes in the pitch of your voice, will give you a range of ‘voices’. 

As long as you maintain your Better Voice as the basis of these effects, you can use any you want without harming your voice. 

 Q: What was your experience of trying the vocal effects exercises?