Voice Projection

[Nintendude]

Never thought I'd be looking for advice here, but whatever, let's see what happens.

So, for awhile now I've been aware that I do not know how to project my voice, and I'm getting pretty sick of it. I've always been a quiet kid and I've never taken voice lessons, so my body never learned how to do it. All the speaking I ever do comes from the throat, which is the exact opposite of how you are supposed to do it.

People say to use the diaphragm, breathe from your abdomen, relax your throat and vocal chords, etc., but that really isn't doing it for me. I know what to do and I know how voice projection works but I can't make myself do it - no matter how hard I try I can't avoid speaking from my throat. If I try to be loud, all that happens is I strain my throat and my voice gets distorted, and I am being louder than usual but nowhere near where I should be able to get with proper voice projection. Basically I get all the symptoms indicating that I'm doing it wrong.

There are a few reasons I really would like to fix this. First of all, I'm a musician. I play the saxophone and flute and proper breathing is really important for tone quality and volume. All the years I've been playing I've trained myself to be loud from the throat, a horrible habit I wish I was aware of a lot sooner. I'm also planning to be a conductor for my school's pepband, and naturally that requires a lot of volume since we perform in really noisy venues (like stadiums and hockey rinks). And of course, voice projection is a useful skill to have, and it's really annoying to not be able to do it. There are so many instances where I need to be loud for one reason or another, and not being able to do it is a huge inconvenience. It's even embarrassing at times.

Does anyone have any tips for me? Anyone else in the same situation? Any input and comments are appreciated.

 

[M.K]

Whenever you are trying to give a presentation, pretend like you are talking to someone REALLY stupid. Pretend like you are trying to prove a point and they just do NOT get it. Be very stern and loud when you talk, but still maintain a professional stance. Try to smile alot, too. Confidence in your voice is the first step to solving your problem ^.^

 

[Nintendude]

Well, I don't really ever give presentations and that's not a time I would want to practice. I do have PLENTY of opportunities to be loud in a group setting though, since we do a lot of singing, cheering, and chanting in band. I've been using these opportunities to experiment and try to develop something but I haven't figured it out yet.

 

[slave1]

a mic. or Project you voice all the time so you get use to it.

 

[Proverbs]

My best advice would be to try different methods. Don't just rely on the one method you were taught, try whatever until you figure it out. That OR try to imitate Gandalf's voice. Seriously. I'm pretty sure you can't do some of his louder lines unless you can project your voice well.

Likewise, I'm pretty convinced that voice projection is a learned skill and not just something you need to figure out the right way to do. Example: I haven't been projecting my voice a ton and have kept mostly quiet this year at college, and although I normally have amazing vocal projection (indeed, I can imitate Gandalf nearly exactly--although I'm not sure those two things are very related), I find my voice lacking at times. After a little practice I can get back into it, but I've realized that when you don't keep honing that skill, you tend to get a little rusty. So keep trying, because you may just need to train your voice to project.

 

[Nintendude]

Some people have told me that once you nail it the first time, you're good to go for the most part. Obviously you can hone your technique but whether or not you are projecting seems pretty black and white.

I had some more opportunities to practice today and still had no luck. It seems like I just can't get the necessary air support.

 

[Xsyven]

Take a deep breath. If your shoulders raised up, you're breathing wrong. Breathe so that your stomach sticks out instead, and just let the air out and vocalize. Keep your throat and your lips at an "O" vowel. Practice.

 

[Mewter]

When you breathe, your stomach is supposed to move in and out, like Xsyven said. Do NOT breath with your shoulders moving up and down. You know like when you say "HA!", your stomach moves inward and you're using your diaphragm? Just like that.
Now, I have a side question that I find curious. How do you do ventriloquism?

 

[Nintendude]

That brings up another interesting point. It seems like if I breathe with my diaphragm I can only fill my lungs to like 2/3 capacity. Something about it just doesn't feel right. I've been trying to breathe with my diaphragm for years, but something is wrong and I have no idea what it is.

Ventriloquism....um...I'm not really sure what I'm doing when I try to do that. I think I'm basically trying to hum out words, but I really suck at it.