My Resonance Comes and Goes...

Question: “Hi Guy Monroe, It’s Danilo again. Sorry for asking you another time. Thanks for the tips you gave me, I will use them to relax my neck. But now I want to solve another problem.

I already can achieve resonance in my voice, but only in some moments in the day, when I wake up in the morning and late in the night before I go to sleep (Although I think it’s a half-resonance because my uvula rises up when I try to achieve it, at the same time I feel a buzzing in my head).

In the afternoons I find it very difficult to add resonance my voice. I sometimes want to give up singing because I think I will never do it. I try more and more and never reach my goals. This makes me get sad, because since I began singing, it became my life and I love to sing. What am I doing wrong? What can I do? PLEASE, answer me this.”

Answer:  My pleasure. I understand your frustration.  Be patient, not a perfectionist. Don’t give up.  With a bit of practice, you’ll get there. Regarding the Uvula.  Definitely keep it low.  Avoid squeezing from your neck. Raising the Uvula is an indication of neck tension.  Squeeze from your tummy, not your neck.  I had the same troubles when I was younger.  No Problem.  I wish someone could of helped me then, like I’m helping you now.  It’s cool.  So here goes.  

Resonance or Resonati in Latin means “echo”.  There are two resonance qualities we seek.  One is Bright and edgy. The edgy quality of sound is created in the sinuses.  These echoes bounce around in the hollow cavities of the upper skull, behind the nose and between the eyes. Sinus means “cavity” in Latin.  The other is dull and warm, it’s created in the mouth by lowering the tongue and opening the throat, by sliding the jaw forward and adding a slight yawn.  It is referred to as mouth resonance.

Nose Kazoo Exercise:  Look at the second hand on any clock.  When the second hand gets to a big number, I want you to hum for 15 seconds.  Angle the exit of your air so it’s aimed towards the nostrils and you feel the buzz till it gets annoying.  Repeat this 10 times.  When you sing, imagine you have a kazoo in your head behind your nose.  While you sing the words, angle the air upwards towards the “nasal kazoo” buzzer.  You will feel and hear an intense edgy quality added to your voice.  This is the resonance you seek to project your voice.  

Mouth Kazoo Exercise:  To add the “mouth kazoo” buzzer. Create a “oo” shape in your mouth and pour a small cup of imaginary mouth wash into your mouth.  Do not swallow the imaginary mouth wash while you close your lips and begin to hum.  Be sure to keep your lower lip relaxed while you do this exercise and you should feel a tremendous amount of vibration at your teeth.  Do “mouth kazoo” exercise to a clock ten times and it should become quite annoying.

Combination Kazoo Exercise:  Now look at a clock and do both the “sinus kazoo” and “mouth kazoo” exercise at the same time for about 10 times.  This sensation in the sinus and the mouth is desired to be experienced from the moment you begin a song to the very end.  It will give your voice a bright crisp upper resonance and a warmth from the mouth that is a pleasure to listen to.

Keep Singing with Ease! – All my best, Guy Monroe