Exercises to develop flight, strength, and sonority of voice

The topic of this lesson is timbre and pitch of the voice. At the beginning of the course, we studied all the basic properties and characteristics of the voice in general, and we devote subsequent lessons to a more detailed acquaintance with each of them.

Today we will take a closer look at such characteristics of the voice as pitch and timbre. The goal of our lesson is to learn how to control the pitch and timbre of the voice, convey various emotions using pitch and timbre, and make accents with the voice.

In this lesson we will study different types of timbre, the dependence of voice pitch on timbre, and understand how to use this in practice.

Our tasks are clear, so let's go!

Classification of timbres and relationship with voice pitch

First, let's briefly recall the material from previous lessons so that you can move on. Let's start with an explanation of concepts and terms. Voice pitch is the ability to speak higher or lower. The average person has a range of up to one and a half octaves, and in everyday communication most people use 3-4 notes. Expanding the range will make communications more expressive.

Voice timbre is its individual coloring, a set of additional vibrations or overtones that arise along with the main frequency. Elaboration of resonators can enrich the timbre of the voice.

The pitch and timbre of the voice are closely interrelated characteristics. The generally accepted classification of singing voices is precisely based on the direct dependence of timbre on the pitch of the voice. Such a classification, as we said earlier, is very conditional, because there are people whose voice can cover the range of bass and baritone, baritone and tenor, contralto and mezzo-soprano, and even much more.

For example, the singer Dimash has a range of 6 octaves plus 5 semitones from the “A” of the counter octave to the “D” note of the 5th octave. Thus, his voice fully accommodates the range in which baritone, tenor, alto and soprano sing, and also captures the upper part of the bass register and part of the so-called “whistle register”, which extends beyond the upper notes of the soprano.

However, most people's voices are within the range of either bass, or baritone, or tenor (for men), or within the range of contralto, or mezzo-soprano, or soprano (for women), without even reaching the extreme notes of the range. Therefore, the traditional classification of voices is completely suitable for determining the timbre of most people. So, let's figure out what each voice type means.

Men's voice timbres:

1. Tenor is a high male voice that covers the range from the note “C” in the small octave to the note “C” in the 2nd octave. It is divided (from bottom to top) into dramatic, lyric-dramatic (also mezzo-characteristic), lyrical, altino. Sometimes the countertenor is placed in a separate category, which extends from the note “E” of the small octave to “E” of the 2nd octave.
2. Baritone is an average male voice, covering the range from the note “A” of the large octave to the note “A” of the 1st octave. It is divided (from bottom to top) into bass-baritone, dramatic, lyric-dramatic, lyric and tenor-baritone.
3. Bass is a low male voice that covers the range from the note “E” in the major octave to the note “G” in the 1st octave. It is divided by pitch into low, central, high, and by tone into baritone, characteristic, deep and comic.

In the picture below, the ranges are indicated on the piano keys in green. 3-4 notes on the right and left, highlighted in yellow - these are the extreme notes of the range that a person, in principle, can play, but not in a full voice, but, as phoniatrists would say, on open ligaments.

Voice timbres for women:

1. Soprano is a high voice, covering the range from the note “C” in the 1st octave to the note “C” in the 3rd octave. It is divided (from bottom to top) into dramatic, lyric-dramatic, lyric, lyric-coloratura and coloratura soprano.
2. Mezzo-soprano is a medium voice, covering the range from the note “A” in the small octave to the note “A” in the 2nd octave.
3. Contralto is a low voice that covers the range from the note “F” in the small octave to the note “G” in the 2nd octave.

Children's voices are not divided by gender. The low voice is called alto, the high voice is called soprano, both for boys and girls. For boys, a high voice has a second name: treble.

The higher the voice, the louder the timbre. The lower the voice, the deeper, velvety and sexy the timbre is perceived. An interesting observation was made by scientists, in particular, Cecilia Pemberton from the University of South Australia. She and her colleagues compared audio recordings of women's voices made in 1945 with audio recorded in the early 90s [BBC, 2018].

For the purity of the experiment, the voices of non-smoking female students aged 18-25 were compared in order to exclude the influence of various factors such as smoking, nervous work, a large number of births, age, and hormonal changes in the body on the voice. It turned out that over almost half a century, the average fundamental frequency of the female voice has decreased by 23 Hz. If in 1945 the average young woman spoke at a frequency of 229 Hz (approximately “A sharp” of the small octave), then already in the early 1990s young women broadcast at an average frequency of 206 Hz (approximately “G sharp” of the small octave). Thus, the female voice has dropped by almost a note over half a century [BBC, 2018].

Interestingly, when a study in the early 90s decided to exclude young women taking hormonal contraceptives, which are known to slightly change the body's hormonal levels and affect their voice, the overall results of the study did not change at all.

Scientists tend to consider this a consequence of success in the fight for gender equality. Wanting to take advantage of the opportunities that opened up in life, women quickly adopted and mastered the skills of a leader, allowing them to achieve success in their careers, science, business, and politics. And due to the fact that a lower voice is traditionally considered more suitable for leadership, women have learned to manipulate this ability of their body.

In addition, the male environment in the workforce and top management, the need to prove their competence and professional worth lead to the fact that women who find themselves in such circumstances subconsciously begin to speak in a lower range than before.

This wave hypothesis is confirmed by another study done by Joy Chen from the University of Illinois. Participants in the experiment, divided into groups of 4 to 8 people, had to arrange in order of importance the items needed by an astronaut who had an accident on the Moon [Air Force, 2018]. This was the collective part of the task.

Next, the participants were interviewed one-on-one and asked to rate the leadership and influence of the rest of the group based on their personal impressions. The conversations were recorded and, later studying the audio recordings, the scientists saw (heard) that the majority of the participants changed the pitch of their own voices in the very first minutes of the conversation. Those participants whose voice was lower were rated by the rest as more influential and authoritative. This pattern was observed for both men and women.

The importance of voice tone for career success is confirmed by other studies. For example, Texas-based analytics company Quantified Impressions studied the speeches of 120 top managers by using special software to segment voice characteristics and surveying more than a thousand people. Among the respondents were 10 experts and a thousand ordinary listeners.

23% of the respondents’ assessments, in one way or another, related to the timbre and other characteristics of the speaker’s voice, and only 11%, assessing the speech as a whole, tried to somehow evaluate the content of the speech [S. Shellenberger, 2013]. The rest of the survey participants rated emotionality, personal charm and competence as such, regardless of the text of the speech.

Most researchers agree that when listening to weak, tired, or squeaky voices, people perceive the speaker as passive, stressed-out, or incompetent. Speakers with normal tone, pace, and expressiveness appear more successful, intelligent, and competent.

Does this mean that a person’s natural voice predetermines his success or failure in life? Of course not! A person can always improve his natural abilities and develop the ability to speak beautifully both in the lower range of his voice and in the upper one. How to do it? Now we'll figure it out!

Articulation exercises (tongue twisters, facial gymnastics)

Supplying air with the abdominal muscles is important, but the work of the articulatory apparatus is no less important. The articulatory apparatus includes the organs involved in the formation of sounds: the oral cavity, pharynx and larynx. For clear pronunciation of sounds and correct sound (don’t forget that the oral cavity is a resonator), it is important to correctly position the articulatory apparatus. Do not pinch your throat, position your tongue correctly, control the soft palate, etc. Articulation exercises help with this - exercises for the tongue, facial muscles, soft palate. To practice clear pronunciation, use tongue twisters. Correct pronunciation is clear, fluid, and active.

How to control the timbre and pitch of your voice

So, how do you control the timbre and pitch of your voice? As you understand from the above experiments and studies, almost every person can slightly raise or slightly lower the pitch of their voice, even without special training in voice production. Various psychological factors can also influence in such a way that a person begins to speak more quietly or higher.

Since the tonality and timbre of the voice, in principle, can be influenced, why not take this fact into account and try to influence the voice consciously and meaningfully? And not just a little bit, but as much as we need to achieve a beautiful timbre... The idea is tempting and, most importantly, completely realistic for implementation within reasonable limits!

What does “within reasonable limits” mean? This means that you should not try to drive your voice to a height at which it cannot sound fully, with the participation of the necessary resonators. If you want to get a subtle and sonorous timbre, but you naturally have large and not very mobile vocal cords, and at the same time you have not worked on connecting the resonators, then you can only hit high notes in the head resonator.

A voice that is formed exclusively “in the head” without the participation of the chest resonator will be either weak and squeaky, or breathless and unintelligible, or shrill, or even simply break.

If you want to speak in a low, velvety voice, but you have a naturally metallic tenor, then the lower range without training the connection of the resonators will either be creaky, or hoarse, or you will lose your voice altogether.

In addition, to make your voice (any voice!) sound beautiful and convincing, you should always remember to breathe deeply into the lower part of your lungs . This type of breathing is also called diaphragmatic or diaphragmatic breathing.

You should also remember about diction and articulation , which should be sufficient, but should not be redundant. So, if you barely open your mouth and don’t use your articulatory muscles, the sound will get stuck in your mouth and you won’t get a full sound. If there is too much articulation and you open your mouth too wide where it is not needed, the sound will be rough.

We studied all these aspects of working with the voice - breathing, support for sound, diction, articulation, connecting resonators - in lesson 2. This is the basic knowledge for setting the gloss, which we have already needed more than once and will need in the following lessons too. Therefore, if something remains unclear, read and work through the material in Lesson 2 again.

In principle, in order to skillfully control the pitch of your own voice, you need to remember and put into practice two important points :

• For a beautiful high voice you need both head and chest resonators. The head resonator provides access to high sounds, and the chest resonator makes high notes more expressive and allows you to get rid of the squeaky sound in your voice, as if only the head resonator is working.
• A beautiful low voice also requires the joint work of all resonators. The chest resonator gives access to low notes, providing a powerful sounding voice at the bottom, and the resonance in the upper resonators provides lightness and flight of the voice.

In addition, do not forget that the oral resonator provides a more open, loud sound of the voice, helps remove tension from the throat, helps to speak more freely, and the nasal resonator acts as a connecting link for all resonators, giving clarity and clarity to the sound of each resonator and the voice as a whole.

Let us remind you once again that resonators are natural amplifiers of our voice inside our body. They allow you to make your voice higher or lower, louder or quieter, and enrich the color of the timbre. By learning to control the flow of air and direct it into a particular resonator, you can open up your voice in a new way and instantly change many of the characteristics of your voice that you learned about in the first part of the lesson.

Therefore, if you want to expand the range, work on the resonators , and over time you will be able to sound higher or lower than now. Moreover, when working on one or another part of the range, you can often observe some symmetry in the results. If you work on the higher notes and expanding your range upward, the lower notes begin to sound more confident and your working range expands not only upward, but also downward a little.

And one more important aspect. It was not for nothing that we began the practical part of the lesson with the topic of meaningfulness and awareness in working on timbre. The fact is that you can plan not only the content and structure of speech, pauses and logical stress, but also all aspects of sound production! We touched on this point briefly in previous lessons, but now is the time to continue.

In your mind and then out loud, you can rehearse not only the text of the future message, but also its emotional intensity, volume, pitch, and tempo. You can try to set one or another timbre and rehearse speech with different intonations. Knowledge of the anatomy of the voice gained in our course and an understanding of how certain movements and positions of the sound production organs affect your voice and your speech will help you with this.

An interesting point: the dictionary of associations offers about 70 possible definitions for the word “timbre” [Dictionary of Associations, 2020]. Therefore, if you find it difficult to figure out how to diversify your speech, such a selection of associations may well help you.

In addition, special exercises offered by French professor Philippe-Nicolas Melot, who teaches singing to professionals and amateurs, will help you develop a meaningful approach to sound science, learn to control pitch and change (within reason!) the timbre of your voice.

Exercises to control the timbre and pitch of your voice:

You can see how to do these exercises correctly in a specially prepared video:

The advice of Lillian Brown, a professor at Northeastern University in Boston (USA), will help you set the desired timbre for your voice and learn how to adjust its pitch depending on the situation. She addressed her advice to her English-speaking compatriots, but in a form adapted for a Russian-speaking audience, these recommendations are completely acceptable. She believes that no matter what kind of gloss a person has from birth, he can always improve it with practice [L. Brown, 2020].

Tips for improving your voice from Lillian Brown:

1. Inhale deeply, using the diaphragm.
2. Maintain an even posture so as not to compress the internal organs and allow the body to be fully saturated with oxygen.
3. Distribute the weight evenly on your legs, straighten up to your full height, slightly moving your head back. In this position, you can control the speech apparatus in the best possible way.
4. You can lower your voice if you speak “straight from your socks,” i.e. pressing your heels firmly into the floor. If you maintain an even posture, the diaphragm bends on its own, giving the air flow more space.
5. Cover at least an octave with your voice, i.e. 4 notes above and 4 notes below your most comfortable middle note.
6. Visually represent what you are talking about. This will make the speech more lively and emotional.
7. Read aloud at least 10 minutes a day.
8. Read aloud your text, which you are about to speak publicly, and refine the fragments that do not sound very good.
9. Articulation should be clear, but mannered articulation should be avoided.
10. Speak calmly and measuredly, without rushing. You can slow down your speech by using clear articulation of words.
11. Avoid filler words, long unreasonable pauses and interjections in speech.
12. Be sure to rehearse the pronunciation of difficult and unfamiliar words before speaking them in public.

And, of course, the timbre of the voice and the ability to sing higher and lower are of great importance for vocalists . In our course, a separate lesson is devoted to vocals, but you can start training now. You remember that the head resonator is responsible for accessing high notes, and we sing low notes using the chest resonator. Therefore, it is worth additional work on the chest and head resonators.

Tips for beginners on how to cope with high notes:

• Try opening your mouth wider. For beginners, this is usually a big problem due to either lack of skill or forgetfulness. Therefore, control the width of your mouth opening as you approach high notes. If necessary, work through the exercise from Lesson 2 on opening your mouth with 2 fingers again.
• Try squatting slightly or leaning forward a little when approaching high notes, as many pop singers do. In the lesson dedicated to vocals, we will focus on such a concept as anchoring (from English anchor - anchor), i.e. the use of body muscles to support (anchor) the sound flow. For now, just remember that you can use your body to help you reach those high notes.
• Use your imagination and imagine that you are singing “into yourself”, maintaining support for your voice and not letting air out. Develop your success and try to “breathe” your voice into yourself.
• Imagine that there is a candle flame in front of you, and you need to sing so as not to blow out the candle.
• Add a meowing or whining intonation to your voice. If you carefully and completely watched video lesson No. 3, given by Russian singer Polina Gagarina as part of the “Generation M” charity project, you already know that natural sounds – crying and moaning – contribute to the opening of resonators.

More courageous crying, as well as other exercises, was demonstrated in his video by singer, musician, author of a blog dedicated to vocals, Ivan Radkov:

By the way, pay attention that when they show you on video how to open your mouth, the singer’s tongue lies flat, and the tip of the tongue is located at the lower teeth. Don't forget to repeat (and apply!) the material from previous lessons in practice. And remember that each new topic is not a reason to forget what you have learned previously. If you succeeded in the exercises from the previous video, you can try more complex exercises:

Similar thoughts and, in addition to this, tips on how to remove clamps from your voice can be found in the singer, blogger and vocal coach Alexandra Stroitseva. Please note that you need to treat your voice adequately and not demand from it those high notes and those shades of timbre that it does not yet have. Both notes and shades of sound are achieved through persistent training and conscious control over your voice:

It has long been known that owners of low voices dream of getting their hands on high notes, and owners of high voices almost always want to master the lower range. In fact, you can help both.

Tips for beginners on how to cope with low notes:

• Lower your larynx slightly. To feel the correct position, you should put your hand on the front of your neck and yawn with the sound “a-a”. The palm will feel the larynx going down. This is the desired position of the larynx.
• Maintain resonance in the nasal and head resonators, which is felt as resonance in the front part. In the lesson on vocals, we will tell you what a vocal mask is. For now, remember that on low notes the upper resonators also work, although not as intensely as on high notes.
• Practice singing with your larynx slightly lowered and a pencil held between your teeth. Don't strain your jaw! This will allow you to develop proper coordination between the larynx, facial muscles and jaw.
• Train the work of the chest resonator by placing your hand on your chest and placing your voice on a support. You need to pronounce something between “ge” and “he” (similar to the letter “g” in Ukrainian). You can practice on the syllable “gem-ma” or “hem-ma”.

And, of course, a video on this topic:

So, in this lesson we dealt with such characteristics of the voice as pitch and timbre, and understood how to influence these characteristics of our voice. If nasality interferes with the formation of a beautiful voice and timbre, here is a video for you on how to get rid of nasality in your voice:

All we have to do is consolidate the acquired knowledge with the help of a verification test and continue working on other characteristics of the voice in the next lesson.

Breathing exercises

Breathing is the basis of singing. In everyday life, chest breathing (a type of breathing in which the shoulders and chest rise) is more common, especially among women. Chest breathing is not suitable for singing. Vocalists use diaphragmatic breathing when singing, which uses the abdominal muscles while keeping the shoulders and chest motionless. This is called "belly breathing." Thanks to diaphragmatic breathing, the singer regulates the force of exhalation, creates support for singing, and distributes the air. Despite the fact that children breathe from the stomach from birth, with age breathing changes to the chest. The muscles that are involved in diaphragmatic breathing remain underdeveloped - they are developed with the help of breathing exercises.

Working on breathing is an essential part of a vocalist’s development. By practicing methodically, day after day, the singer accelerates vocal growth and gains more freedom in singing. Without proper breathing, you cannot hit a high note, you cannot sing with pitch, you cannot distribute the air throughout a phrase. It is impossible to develop a voice for singing without breathing.

Vocal exercises for the correct formation and presentation of sound, expanding the range

Each person has his own initial vocal abilities, his own strengths and weaknesses. A vocal teacher knows how to develop a voice for a particular person to sing. The teacher will suggest the correct vocal exercises based on the initial level, physiology and learning goals. It is not recommended to select and perform such exercises yourself: doing the exercises incorrectly is harmful and leads to voice failure and injury to the ligaments.

This doesn't mean you can't exercise on your own. Do breathing exercises and articulation exercises - and the more often, the better. Remember that the main thing is systematicity. Exercises every day for 20 minutes will bring benefits, and not once a week, but 2 hours. Mastering diaphragmatic breathing and training your abdominal muscles will allow vocal growth to come faster.

“The Gray Mouse”, or How Philosophers are Characterized

The female voice of the “philosopher” category (audio track) presented itself as anxious (30%) and dependent (26.7%) and caused mistrust and anxiety. In the descriptive part, she was given a portrait of an insecure subordinate: she is a modest employee, sight-reading and dependent on the people around her, a thin girl dressed like a “gray mouse.”

The male philosopher (audio track) provoked other associations: he presented himself as sensitive and calm. Among the respondents, it evoked in almost equal proportions a feeling of calm (26.9%), mistrust (20.9%) and indifference (17.9%). To most of those listening, he appeared in the role of an actor, writer or subordinate. Respondents described him as an adult, confident man, but with a sly smile and a sly look.

You are going the right way

The female agitator (audio track) was rated by the subjects as aggressive, anxious and dominant. Which, as a result, caused them irritation (45%), anxiety (23.3%) and mistrust (15%). She was described as an adult woman with a commanding personality, a large build and dressed in a formal suit. The vast majority cited Ksenia Sobchak as an example.

The male voice (audio track) also became dominant and uninviting. And it caused emotions of distrust, irritation and skepticism. This is a middle-aged man, strong, powerful, conservative. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin is the most common example of male agitators.

Masterminds are loved, but not trusted

The inspirational woman (audio track) seemed optimistic to most, and many also noted her sensitivity and peacefulness. Describing her portrait, respondents highlighted such features as activity, smiling, young age, and a rather thin physique. Paradoxically, such a seemingly pleasant woman aroused mistrust (18.3%) and skepticism (18.3%) among listeners.

This type of male voice (audio track) was also perceived by the majority as optimistic (52.2%) and inspiring (22.4%). He is closer to forty years old, a charismatic and emotional man, he looks nice and is attractive. But despite this attractive portrait, the inspirer evoked complex emotions among respondents: along with positive trust (32.8%) and calmness (19.4%), this voice aroused skepticism (24.2%) and irritation (37.9) among listeners. %). By the way, Sergei Bezrukov was considered an ideal example of a male inspiration.

What can you do in a week?

If you have the task of preparing a song for a holiday, then in a week you can improve the following points:

• Choose the right song. Perhaps the composition you chose is too complex or simply not suitable for you. The teacher will help you choose a piece that will show your voice to its advantage.
• Start breathing correctly. It will be difficult to achieve automaticity in a week, but you will still feel positive changes when singing.
• Work on the purity of performance by learning the melody. The teacher selects the melody of the voice on the piano - this makes it easier for people with an underdeveloped ear for music to hit the notes and learn the melody of the song more easily.
• Get rid of ear-piercing moments. For example, there may be places where you sound too nasal or start shouting, don’t have time to catch your breath, and sing with a thin, trembling sound. Emergency help from a vocal teacher will help clean up these places, and overall your performance will look better.