Kate's Voice

Early in my career as a vocal coach, I came upon the work of Alfred Tomatis.  He is a French ear, nose and throat doctor particularly interested in the functions of the ear.  He discovered that the ear has a greater purpose than filtration and analysis of sound, or helping us stay on our feet through balancing.  Tomatis believes that the ear is a channel for sound as a function of charging the brain.  His research is fascinating and I highly encourage you to take a look at it.  You can read about him in Wikipedia here.

One of the really fun findings suggested by his research is that singing is not only enjoyable, but good for you because as you sing, you recharge your brain.  Do you or someone you know hum when thinking or upset?  I know people who hum all the time.  Apparently, that humming has a purpose.  It calms us down, comforts us, restores us.  How great is that?!

What is really fascinating to me is that the component of sound that is particularly healing is also the aspect of sound that makes a voice more powerful.  This component is the “overtone.”   In case you don’t know about overtones, they are inherent in all sound.  Sound is vibration and pitch is the subjective experience of the frequency or rate of that vibration. Each pitch is made up of tones called partials.  The lowest partial in each pitch is the one we hear the strongest, and that pitch is called the fundamental.  All the partials that are higher than the fundamental are called overtones.  These overtones are mathematically related to each other.

Here’s something fun to try:

• If you want to try to hear some overtones on a piano, here’s a fun exercise:  First, depress the c above middle c without actually sounding the note.  Keep it depressed and play middle c.  You will hear the c above middle c ring.  This is because it is in the overtone series for middle c.  However, if you do the same basic actions, but depress and hold down the b above middle c, you will not hear the tone ringing when you strike middle c.  This is because the b above middle c is NOT in the overtone series for middle c.

However, sound can be produced with different degrees or intensity of overtone activity.  In the voice this is determined by the size of the vocal apparatus, the shape of the mouth and throat and chest cavity, but also by where the sound is allowed to resonate. On my web site, I have some exercises for developing more overtones in your speaking voice.  We call this developing “mask resonance.”  The reason for developing more mask resonance is that we have discovered that more overtones in the voice create a more powerful voice and one that is healthier.  (I just love the fact that what is good for you is also good for your listener.)  To download the audio clips to create that healthy sound, please visit the member portion of my site. Yes, you have to sign up if you haven’t already, but I promise not to bug you with tons of mail, and from time to time, I will provide some advantages to being a member…like the free audio clips!

Happy humming!

Even at the beginning of a new school year, many teachers feel the wear and tear on their voices that will only get worse as the year progresses.  According to research findings in both the UK and the US, teachers are in the profession at highest risk for developing voice problems. A study in the Journal of Voice showed that children’s comprehension was negatively effected by a teacher’s dysphonic voice.  So, isn’t it time we seriously addressed this issue?

The University of Iowa Reports:

1. Teachers are 5 times more likely than non-teachers to miss work due to vocal problems
2. More than 10% of teachers today say thy are currently experiencing voice problems
3. Teachers are 32 times more likely than people in other professions to develop voice problems

However, it has also been found that with the right information, 75% of teachers with vocal problems can initiate solutions on their own.  In addition, teachers whose early training included advice on care of their voice appear to have fewer problems than those who did not have that advice.  Consequently,  The University of Iowa built a virtual academy to help teachers overcome the vocal problems inherent in their profession.  If you are interested, I encourage you to visit the online Voice Academy.  It’s pretty cool!

In addition to checking out that site, if you are a teacher, here are some things you can do to avoid or abate the vocal problems that seem to plague your profession:

1. Treat your voice with care and concern.  Set up your room so that people can hear you without your yelling.
2. Let the students do some of the talking by having them make presentations often that aid in your teaching and their studies.
3. Use a sound system in class to amplify your voice.
4. Raise the pitch of your voice to speak in median range…not too high and not too low.
5. Always have a bottle or glass of water handy and drink it often.
6. If your voice is  tired, rest it.