Have you found your mix? Ladies who can siren or sing from middle C up to high C without strain or flipping….you are mixing. Men, if you can “mum, mum, mum”  (from the bottom up) from F# below middle C up to F# above middle C…you are mixing.

Now let’s work the mix!! Let’s get that thyroid cartilage tilting and your aryepiglottic sphincter narrowing! Let’s get control and variation in that mix.

The “nay, nay, nay” exercise (always from bottom up), will help you narrow the sphincter (tube). This is not intended to sound pretty.  It will be whiny, brassy, and annoying! The more annoying the better! Make sure you work this through the bridge….using the note range above. If the sound is breathy, then decrease your volume and work the “sound”.

The thyroid cartilage rotates when you do the puppy dog whimper. Try to think of a sob or crying (in your high voice) as you do this sound. This helps to get the cords to close.  This is a sweet sound. Think the vowel “oo” as in “cool” underneath the whimper.

Now….if you can join the “nasty” with the “sweet,” you have got a great thing going. Remember, you need to practise at the same volume on the bottom notes as the top notes.

BEWARE, if your larynx is “choking” you. These sounds should be made with a neutral larynx…..in other words, at the same height that you use when you speak.

When doing this coordination correctly, it may appear as though you are singing with thicker cords (chest voice). In fact, you are stretching and thinning the cords as you ascend in pitch. Current research suggests the cords may actually stay closed longer when vibrating, thereby giving the illusion of a “thicker” sound.

Comments? Questions?  Please leave them below.