a qualidade da voz

7/24/2019 A Qualidade Da Voz

1/5 MAY 2007 DRAMAT

Resonance

BY RENA COOK

H O W D O YO U K N O W the difference

betw een the sound of a violin, a

cello, and a standing bass? W hat isabout the quality of the sound that

identifies each instrum ent? H ow

w ould you describe a trum pets

sound in contrast to a tuba? Can yo

describe the difference betw een th

voices of Jam es Earl Jones and Fra

D rescher? O r G w yneth Paltrow and

Roseanne Barr?

W e use w ords like high and ligh

sm ooth and sm oky, w arm and m e

low , piercing and bright, to describ

vocal tone. Just as each m usical in

strum ent has a distinctive quality,each hum an being has vocal at-

tributes that are unique. In additio

the hum an voice is flexible, chang

w ith em otions, objectives, and give

circum stances.

It is the actors task to m axim ize

flexibility and freedom so the voic

can be heard clearly, so it can be

w arm w hen called for, stern if nec

sary and even ugly in response to

the em otional and situational de-

m ands of the character.O ne key com ponent of vocal

quality is resonance. The sound cr

ated at the vocal folds is am plified

enriched, and filtered in the resona

ing cham bers of the body. In a ver

general w ay, I think of resonance

w hat happens w hen disturbed air

(breath that has been set in m otion

by the vocal folds) bounces around

the hollow s of the body that m ake

up the vocal tractthe throat, the

m outh, and the sinus cavity. The

sound gains energy, and som e qua

ties are am plified w hile others are

dam pened. Resonance is your bod

natural am plifier.

The trom bone has a larger,

deeper, low er tone than the trum p

W hy? Because it has a bigger reso-

nating tube. Likew ise, the tuba w il

alw ays have a bigger, deeper soun

than the trom bone. The throat,

m outh, and nasal cavities that m ak

up the hum an resonating tube give

The vibrati ons that determ ine

the quali ty of your voice


2/5DRAMATICS MAY 2007

us an advantage over brass instru-

m ents, because they are flexible. W e

can m ake our vocal tract longer,

shorter, w ider, or thinner. W ith prac-

tice, our resonators can be m ore free,

open, athletic, clear, strong, and re-

sponsive.W hat happens w hen you put a

m ute in the end of the trum pet? The

sound is m uffled. The jaw , tongue,

and soft palate can be our m utes,

dulling, choking, and stifling the tone

if w e let them . O ur task then, as ac-

tors, is to insure that our resonators

are open and free of tension so w e

can be loud or clear, beautiful or

ugly, w arm or strident, w hatever our

character requires, in a healthy, safe,

and reliable w ay.

In order to m axim ize resonance,

w e need to look at the jaw , the

tongue, the soft palate, and the

throat. All can be affected by hidden

tensions that dam pen and restrict

resonance.

The jaw is a large hinge that serves

as a gatekeeper to aid in the control

of strong em otions. This results in

tension, w hich w ill also affect the

throat as it stifles or closes off

resonation. To m axim ize space in the

throat, w e need to relax the jaw . It isnot about creating big space at the

front of the m outh, it is about releas-

ing the jaw at its hinges, creating

space betw een the back m olars. The

jaw should naturally drop straight

dow n as it opens and surrenders to

gravity. K eep in m ind that tendons

link the jaw to the throat and finally

to the larynx itself. Tension in the jaw

radiates to tension in the vocal folds.

If the jaw rem ains held or tight, the

vocal folds w ill also tighten and con-

strict, causing them to w ork harder.

The result is fatigue and loss of

pow er, ease, and clarity.The tongue is a huge m uscle that

often seem s to have a m ind of its

ow n. The root of the tongue can

carry tension that w e are not even

aw are of, pulling back and dow n the

throat, m uting our sound, dam pening

clarity and w arm th.

The soft palate, at the back edge

of the hard palate, has lim ited m obil-

ity but w hat it has can be m axim ized.

The soft palate also has few nerve

endings, so it is harder to feel andchallenging to control. A flat or lazy

palate can dam pen sound and give

the voice a nasal quality by allow ing

air to escape into the nasal cavity.

O ur goal is a lifted palate to create a

big space in the back of the m outh.

The throat above the vocal folds can

be w idened. There are m uscles there

that constrict and narrow the space,

even press dow n on our vocal folds,

keeping them from vibrating easily. W e

w ant to create a big w ide opening.

I frequently speak of resonance

term s of vibration. W hen resonance

activated w e feel vibrations in the

throat, jaw , face, chest, and som etim

even the top of the head. O ur job a

speakers is to m axim ize vibrations,

open our body up to vibrations.

The follow ing set of exercises pr

m otes the opening of the vocal trac

and the releasing of vibrations, thu

m axim izing the resonance of the vo

The jawTo release the jaw , use the heel of

hand to m assage the jaw hinge in

dow nw ard m otions. The focus is on

leasing the jaw to gravity, not forcin

open. W ith each pass of the hand th

jaw releases a bit m ore. Repeat five

tim es at a slow rate of speed, rem em

bering to breathe norm ally.

Take hold of the jaw w ith both y

hands, thum bs underneath, forefing

on top, and open and close the jaww ith your hands. Im agine that the j

is passive, that the hands are doing

w ork. Rem em ber to keep breathing

and m aintain a sense of length in th

back of neck.

Chew lightly in forw ard circles a

you are eating a very chew y taffy.

not m ove the jaw side to side. Thin

of easy circles that go dow n and up

Repeat ten tim es.

Relish the feeling of a loose jaw

leased, hanging, lips can be open o

About this series

TH ISISTH ETH IRD of four articles

on vocal training, a series as-

sem bled by Rena C ook, professor

of voice at O klahom a U niversity, in

w hich nationally prom inent voiceand speech coaches introduce our

readers to the fundam entals of their

w ork. The series:

MarchAlignm ent and thevoice, by A ntonio O cam po-G uzm an

AprilBreathing and the voice,by Judylee Vivier

This monthResonance, byRena Cook

SeptemberThe articulate ac-tor, by D udley K night

Massagin g the jaw hi nge.

SANDRA

BENT


3/5 MAY 2007 DRAMAT

gently closed as long as you m aintain

a feeling of space.

The tongueW hile the jaw is hanging loosely, re-

laxed to the pull of gravity, shift your

focus to the tongue. Be aw are that the

tongue is resting on the floor of the

m outh, gently touching the bottom

teeth.

Allow the tongue to fall out of the

m outh past the lips. Feel it lengthengently tow ard the floor. Then stretch it

gently tow ard the ceiling. Allow the

tongue to gently clean the lips as if

you have just taken a bite from a big

juicy peach and you dont w ant to

m iss a drop.

Tongue-speakContinue to let the tongue hang out

of your m outh. Count out loud from

one to ten, keeping the back of the

neck long. Relax the tongue back intothe m outh, letting it rest w here it nor-

m ally does. Count out loud again w ith

a sense of a released jaw and tongue.

Try a piece of text, a few lines of a

speech, a poem , or a nursery rhym e,

in tongue-speak, allow ing the tongue

to hang loosely out of the m outh.

Then speak the text w ith the tongue

easily back in the m outh.

Pay attention to the ease that is

created w hen the tongue and jaw

take their rightful places as relaxed

articulators, free of tension and not

attem pting to artificially create a

louder sound.

The soft palateY aw n w idely w ith the tongue laying

gently against the bottom teeth. Enjoy

the yaw n. Stretch your arm s as if you

have just aw akened from a restful

nights sleep. Be aw are of a huge

space opening at the back of the

throat. D o this several tim es to re-m ind the throat that open and re-

leased allow s for optim um resonance.

Im agine that you have a big, red

juicy apple in your hand. Lift it to

your m outh and sink your teeth into

it as if to take a large delicious bite.

Feel the lift of the soft palate. Repeat

and just before your teeth are ready to

sink in say, H ello,or perhaps, To-

m orrow and tom orrow and tom orrow .

Repeat the bite of the apple, creat-

ing a large yet easy open space. Atthe m om ent of readiness say, W hy

fly so high,or But soft, w hat light

through yonder w indow breaks,or

W hen shall w e three m eet again.

Y ou can use any lines of text, or

even bits of poetry. O n each breath,

bite the apple to keep the soft palate

high. This w ill w arm the sound and

enhance resonance.

Through this exercise you are

building an aw areness of the lifted

soft palate. Y ou are also teaching the

soft palate, through m uscle m em ory

the raised position for confident

speech that carries effortlessly.

The throatW hen you laugh easily all the m usc

in the throat open. Try having a goo

laugh out loud to see w hat I m ean.

N ow m ake the laugh sm aller, at a le

of about num ber four on a scale of

to ten. N ext, im agine that you w ant

laugh but dont w ant it to show onyour face; just feel an inner sm ile ge

tly retract the throat.

Another easy w ay to find this sen

of opening or retraction is to im agin

you are looking at a pup py. W hat i

your instinctive response? Y ou breat

in and sigh out on an ah.Im agine

you are looking at the puppy; you

draw in a breath and before you vo

the ah,feel the throat retracting op

W ell call this the puppy posture.

O n an easy inhale open the throaw ith the inner sm ile or the puppy p

turew hichever w orks best for you

and say Tom orrow and tom orrow a

tom orrow .Try counting one to ten

try one of these phrases: W hen sha

w e three m eet again?O r N ow is th

w inter of our discontent.

Before each sentence or phrase,

breathe in gently and think of the i

ner sm ile or puppy posture. Y ou ar

building a m uscle m em ory of the o

and released throat.

Tongue-speak. A big yawn opens the back of the throat.


4/5DRAMATICS MAY 2007

Humming to increase vibrationsH um m ing is one of the easiest w ays

to release vibration and increase reso-

nance. Start a com fortably low hum

w ith a big space in the back of the

m outh. H um until you feel the need

for a breath. Stop the hum , breatheand start the hum again. Tap gently

on the chest to loosen the vibrations.

Feel that you can fill your upper

chest w ith vibrations. K eep the back

of the neck long and the space in the

back of the m outh w ide.

Raise the pitch a little and con-

tinue to hum w ith a long, straight

neck and big space betw een your

back m olars. M ove the hum around

on your face, or chew so that the fa-

cial m uscles are m oving the hum

around. Explore various pitches in

the low er to m iddle part of the voice

as you continue to hum .

Blow through the lips on a hum

(think of horse lips). Let the pitch

vary in sm all loops as you blow , w id-

ening the loops of pitch as you con-

tinue to hum . This gathers and in-

creases the strength of vibrations and

begins to loosen the pitch range.

To bring vibrations forw ard say:

K ey, key, key, key, key.Speak on a

m iddle pitch, keeping the back of

your neck long. Aim these vibrations

on the back of the upper teeth.

IntoningFinally take the bit of text, poem , or

m onologue you have been w orking

on and intone it: sing the w hole

m onologue on one note. Choose a

note that is com fortably in the m iddle

of your range. Breathe at the end of

each thought until you have intoned

the entire m onologue. Feel the vibra-

tions forw ard in your m outh. Then

speak the m onologue w ith attention

to the spot w here you felt the m ost

vibrations w hile intoning.

TO SU M M ARIZE: each individual has

a unique vocal quality that through

practice can be m ore flexible.

Resonance is an im portant com po-

nent of quality and can be m axi-

m ized by o pening the vocal tract

create a space so vibrating air ca

be am plified and enriched. M ore

resonance translates to greater vo

cal ease w ith m ore clarity and ca

rying pow er that can be responsto the changing n eed s of charact

and situation.

Y ou dont have to be Jam es Earl

Jones or G w yneth Paltrow to have

confident, w arm , authoritative or fl

ible voice. It is not som ething that

you are born w ith, that som e speci

few have and others dont. Y ou can

practice your w ay to greater vocal

freedom by keeping the jaw releas

the tongue forw ard and dow n, the

soft palate lifted, the throat w ide an

the sound m oving forw ard. Then y

can claim your spot along w ith the

actors w hose voices you m ost

adm ire.

The au thor wi shes to than k Rocco D

Vera for hi s assistance in the prepar

tion of this article.


5/5

Originally published in Dramaticsmagazine. More info:Schooltheatre.org
http://schooltheatre.org/http://schooltheatre.org/http://schooltheatre.org/http://schooltheatre.org/

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