Do you want to improve the sound of your voice in general or are you planning to play in a play or a musical? Then there are several things that can help you with this. You can do a series of exercises to improve the tone of your voice, change your speaking voice, make it more impressive, or change the way you sing to achieve powerful notes. Practicing your voice regularly and making some minor adjustments can dramatically change your voice.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Practice your voice for optimal quality
Step 1. Breathing Practice abdominal breathing
It is important for actors and singers to use your diaphragm when speaking and singing. Your diaphragm is the place just below your chest (where your ribs meet). Singing-from-your-diaphragm This breathing is also called the abdominal breathing. Applying this breath when you sing will make your voice sound more powerful. By using the abdominal breathing instead of the chest breathing, you also reduce the pressure on your vocal cords.
- To practice abdominal breathing, take a deep breath and let your belly bulge. Your abdomen should expand as you inhale. Then exhale gently with a hissing sound. Make sure your shoulders and neck are relaxed when you breathe.
- You can also place your hands on your stomach when you inhale. If your hands go up as you inhale, apply the abdominal breath.
Step 2. Relax your jaw
Relaxing your jaw allows you to open your mouth wider when you speak or sing, making your voice clearer. To relax your jaw, press down on your jaws with the bottom of your hand, just below the jawline. Rub your hands down to your chin and return up while massaging your jaw muscles.
Let your mouth hang open slightly as your hands rub down
Step 3. Blow through a straw while practicing your vocal range
Practicing your vocal range can help improve your singing voice. To improve your vocal range, place a straw between your lips and make a low "oo" sound. Gently raise the pitch of the “oo” sound. Go from your lowest vocal range to your highest.
- The air that doesn't get through the straw pushes on your vocal cords.
- This exercise reduces swelling around the vocal cords.
Step 4. Make your lips vibrate
Making your lips quiver is a good way to practice your voice and make its sound clearer. You blow the air gently through your softly closed lips while making the "u" sound. Your lips will vibrate together thanks to the air coming through them.
The air left in your mouth allows your vocal cords to close gently
Step 5. Buzz
Humming is an efficient way to warm up and relax your voice after a long performance. To start, close your lips and relax your jaw. Inhale through the nose and release your breath to a buzzing sound. Start with a nasal "mmm," then you can move to a lower tone.
This exercise activates the vibrations in your lips, teeth and facial bones
Step 6. Stretch your tongue for better articulation
Stretching your tongue makes it easier to articulate words, which is important for theater actors. To stretch your tongue, push your tongue against your roof of the mouth and then stick it out of your mouth. Push it against the inside of one jaw, then the other. Place the tip of your tongue behind your bottom lip and push the rest out of your mouth. Then push your tongue back with the tip of your tongue on your roof.
Repeat this exercise ten times
Step 7. Improve your diction by practicing tongue twisters
Pronouncing tongue twisters helps you improve your speech because you practice your pronunciation with them. Tongue twisters also exercise the muscles in your lips, face, and tongue, helping to improve your voice. When practicing tongue twisters, be sure to exaggerate the sound of every word you say.
- Speak slowly at first and speed up little by little.
- Practice the 'k' by 'Knaap the handsome barber cuts and cuts very cleverly.'
- For 's' you say 'The slow snail eats limp lettuce.'
- Give your tongue a fitness session by repeating 'The German D-train thundered through the dark Drenthe pine forests' over and over.
Step 8. Release the pressure on your vocal cords by saying "duh."
By saying "duh" you help relax your larynx, which improves the quality of your singing voice. Try saying "duh" as if you were the cartoon character Yogi Bear. You will feel like your larynx is sinking. Because the larynx is in a lower position, you get more control over your vocal cords and it is easier to hit a higher note after this exercise.
Repeat this exercise a few times
Step 9. Balancing your voice resonance with "aa-ee-ie-oo-oo"
By making these vowel sounds, you practice singing with your mouth in different positions. Start with a sound and transition from one sound to another without stopping. This is a good exercise for your voice. This allows you to hit a higher note or keep your voice stable when you sing.
Repeat this exercise a few times a day
Step 10. Practice your voice twice a day
To improve your voice on stage and while singing, you need to practice regularly. Warm up your voice before using it a lot, but also do vocal exercises twice a day to get the best results.
Try to set aside 15 minutes in the morning for your vocal practice, when you get up or while you are getting ready for school or work. Repeat them at bedtime, while preparing dinner or taking a bath
Method 2 of 4: Improving your voice for theater
Step 1. Project your voice
Speaking loud and clear is an important quality for theater actors. When you say your line, make sure you speak clearly enough so that people hear what you are saying, even at the back of the room. It is important that you use your diaphragm for this instead of shouting. If you shout, your throat will hurt and you will become hoarse.
Inhale deeply with the abdominal breath and practice exhaling while saying "ha." This allows you to feel where your diaphragm is. You should feel the breath being pushed up through your stomach through the mouth when you say "ha." Once you've mastered this, practice your writing using your diaphragm
Step 2. Articulate your text
Speaking your text clearly is also important for a good acting voice. Be sure to articulate each word of the text well so that people understand what you are saying. To make sure you speak as clearly as possible, open your mouth as wide as possible when speaking. This helps to articulate well.
Step 3. Use emotions to color your text
Speaking with emotion is important when delivering your text. When delivering your text, think about your character's emotions.
- For example, if you say something that makes the character feel sad, you may speak more slowly. You can also let the sadness resound in your voice by making your voice vibrate a bit.
- Think about the appropriate emotion for each of your character's statements to decide which voice color to use.
Method 3 of 4: Improving your speaking voice
Step 1. Analyze your current speaking voice
Record how you speak or ask a friend to listen and evaluate your speaking voice. Analyze your volume, voice color, pitch, articulation, voice quality and tempo and determine in which area you need to improve.
- Is your volume too high or too low?
- Do you have a shrill or full voice, is it monotonous or varied?
- Is your voice quality nasal or full, hoarse or clean, one-sided or enthusiastic?
- Is your articulation hard to hear or confident and articulate?
- Are you speaking too slow or too fast? Do you sound hesitant or confident?
Step 2. Adjust the volume of your voice
You should always speak loud enough so that everyone can hear you. But by adjusting your voice volume, you can also put more emphasis or evoke a certain intimacy in different parts of your presentation.
- Speak louder when giving important information.
- Speak less loudly when providing additional information.
Step 3. Use your voice color and pitch to your advantage
If your voice sounds monotonous, people stop listening. By varying the pitch you avoid sounding monotonous and the chance is greater that people will continue to listen to you. Vary the pitch of your voice throughout your presentation. Here are some general examples of how to use pitch:
- Move up at the end of a question.
- At the end of an affirmative statement, you go down.
Step 4. Change the tempo
The tempo is the speed of your speech. By slowing down the tempo, you can put more emphasis on certain words and phrases. You are also more easily understood if you tend to speak quickly.
Pause if you've given some important information so that the listener can absorb the information
Step 5. Show emotion where necessary
Have you ever heard a voice vibrate with a strong emotion when speaking? This comes in handy in certain situations, such as when you're giving a speech or performing in a play. Let the timbre or emotional quality of your voice be heard when you express strong emotions.
For example, if you say something that makes you sad, you can make your voice vibrate if it happens naturally. However, do not force this
Step 6. Practice your speech
Before you stand in front of an audience to give your speech, practice it on your own without inhibition. Experiment by varying the tone, speed, volume and pitch. Record yourself and listen to what works and what doesn't.
- Practice the speech several times and apply different variations. Record and compare each attempt.
- You may not like to hear yourself on tape. Your voice will then sound different from the voice that resonates in your head, but it will sound closer to the voice that other people hear.
Step 7. Drink plenty of water
If you speak for a long time or in a loud tone, it is important that you lubricate your throat and vocal cords. Avoid drinks that dehydrate such as coffee, soft drinks or alcohol. Drink water instead.
Have a glass of water handy when you speak
Method 4 of 4: Improve your singing voice
Step 1. Open your jaw for vowels
Take your ring and index fingers and place them under your jawbone on either side of your face. Push your jaw down 5 cm. Sing the five vowels, A E I O U while holding your jaw in that position.
- Try sticking a cork or plastic bottle cap between your back teeth to hold your jaw in place.
- Keep doing this exercise until your muscle memory has integrated this movement so that you no longer have to physically hold your jaw in place.
Step 2. Keep your chin down
If you sing high, you may feel the urge to push your chin up for more power. Raising your chin can amplify your voice for a while, but it can also have a negative impact on your voice after a while. Therefore, try to keep your chin low while you sing.
- Practice singing scales in front of the mirror. Push your chin down slightly before you start and keep it there even as you reach the higher notes.
- By keeping your chin down, you take the tension off your voice, giving you more power and control over your voice.
Step 3. Vibrato Singing Add vibrato to your voice
Vibrato is a beautiful, but sometimes difficult sound to produce. However, you can practice the vibrato technique for this.
- Press your hands on your chest and lift your chest higher than normal.
- Inhale and then exhale without moving your chest.
- Sing "aaah" on the same note as you exhale. Hold the note as long as possible.
- When you're halfway through the note, push your chest while imagining the air spinning in your mouth.
Step 4. Find your range
You can find your range by singing with the keys on a keyboard. Play the basic "do" on a keyboard. This is the white key that is to the left of the two black keys, in the middle of the keyboard. Sing "la" as you scroll down the keys to the left of the "do" and adjust your pitch. Do this for as long as you can, until you feel you have to force your voice or can't sing the note anymore. See which key was the last one you could comfortably sing. This is the lowest note of your range.
Do the same to the right of the 'do' until you find the highest note of your range
Step 5. Add a note to your range
Once you've found your vocal range, you can try adding an extra note to either side of your range until you're comfortable singing them. You won't be able to sustain the notes at first, but try singing them 8 to 10 times each rehearsal until you get the hang of them and add them to your range.
- Once you've used the new notes for a while, you can again add a higher and lower note to your range.
- Be patient and do not rush for this practice. It is best to control the sound and always be able to sing the note correctly.