3 ways to strengthen the head voice
Hello, my musical friends! I’m Madeleine Harvey and thank you so much for checking out this video. Today, we’re going to be talking about 3 ways that you can strengthen your head voice and sing high with power! It’s my hope that by the end of today’s video, you’ll have a better understanding of and greater access to this huge part of your voice! If you like this video, please give it a thumbs up and click the subscribe button below…I’d love to see you here all the time!
The head voice, as a register is really tricky for a lot of singers. Mainly because it exists outside of that grounded feeling that we are so accustomed to with our speech. Chest voice is much easier because it’s right in that speaking zone. Oftentimes, we feel that can’t control head voice, or hold onto it. A lot of singers have nightmares about head voice because it tends to showcase those inconsistencies in their sound. Such as wobbling, breaking and breathiness. Because of this, certain compensations are developed such as tension, gripping, spreading or even just ignoring the head voice altogether.
But here are 3 ways that you can strengthen the head voice and sing high with power.
1. Awaken the space in your face
The head voice resonates within the nasal cavity. And in order to maximize the vibrations from head voice, we have to know how to awaken that part of our resonating system, so that the flow can feed into that space effortlessly. Oftentimes, this is where people struggle. If you find that your head voice is unstable, it’s partly because the resonance isn’t as focused. It could be falling backwards into more of a classical sound. Or the resonance may not be open at all resulting in the lifting of your larynx or a labored sound. So you’ll need to feel that sensation of your face stretching on the inside and keep that space as active in your experience as you can until it becomes a new habit. Really aim your sound into your face.
• Hmmm - Lift like you ate something good. - This focuses the tone forward.
2. Lift the soft pallet
A great way to bring more focus and clarity into your head voice is to lift the soft pallet. A great way to feel this is to act as if you are holding back a laugh. Feel the space right behind your top back teeth open and lift. This will really help with keeping you tone clear and present. Just like awakening the space in the face, you’ll have to concentrate on keeping this sensation as active in your experience as you can until it becomes a new habit.
(Demonstrate the difference in neutral vs lifted. Huh taps.)
3. Close the cords
Another excellent way to strengthen your head voice is through cord closure. This will add crispness and vitality to your head voice. A good way to initiate cord closure is to grunt slightly almost like a monkey. Feel how slightly you can bring your cords together. As you play with this sound, you may be tempted to overcompensate with tons of weight, but I encourage you to surrender that weight for balance as you work to develop this clean feeling. You can always go back, and add a little more substance once you have become comfortable.