Vocal Music Advice

Margie writes: I am a trained pianist and have always sung well because of my ear; however, I have no private vocal training and have strained my voice for years. As I have gotten older I have allowed my talking voice to get lower and lower and I have completely lost the ability to switch into my head voice. How do I train myself to speak higher? I checked my talking voice on the piano and I was speaking in tones an octave below middle C. I am in pain and by the end of the day my throat feels as though I have an infection. I teach so I can’t stop or even limit my talking. Thank you so much for considering my question. Thank you!

ANSWER: Dear Margie,

I am going to assume that the strain you have experienced is because of speaking, not singing.  Correct me if you feel that is incorrect.

Without knowing precisely where your entire range lies, it would be a bit of a guess as to “where” to recommend that you learn to speak.  However, I believe you have identified the primary problem for the vocal pain and fatigue.  Under almost ALL normal circumstances, the pitch level of a woman speaking at C below middle C is way too low! Speaking this low tends to be the tell-tale sign of a of heavy smoker – who has, over a long time – damaged her vocal cords irreparably as far as pitch-level is concerned.  Here again, I’ll make an assumption without really knowing, that you are NOT a smoker.

You still can learn to use your voice without unnecessary tension in a part of your range that uses your voice efficiently and easily.  There are some things you need to bear in mind as you begin to tackle this:
1) if you have become used to the habitual pitch level of your speaking voice – you must prepare your psyche —and your ears— to get used to a different sound and feel.  Many ladies who speak too low find it difficult to get over the “new feminine sound.”  You will need to allow yourself to adapt to it as you adopt that sound.
2) changing a habit takes time and practice.

Let me suggest that you do two things: 1) Sometime on a Saturday – or a day when you’re not teaching and talking all day – somewhere in the middle of your day, discover where in your range you produce sound most clearly and efficiently – the most easily.  2) Begin some daily routine vocal exercises to get yourself started in adopting, and adapting to, the new sound.

To discover where your “optimal pitch area” is do these exercises:
a) Imagine that you are inflecting naturally and uninhibitedly, the way you would if you were investigating a problem and the solution suddenly dawned on you.  You might siren an “Ah” starting slightly low, sliding high and sliding down again.  Reproduce all the spontaneous feelings and sound that would be present if you were not “thinking” about it.  (It might be good to have another person there to hear you!!)  Do this three or four times, and have your friend (or voice teacher) listen to where your voice seems to “ring clearly” without strain.  Identify that place on the piano.
b) Now, you know how you respond when you’re on the phone with someone – they’re doing the talking and all you can do is respond “uh-huh?”  Using your imagination again, say a series of three or four “uh-huhs” as spontaneously as you would in real life.  Likely, the third or fourth repetition’s first “uh” is close to the bottom note of the area of your vocal-efficient optimal pitch.

It may be, that due to talking too low too long, that finding your optimal speech level does not seem to be found easily.  If that is the case then you can do something like the following:
Imagine that you’re cooing at a tiny infant – or puppy, or kitten or something you adore.  The pitch level and the lightness of that sort of sound is going to be close to where you need to be speaking.  I’m not, of course, referring to squeaking, but the sounds one makes to a content baby when one wants her to fall asleep or be assured.  Having discovered this AREA of your range (it is usually about a fifth) – it is an area not just a single note – you should then make it a practice to get out one of your favorite books and read a couple of pages aloud – keeping the sound around that area of your vocal range.  It should feel easy, not heavy or gratey.  It may initially come across to you as “sing-songy.”  Don’t be surprised if your initial responses to the sound either makes you laugh or feel insecure.  It must become the new you.
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