Music Minute Monday: Vocal Placement. What Is It? Part 1
If you’ve ever had a voice lesson, you’ve probably been asked about where you’re “placing” your voice but what does that mean? You can’t literally pick up and put down your voice in a different location. So, what is your voice teacher talking about?
Placement is where you place your voice in your body. Sure! That sums it up! Next topic! Kidding…
Placement not only has to do with where you’re placing your voice, but also which register you’re using. Have you ever heard someone sing and it sounded “tight” or “strained” for some reason? It’s because the singer is not placing their voice correctly. They’re keeping their voice in the back of their throat or squeezing their throat muscles to obtain a difficult note. Spoiler alert: that’s not how you do it.
Or alternatively, the classic “Britney Spears” tone is mimicked by sending your voice “through your nose.” That’s also a type of placement. Albeit, not a healthy one, but still, a type of one.
What is correct placement and how do I get it?
Correct placement, no matter which register you’re in, is forward and open. When you place your voice “forward,” it means your tongue and jaw are relaxed, your tone is supported by your breath and a nice open mouth, and you are feeling the vibrations of your voice in the front of your mouth. Now, you won’t totally feel all of them all the time but, the main idea is that you aren’t feeling your voice in your throat or your nose.
A good exercise you can do is sing the word “Ma” starting on a hum and then slowly opening up to an “ah.” If you can feel your voice buzzing behind your lips when your mouth is closed (while keeping your jaw open,) your placement is correct. If you’re not certain, try playing around with your tongue placement. Ideally, you want it to be flat. However if you’re not feeling the buzzing, your tongue is probably “relaxed” but at the top of your mouth, blocking your voice from being placed where it needs to be.
TIP: Your tongue is a muscle & if this is a new practice for you, it is going to take a few tries to re-train your “muscle memory” in your tongue. Keep going! Eventually it will get easier!
What about when you’re in a different register of your voice?
This is a longer conversation for a different time (stay tuned for part 2…) but ideally, you want to still have your voice stay forward. This gives you the healthiest, most well-resonated tone. When you’re in different registers, “forward” will feel different for each however, you still want your voice in each register to still sound like you. You have one voice, not six ;)
Stay tuned for part 2 of this Music Minute Monday series where I will dive farther in to what the different registers mean and how to place them!