When you hear your voice on a recording, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Would you say your voice is weak, weak, or too soft? It may be guttural, rough, or hoarse. Do you find it louder in tone than you thought? Maybe you sound too young. You may find it choppy or whispery or the exact opposite – shrill and shrill. Sound nasal and whiny like Fran Drescher? Maybe it’s sharp, heavy, boring, or noisy.
There are several words that can describe the voice. You may feel that various terms are adequate descriptions. The question is what can you do about it. You are not stuck with the voice you hear on your answering machine because you actually have a better one within you. I am not speaking figuratively. I am speaking literally.
When I was studying music composition in graduate school, one of my professors told me that my voice pitch was too high (pitch refers to the high or low of the sound) and that my actual voice had a deeper pitch. I had no idea what he was talking about, but when I heard my lower, richer voice, I knew I wanted to keep that sound. So, I practiced using my ‘real’ voice as much as I could and it soon became a habit.
What did I do differently to produce that better voice? I used my chest cavity as my main soundboard when I spoke. He certainly hadn’t been talking like that before in that particular class. My usual voice was not only higher in pitch, it lacked resonance and was thin and young-sounding. By changing the way I placed my sound, my voice suddenly sounded mature. And then he got me the jobs I was looking for in New York City.
Regardless of the terms you used to describe your speaking voice, the good news is that by changing the location of your voice, all of the features mentioned in the first paragraph will disappear. No, you don’t need a different exercise for each of those problems. Use your chest cavity and those problems will be solved. It is really impressive to see how this works.
Since most of the population produces voice sounds primarily through the throat and larynx, then it is probably safe to assume that you are currently boosting your voice in the same way. This results in a sound that is higher in pitch and lacks resonance. However, add your chest cavity to the picture and you will be amazed at the results.