1.

Our voice

Sometimes you may have noticed that a piece of music sounds different depending on the instrument or the voice that performs it. This is because each instrument or voice is characterised by unique features that enable you to identify who or what is making a particular sound. This quality of sound that allows you to recognise a type of voice or instrument even if you close your eyes is known as timbre.

In the pages that follow, you will learn about some of the elements involved in the production of the human voice, enabling people to speak and sing:

1.- Breathing Breathing is the process of inhalation (taking air in) and exhalation (pushing air out). In between inhalation and exhalation, air is kept in the lungs, and this is called retention. If you want to develop a good vocal technique, you have to fully control this process.

2.- Voice production The larynx houses have two elastic tendons called the vocal cords. The pressure of the air leaving the lungs causes them to vibrate. The greater the force of air moving through them, the higher the intensity of the sound produced, producing volume. The greater the tension applied to the vocal cords, the higher or lower the pitch of the sound (higher or lower notes).

3.- Resonators Our body acts as a resonating chamber, amplifying and strengthing the sound. The rib cage, trachea, lariynx, nose, mouth, forehead and skull are some of the resonators we use to achieve different sound effects.

Classification of voices Moreover, voices can be classified according to their range. Voices with the highest pitch are normally womens voices, and voices with the lowest pitch are mens voices, but these can also be subdivided: Womens and childrens voices The highest voice_________soprano The intermediate voice ____mezzosoprano The lowest voice_________contralto Mens voices The highest voice tenor The intermediate voice baritono The lowest voice bass Effective tips for a better singing voice (from www.http://curso-de-canto.com)

We are going to give you here some useful suggestions for singing. 1. 2. 3. Keep yourself hydratated. Drink water regularly, trying to reach 2 litres of water per day. Breath completely before you start singing, relaxing you body with each exhalation. Keep your mouth opened enough when you are singing. Singers who keep the mouth very closed, they

are probably tightening the tongue so they are not able to sing brightly. One good tip is to open your mouth enough so you can put two fingers between your lips, specially with the vowels "a" or "o". 4. Relax your tongue. Between 65% and 85% of the vocal problems are related to tongue tension. The

worst part is that most people are not even aware of this tension. You observe yourself in a mirror while you sing. If the tip of the tongue is not relaxed, resting in the above teeth, you must improve it and practice. 5. Do not take too much air. If you breathe too deeply you will feel pressure in your trunk that will makes

harder to sing. You can feel it when you sing high pitched notes and that makes you tense your neck. Practice breathing exercises to improve that. 6. Keep your larynx still. Larynx is where men have Adam's apple. If you notice that our Adam's apple

goes up and down while we are singing, you are singing with a bad technique and you are hurting you vocal cords. You have to learn how to use your resonators, leaving free your larynx. 7. Open and relax the back part of your mouth, so you can open properly the front part. You have to feel

open your mouth inside, like if you were visiting a doctor and saying "ah". 8. Sing joyfully. Singing is a very physical activity. You must be enthusiastic or there will be no bright in

your performance. Feel the music before you start singing, jump, move your body around the room, walk a little... all that will help you a lot. 9. Feel what you are singing. Music is a way of expressing yourself, it is alive and it has a big influence in

the people that listen to you. But that is right only when you really feel what you are singing. Feel yourself comfortable while you sing. Singing must be like talking, there must be no pressure, tension or effort. These feelings mean that you are tightening your vocal cords.