18 Playing with Tone
Building on the concepts we’ve learned so far, in this lesson we’ll learn how to play with vocal tone, we’ll discover the importance of vocal diversity, and we’ll explore how we can use different tone colours to add dynamics, emotion, and originality to our worship songs and worship leading. Charmaine will take you through a set of vocal workout exercises and song application exercises that will help you discover and master the art of vocal tone, and help you embrace your unique vocal sound!
See the lesson resources below to:
- download the lesson notes (in Downloads tab)
- download the vocal workout for offline use (in Downloads tab)
You talking about being an artist with your voice was a real light bulb moment for me. I’m definitely one of those persons who plays it too safe with my voice. I actually incorrectly believed that one should sing with a “plainer” type of voice as to not exalt oneself as a Christian. The whole concept of glorifying God through vocal artistry to put Him on display really challenged me to think totally different. Thank you so much for that.
Totally! I grew up thinking that way as well—but so much in the word of God points to artistry and beauty! (with a humble heart of course!)
WOW!!! I’ve never felt the chest and head so clearly!! The high/low larynx was eye-opening also!! I’m so excited!!!
YAY! So exciting!
Enjoyed this lesson very much – to explore the different tones and how to sing them! Some tones feel strange when singing it all in that tone (e.g. nasal) but when put into a few lyrics of the song, in a natural way, it sounds good and adds variation to the song.
I totally agree! Singing all in one tone is just for the purpose of training the voice—so that we can bring it in in smaller ways in a song to provide variety!
Lightbulb moments were the reminder to have fun, and I loved seeing how you sang the Psalms! I would love to start doing that as a way to bring out emotions as I sing. The tonal qualities I enjoy are the high larynx/low larynx toes, because I like the contrast and it seems easier/more natural for my voice to do. I find the chest/head tones most challenging, and it confirms my thinking lately that the light voice and head mix are things I want to strengthen and work on. I was encouraged when you shared that it wasn’t always a strength for you but became one!
Awesome—thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience!
When I heard you sing in the “high larynx” tone, I had a revelation. Your voice sounded like a little girl’s–it took on a younger quality. Do you know what I mean? Anyway, when I listen to my voice from recordings, I feel like my voice has that same “little girl” quality, even though I’m quite “mature” *ahem* age-wise. Does that mean that I need to add more of a low larynx quality to my voice (because I’m not really a fan of my voice sounding like that) or should I celebrate that that’s what my natural voice sounds like? Or is it a balance between the two? Hope I’m being clear here.
Great observation! High larynx is definitely more of a “little girl” sound (because young girls/boys have a high larynx!), and for some females their larynx naturally lowers as they grow older, for others the larynx remains higher. As for whether to embrace your current sound or aim to change it up a bit… I think you’re onto the right answer already — it’s both! Experiment with lower larynx sounds (doesn’t need to be excessive… it can be subtle) so that you can achieve a bit of tonal variety… but also… celebrate the natural sound of your voice! There’s definitely no need to do a massive overhaul on your voice, especially if you don’t prefer the low larynx sounds!
Working on bringing more yuh into my tone. I’m too forward and I think I force my voice into place and it’s not free to flip back and forth between different resonators.
Great thing to work on! Be patient with your voice, especially with it not being a natural tonal quality for you… it’s a safe technique to work on but I would recommend doing it in shorter stints, with lots of vocal rest!
I had been trying to sing a song in a key that’s very high for me for weeks now lol
Just yesterday The Holy Spirit gave this guidance of not keep trying to do that and sing it in a key that’s comfortable for me. And this is not the first time He confirmed what He said through you 🙂
What an awesome lesson, it helped me understand and take control of my vocal tone more which was much needed.
Thanks Charmaine !
Awesome, glad to help confirm what you were already feeling! 🙂 So important to work with our voice, not fight against it!
These three contrasting qualities are a huge revelation for me. It’s going to take some practice to make them part of my singing…but wow…I’m excited about this…
Haha yes — so challenging but fun to work on!