Are You An Extreme Singer?
There are many singers who live comfortably within the normal parameters of folk, jazz and commercial pop; these vocalists use speech-based sound mixed in with some lighter qualities. In this series, however, We want to address any singing that is over and above your normal speaking range, volume and stamina requirements.
We start moving into ‘extreme’ territory when vocal effects come into play, such as twang, belting, distortion or other effects that add a powerful and often “signature” quality to the voice. Just think of the bright, edgy sounds you hear in country gospel, musical theater or hard rock genres; or, think of artists such as Patti LaBelle, Axl Rose and Stevie Wonder.
Why is extreme singing so effective?
In scientific terms, twang, for example, produces an increased acoustic energy between 2.5 and 4 kilohertz; the human hear is very sensitive to this range and it increases the perceived sound from 6 to 20 decibels. Still, this effectiveness is of no real value if you blow your voice out reaching for these important sounds!
Are You a Twanger?
To produce “Twang” all you have to do is make any one of these sounds:
A quacking duck
An annoying playground taunt
A screaming baby
A hungry cat
A happy witch
Bugs Bunny
Here is what you must remember:
there should be no sense of additional effort on the voice as the muscles doing it are above the vocal folds. Twang is produced not in the vocal folds but in the aryepiglottic sphincter (AES or “twanger”) Twang becomes harsher and more scream-like the higher you take it in the range this is why it is a favored sound of gospel singers and hard rock bands like hair-metal. High piercing screams are a twang quality or twang set up.
The danger singers get into with twang is that, for the larynx, it closely resembles swallowing and sometimes the larynx can be tricked into constricting, the way it does during a swallow. When vocalists come to me with damaged voices, due in part to badly produced twang, I stress that they need to produce this sound without extra effort; I teach them to over-ride this with de-constricting exercises such as holding the feeling of a stifled laugh when singing.
The larynx must be high to produce a good pop/rock twang, so traditional yawn/sigh? exercises for de-constricting are not appropriate here.