THE VOICE

In every voice there may be two pitch levels: an optimal or natural pitch level; and a habitual or routine pitch level which the speaker normally uses. If the speaker's "natural" (or correct) pitch is different from the pitch level routinely used, the voice is being misused. Misused pitch may be too high or too low. Americans tend to use too low a pitch.

To facilitate your understanding, imagine the throat as a megaphone that projects the voice. Divide the throat into three areas: the lower throat, the middle throat, and the upper throat. The upper throat centers around the nose; the middle throat centers around the mouth area; the lower throat centers around the voice box or larynx. Resonance or tone focus should be produced from all three areas. Too much emphasis on any one area can create a misused voice.

For example, too much nasal resonate produces a nasal sound. Too much lower-throat resonance produces a forced, guttural sound.

Good voices have balanced upper-and middle-throat resonance-oral-nasal resonance, which I call the two-thirds solution-with natural lower-throat resonance. The area around the mouth and nose, as you will recall, is called the mask area. Tone focus in the mask makes voices sound rich, full, vibrant, and flexible.

Voice quality is affected by pitch and tone focus. Good quality may be described as clear and resonant. Misused quality can be termed nasal, thin, hoarse, foggy, harsh, whiny, breathy, sharp, or squeaky, to mention a few types.

Breath support for speech should be centered at the level of the diaphragm, which is located in the midsection of the body. Upper-chest breathing, in which the upper chest or shoulders heave up and down as one breathes, is incorrect and detrimental because of the tension it creates around the throat area. Such breathing is exhausting, both physically and mentally.

Correct volume is measured by its moderate level. Volume should be produced comfortably, without strain, and should be appropriate for each situation; inappropriate volume is too soft or too loud.

Rate of speech should be easy, natural, and flexible in response to the demands of the circumstance. Fast delivery can set the listeners' nerves on edge. A slow, monotonous rate can bore listeners.

Keep in mind that the voice is an instrument that permits animals to make sounds. But in the human animal it is all the more precious, as it allows for speech, that is, controlled sounds that communicate ideas and emotions.

The well-produced voice commands, persuades, instructs, conveys- successfully. Because it is produced as nature intended, such a voice seldom tires and should basically never fail. It flows easily, mellifluously, enunciating thoughts in a manner that elicits attention and respect. It draws positive notice to the personality of the speaker and to the content of his speech.

If you believe, as I do, the you can and should incorporate these simple elements of proper voice production into your life, say "umm-hmmm" with your lips closed, as though you are spontaneously and sincerely agreeing with me.

If you think that mine is a voice in the wilderness speaking out on an ignored subject, say "umm-hmmm" once more.

If you wish to improve the sound you make every time you speak, say "umm-hmmm" yet again.

FINDING YOUR RIGHT VOICE

The first step in improving your voice is finding it. By this I mean locating its optimal, or natural, pitch. This is of primary importance becau se incorrect pitch and tone focus, used over time, are responsible for causing and perpetuating most voice misuse. Various approaches have been used to determine optimal pitch, but most have built-in flaws.

For many years, a piano was commonly used to locate vocal range. This was at best a tedious procedure and at worst impractical. Who, if anyone, is capable of carrying around a piano during the voice retraining period to sustain (or remind one of) the proper tones? In addition, it requires, if not a trained musical ear, a very good ear.

Another traditional approach, more effective than the use of a piano but still less than ideal, is the chewing method. Here, the patient is advised to chew naturally and at the same time to produce sound. This sound is assumed to be at the proper pitch level.

In some cases, this presumption is borne out. But it doesn't take long to discover that one can chew and make sound at an incorrect pitch as easily as at the correct pitch level. This method thus requires careful supervision of the patient, which is the element it was devised to do away with.

In addition, many people find it objectionable. They complain, quite understandably, about the abnormality of these obvious movements. And the necessity for constantly thinking of chewing becomes burdensome and distracting.

It therefore became clear that a new method was needed, one that would assure accuracy of pitch level, while at the same time affording simplicity and practicality. The device which evolved is so simple that you can carry it out yourself and instantaneously discover both your optimal, or natural, pitch level, as well as your correct tone focus. This is important since these two basic elements of correct voice technique are interdependent.

You have already, in fact, achieved this significant step of finding your right voice. If, that is, you have said "umm-hmmm" in a spontaneous and sincere manner, lips closed, whenever the material applied to you..

Try it again now. Say "ummm-hmmm," using rising inflection with the lips closed. It is vital that this "umm-hmmm" be spontaneous and sincere.

The sound you are producing should be your right voice-this is your natural pitch, enhanced by tone focus.

If you are doing exactly what I asked of you, you will feel a slight tingling or vibration around the nose and lips. This indicates correct tone focus, with oral-nasal resonance.

If your pitch is too low, which occurs in most cases of voice misuse, you will feel too much vibration in the lower throat, ù and very little if any at all in the mask area.

Repeat the exercise, say "umm-hmmm," to determine if you are doing it properly. Make a correction, if necessary, until you feel the tingling sensation about the lips and nose.

The beauty of this simple method is that it is one you can use all the time. You have countless occasions to say "umm-hmmm," when you are genuinely agreeing with someone, or when you merely want to test the pitch level you are using. This can be done in the home, in the office, while reading the newspaper, when talking on the telephone, when ordering lunch.

This is the voice you will learn to use all the time. Specific exercises will be given for sustain this voice level and focus, and also for learning breath support. We'll look, too, at means of achieving good volume and appropriate rate of speech.

And then we'll discuss voice psychotherapy! Yes, voice images are often the most difficult "habits" of all to change.

But maybe you are not convinced of having found your (natural and physiological) "right" voice. Let's find out for certain if you have.

TWO TESTS TO GET YOU ON YOUR WAY

The "instant voice press" will almost always reveal your natural physiological voice. Standing, place your index finger just under your sternum (where your ribs come together). Now press gently with a staccato movement and make sound with the lips closed.

The sound you are producing is essentially the one you were born to make- the voice you were born to use.

Now say "umm-hmmm" in that same voice.

Maybe you're still having trouble.

If this is so, you've built up a physical or mental resistance to changing your voice. Your may be posturing or holding yourself stiffly. So let's break that "body armor"!

Still standing, raise your hands above your head, as high as they will reach. Now say "right!" And say it again, only this time louder. "Right!" Say "hello!" in that same voice. Now say "umm-hmmm." This should be your natural voice, your right voice.

We'll get on with the business of learning to use it in a moment. But if you are already worried about employing this, your correct voice, in public or on the job, I should explain you need not be self-conscious.

In all likelihood, no one will be consciously aware that your voice is different, or even that it is better. That is because most of us react to deficient or unpleasant voices, in other words sounds that interfere with easy communication. Such voices call attention to themselves, negative attention that leaves the listener wi Ûth a potentially adverse impression of the speaker.

Clear, dynamic, well-used voices, as we noted earlier, generate positive responses-not to the sound of the speaker, but to personal characteristics as well as to the content of the discussion. The properly produced voice, then, permits individuals to be perceived for their substance-physical, intellectual,and emotional.

That is the reason voice images play such a significant part in our lives. We are all greatly influenced by sound. Lovely sounds have a positive effect on our psyches. Unpleasant sounds have a negative effect. The voice, in its primitive sense, is no more than a sound.

Your natural, physiologic sound-your right voice-will bring about scant, if any, notice to itself. It will, instead, invite greater interest in who you are and what you have to say. And so, you see, there's no cause for self-consciousness as you learn to use your correct voice. Indeed, there's every reason to master voice usage.