How to make your voice more masculine. How to make your voice sound more courageous
expert's word
While working on the text, we consulted with a voice professional. Meet: Candidate of Medical Sciences, professor, doctor of the highest category, homeopath, ENT specialist of the Institute contemporary art Natalya Olenchik. Before you start looking for jokes in this article, Natalya Vladimirovna asked you to read this with all seriousness: Dear readers! This article contains basic recommendations that can help improve your voice. I just have to add that each person is individual and without a personal visit to the doctor it is difficult to say what advice should be taken into account first of all. Specific example. The text says that smoking causes aseptic inflammation of the vocal folds. However, I had the opportunity to work with two patients who had been smoking a lot for a long time, but their folds remained absolutely healthy and their voice did not change. Of course, we are talking about exceptions, but you need to understand that to one degree or another, each of us is an exception. I would recommend this article as a basic course on working on your own voice. For some this will be enough. For everyone else, after several months of daily exercise, you need to contact a specialist to draw up a further training plan that will be tailored specifically for you. And remember that it is impossible to change your own voice, you can only improve it. Separately, we note that the text is designed for healthy people without chronic diseases and pathologies in the larynx and the entire respiratory system. The recommendations do not apply to singers, actors and announcers: people in these professions need special exercises.
If you know that some annoyance can be changed, you try to correct it. My vision began to deteriorate - I went to the ophthalmologist. I didn’t like my body and bought a fitness membership. I got tired of carrying a translator with me - I put him back in the storage room and learned twenty languages. Dissatisfaction with our own voice is one of those frustrations that many of us put up with without even trying to fix it. To most, this seems as unlikely as life on Mars or the victory of the Russian figure skating team in the World Football Championship. In fact, getting your voice to be something you like is not that difficult. All you need is a little free time, a little patience and a lot of this article. Do you need it? You've probably met girls who fanatically display freckles; people with minus seven vision who stubbornly refuse to wear glasses, and men who comb the meager head of remaining hair onto the back of their bald heads. But, you must admit, there are many people who look incredible on glasses, sparkling bald heads and girls with freckles. What are we talking about? Before you start improving your voice, you need to make sure that this is really necessary. We've compiled two lists of reasons that indicate something needs to be done about your voice. The first list lists external reasons, emanating from the surrounding reality. The second is your internal ones. External reasons 1. You hear the phrase “Repeat, please” from others not much less often than “Hello!” or “How are you?” At the same time, you are absolutely sure that you speak clearly and loudly enough. “Whether a person will perceive what you say depends 30–40% on your voice,” says Natalya Olenchik. It's probably because of him that people are turning a deaf ear to your words. 2. Unexpectedly for yourself, you may begin or end a phrase in an unnatural voice: either too high or too low. In especially advanced cases, you, like a troll that has eaten too much sausage, squeal. 3. They fall into your hands from time to time honest people who say to your face that your voice does not match your appearance (age, social status, the number of hamburgers you can eat at one time) or just plain nasty. Local reasons Below are the main characteristics of a voice that is worth working on. We will be happy if this list contains at least one epithet that characterizes the sounds you make, because in this case you will probably read this text to the end! The only reason you can stop reading is because of illness: to appreciate the sound of your own voice, you first need to be healthy (flat feet don’t count). █ Too high.
█ Husky.
█ Nasal.
█ Trembling.
█ With hoarseness (rarely occurring “trademark” hoarseness does not count).
█ With shortness of breath.
█ Tense (strained, sharp - whatever you like). How to speak with your own voice Another section that will help you gain hope for a while that your own voice is tolerable. It is likely that you are making sounds incorrectly. “People who speak unnaturally are quite common,” says the expert. “Moreover, a person usually does not realize that his voice is unnatural; he is used to speaking this way.” To start speaking (singing, shouting, boiling potatoes) with your own voice, you need to go through three steps. Let's take a closer look at three of them.
As we have already said, chronic diseases and the consequences of injuries do not count. “But even treatable illnesses have a noticeable effect on the voice,” Natalya Olenchik encourages you to cure kleptomania. █ Diseases of the cardiac and/or pulmonary system lead to shortness of breath and make the voice tremble.
█ Diseases of the nervous system and spine make the voice strained.
█ Mental disorders deprive the voice of emotionality and timbre colors.
█ Diseases of the reproductive system primarily affect the psyche. And already she, having curbed the weak-willed person, forces the voice to be deliberately courageous, which is audible to the naked ear. It’s not worth mentioning separately about colds and sore throats (it’s better to cure them as soon as possible so you can start testing your voice) - except that our consultant advises not to whisper if you have a sore throat and ligaments. “To speak in a whisper, you need to have good speech training and trained vocal folds. To speak in a whisper during illness - even more so. When whispering, the vocal folds do not close and a lot of air passes unvoiced: the muscle fibers of the vocal folds are overstrained. That is, whispering increases the tension of the speech apparatus many times over, even compared to yelling or singing.”
█ Give a 15-minute speech in full voice. “If during this time discomfort or even pain appears in the larynx area, it means that you are speaking in an unnatural voice. Usually the reason is not so much possible diseases how much wrong breathing and habits,” Natalya Olenchik is sure. The easiest way to discover your natural voice is by experimenting by trying to speak with correct breathing (more on that later) and different heights. And that's it. Even if you know exactly where your vocal folds are, and you are sure that they are not the ones that hurt during speech, stop rejoicing. “Pain around the folds directly relates to the muscles surrounding them. The folds themselves will never hurt, because there are no pain receptors there,” explains our consultant. █ Try not to smoke for a couple of days. “Cigarette smoke causes aseptic inflammation of the folds,” says Natalya Olenchik. “This, of course, lowers the voice, but due to the loose closure of the vocal cords, smokers develop a hoarseness.” Alcohol, by the way, contrary to popular belief, does not have a significant effect on the ligaments. █ The larynx is located at the level of the 4th–6th cervical vertebrae. Considering that you only have seven of them, it is no wonder that, even if they are healthy, the cervical vertebrae affect the quality of your voice. “If during a conversation you strain your neck or bend it unsuccessfully, your voice changes, and noticeably,” the expert assures. So relax your neck, keep it straight, put on your hat and take out the trash. 3. Find the key
█ “There are many ways to find your voice, and all of them become very controversial when trying to self-diagnose. Here is one simple and common technique. Believe him or not - it's up to you. But it’s better to make an appointment with a specialist to find your own voice,” warns Natalya Olenchik. The native pitch of the voice is revealed, in particular, by this exercise. Close your teeth and lips, take a full lungful of air and exhale evenly with the sound “mmmmmmmmm.” Since [m] is a consonant sound, the output you will get is something between “mmmmmmmmmm” and “muuuuuuuuu” - that’s how it should be. While making this sound, clasp your throat with your palm, as high as possible to the chin. Say the long “mmmmmmmmmmm” higher and lower. Notice the moment when the larynx vibrates the most (you will feel it with your palm). Most likely, this voice is your real one.
What will you fix:
hoarseness, trembling, hoarseness, tension, make your voice lower.
“The vocal folds consist of special muscles,” says Natalya Olenchik. – These muscles, like all others, we can train and pump up. The thicker the vocal muscles become, the deeper the voice becomes.” Trained folds close more reliably, which will allow you not only to lower your sound, but also to get rid of the other shortcomings listed above. Faster to fitness for your voice! Bonus: you can set up a gym for vocal folds without leaving your home, without a club card or replacement shoes! █ Talk as much as possible. When you run out of friends who are willing to endure so much chatter, get a deaf-mute cactus that will pretend to listen to you for days on end. █ Think and read, pronouncing each word to yourself and mentally straining your vocal folds (at first, you can even move your tongue for plausibility) closed mouth). “The vocal folds fluctuate constantly, even in sleep,” explains the expert. – They do not rest at rest, but by changing their work mode. When we are silent, these vibrations practically do not help pump up muscles. But this can be corrected by starting to pronounce thoughts and texts in your mind.”
Breathing exercises
1. Remember the army, even if you only saw it in nightmares. Hands down! Bend over, bending your back, and take a short but noisy breath. The neck should be relaxed. Straighten up smoothly (but not completely), allowing the air to slowly escape. Bend over again and inhale sharply again. Well, you know the rest. Repeat everything 8-10 times, take a five-minute break and repeat again (there should be a total of 8 sets of 8-10 inhalations and exhalations). After a few days of training, you can double the number of inhalations and exhalations in one approach.
2. Stand up straight. And don't slouch! During a smooth inhalation, spread your arms to the sides and raise them up. Hold your hands and breath for a few seconds. Then bend down sharply and exhale noisily (lower your arms too). Repeat every day 2-3 times.
█ Scream and sing. “It’s better in the shower or toilet. There are good acoustics there, and you will have the opportunity to hear yourself,” says Natalya Olenchik. Don’t forget to sing long notes: the ability to hold them straight will make your voice more confident. Put your breath on
What will you fix:
nasal sound, trembling, hoarseness, shortness of breath, tension█ Breathe with diaphragmatic (lower) breathing. “Inhale deeply so that your belly comes forward with each inhalation. At the same time, the chest and shoulders should remain motionless (many people raise them up), our consultant advises. “Speak as you exhale.” █ Talk a lot. “The recommendations of some experts to practice breathing while reading passages from books do not work well, since they are not related to real speech situations. The exception is people who, due to their profession, have to read texts out loud (actors, presenters, etc.),” explains Natalya Olenchik and encourages you to speak during classes as you do in real life. █ Start breathing while speaking English. This language treats the vocal apparatus much more carefully than Russian, and therefore it will be easier to get used to following the rules. █ Do breathing exercises. “Which one is not so important. You can use the technique of A.N. Strelnikova,” advises Natalya Olenchik. Here we give a couple of exercises as an example - start with them.
Work on your articulation
What will you fix:
tension
Articulation exercises
1. Pull your closed lips forward, and then break into a wide smile.
2. Alternately raise and lower the top and lower lip showing his teeth to everyone.
3.Swipe lower jaw back and forth, and then open your mouth wide, as if you decided to use it to measure the distance from the refrigerator to gas stove.
4. Stick your tongue out and make figure eights in the air. You can also draw other numbers with your tongue.
5. Pronounce the sounds [b], [m], [v] and [r] loudly and clearly, alternately.
There is also special articulation gymnastics for this. And don’t rush to pay for the Internet to find some exercises there. All of them are simpler than the Zhiguli and are aimed at developing the facial muscles, tongue and jaw. Rubbing your face in a circular motion with your fingertips, savory yawns while simultaneously trying to say something intelligible, wagging your tongue and spanking your lips in different ways will be enough. For greater clarity, we give you several exercises. Well, did you remember everything? No? Then it’s better to re-read the article again and be careful. Of course, you can always take it easy and quickly solve your voice problem surgically. To do this, it is enough to submit a corresponding request to the ENT department of any medical university. But since operations on the vocal folds are extremely complex, they can only help you with little things - removing vocal nodules, fibroids and tumor-like formations. This will get rid of hoarseness in your voice, but, unfortunately, will not make it more courageous (that is, lower in sound). Oh yes, with the help of surgery you can make your voice much thinner and higher. But it seems to us that this will hardly interest you.
Why do you need a low voice?
The owner of a low voice is intuitively perceived by others as an authoritative, confident, self-sufficient person. This image, like the sound of the voice that generates it, is good in any case: if you are a man, it attracts the fair sex sexually; if you represent the fair half of humanity, a lower voice will make business partners treat you attentively and involuntarily trust your opinion more. A low voice generally speaks of such qualities as self-control and poise, and also inspires trust and sympathy in the interlocutor.
A very common situation is when, before an important public speech, negotiations or upcoming family debriefing, a person discovers that his voice does not obey and begins to tremble treacherously, wheeze, and break into falsetto. And a high, squeaky voice, you must admit, doesn’t fit in with the image of a leader and a confident person whose words you want to listen to. Here's another reason to learn how to control your vocal cords.
It may well happen that you don’t even suspect that your beautiful timbre sounds completely different to others. And this is usually found out after listening to your voice in a recording. U different people this perception is different: for some it seems that his voice in the recording sounds higher, for others it sounds lower. And yet these two different sounds are one and the same voice of yours. This is how Nelson Vaughan, a speech therapist and professional voice director for Hollywood actors, explains the process of formation and perception of the sound of a voice: “When we listen to our voice during a conversation, we perceive it not only with our ears. We hear sound waves propagating inside us through the fluid that fills our internal organs. Sound travels differently through air than in liquids and dense tissues. This difference applies to almost the entire width of tones that we perceive, so those around us hear something completely different from what we hear.”
And finally, this topic will be very useful for those who have a tendency to stutter - constantly or occasionally. stressful situations. Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor I.A. Sikorsky, in his monograph “On Stuttering,” states that slow speech in a low tone “has great protective power against stuttering... and gives the speaker an outward imprint of importance, authority and self-control.”
Exercises to lower your voice
The lower the larynx is located, the lower the voice. The striated muscles located in the front of the neck are responsible for its movements. Fortunately, these muscles can be learned to be controlled consciously with simple exercises. The only condition for achieving success is regular practice and perseverance. So:
Yawn and half-yawn. Feel the larynx and make a yawn - feel how the larynx descends. This exercise affects all vocal organs: the pharynx, soft palate, larynx and tongue.
Another exercise is the “bass head”. Have you paid attention to the position of the head of a person singing in a bass voice? His head is raised high and at the same time slightly tilted (as if he is holding some object with his chin or playing an invisible violin). This position activates all muscle groups that pull the larynx down. The rotation of the larynx should be directed downward, which, combined with its lower position, lowers the voice as much as possible.
Exercises with the vowel sound “i”. Starting position - sitting or standing. Tilt your head down so that your chin touches your chest (bass head position) and make a low “i” sound. Now raise your head face up, fixing the pitch of the “i” sound. At the beginning of classes, it will be difficult for you to maintain a fixed pitch of the “i” sound - it will invariably rise when you throw your head back. This indicates tension in your vocal cords and shortening of the larynx. Repeat this exercise several times throughout the day until the pitch of your voice is equal in both head positions: this effect will mean that the spasm of the vocal folds has been relieved.
"Explosive wave." We begin to growl from the lowest note, then our growl smoothly flows into the highest note that we are able to produce, and then we also smoothly descend to the lowest note from which we started the exercise. We do several such approaches. After such a warm-up, you will immediately feel that it has become easier to speak, your voice seems to have “cut through” and began to sound much brighter and more expressive.
Control the pace of your speech: the faster you speak, the more your vocal cords tense - and the higher your voice. The human voice has been compared to vinyl record: If you slow down its rotation speed, it starts to bass. When you deliberately lower the tone of your voice, your speech slows down by at least 10%.
A low voice and correct posture are interdependent. Therefore, anyone who wants to lower their voice should definitely pay attention to the spine. By the way, not only the pitch of the voice, but also the functioning of the brain depends on correct posture, as confirmed by the electroencephalogram. It has been noted that people with correct posture and a deep voice do not just give the impression of being self-sufficient and confident in life - they actually are.
And another fact proven by science: a well-rested person speaks in a lower voice. The secret is that sleep relaxes the vocal apparatus, thereby providing you with the full range of benefits of a low tone.
Very often, when men want to please a woman, they try to speak more quietly and lower, almost reaching a whisper. And this is no coincidence. Since primitive times, women have associated the low voice of men with strength: what do males do to attract females or scare away rivals? That's right, they growl. And a good “roar” is a sign of the male’s health.
But in today’s world, a low, hoarse voice has become relevant not only for representatives of the stronger half of humanity, but has also become a kind of trend for women. Some people go under the surgeon’s knife to get the desired timbre, others smoke, hoping for “coarsening” of the ligaments, and still others try to do without such radical measures.
It must be said that it will not be possible to completely change the timbre of your voice, but there are exercises that will help you “tune” your vocal cords to the “right mood.” But in this case, to achieve the desired result you need to train every day.
First you need to understand how necessary a deeper voice is. It sounds fake and unnatural if a 10-year-old boy or girl who makes you think of rainbows, puppies and lollipops has a deep voice. But for a guy over the age of 15 or a girl whose appearance has something of a Lady Vamp, a deep voice will emphasize the image and make the opposite sex “go crazy.”
In preparation for voice reprogramming, you should research known low voices and choose your own model. Guys have a lot of examples to choose from, and girls can pay attention to Marlene Dietrich with her perfect hoarseness and drawling words.
It is necessary to determine how deep the timbre should be compared to a real voice. Knowing the tone of your voice will help you control its volume to make it lower. To do this, you can listen to yourself in front of a mirror, you can record your voice on a computer, on a tape recorder and play it back. Some devices will sound more believable than others, so you need to find good quality recording and playback.
It should be noted that the next stage is the ability to relax: when a person is tense or irritated, his voice sounds higher. Therefore, when starting training, you need to try to relax and breathe deeply; Nervous causes involuntary spasms of the vocal cords, as a result of which the voice fluctuates - “breaks”.
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Warm water or warm, weak tea before training will help relax the muscles of the throat and larynx. Cold water causes spasm of the vocal cords.
Breathe deeply enough to fill your lungs and improve your breathing control. It is advisable to avoid short and shallow breaths.
The posture during training has great value to achieve a good voice result. With an upright posture, the diaphragm moves freely, increasing lung capacity, which helps you speak more clearly. As an experiment, you can stand in front of a mirror and, changing your posture, decide how you can improve the sound by changing your posture.
One of the most common exercises for developing a low timbre is as follows: you need to sit up straight, put your chin on your chest and stretch out the sound “i” as low as possible. Raising your head, continue repeating - “singing” the sound, fixing your voice at the desired height. It is recommended to carry out this exercise several times a day until maintaining the pitch of the timbre becomes a habit and it does not change when you raise your head.
For the next exercise you will need a book. You need to start reading it in a normal voice, slowly pronouncing each syllable. After reading 4-5 sentences, start reading again, but one tone lower, also pronouncing each syllable slowly and clearly. After 4 - 5 sentences - all over again, dropping another tone lower, until it becomes uncomfortable. This exercise will strengthen your vocal cords and help them move out of their own range. You need to repeat it for 5 - 10 minutes several times a day, and each time try to go down a tone lower than the previous workout.
This question is mainly of interest to men whose timbre is too high and, in their opinion, not masculine enough. Making your voice rougher is quite difficult; it will require time, patience and systematic practice.
Also, the voice is lower in those people who have a low larynx and a longer extension pipe. To make this easier to understand, you need to imagine musical instrument- organ. His shorter pipes produce higher sounds, and his longer ones produce lower sounds. Therefore, in order for the voice to sound rougher, it is necessary that the larynx be longer. The striated muscles are responsible for the movements of the larynx in the human body. You can learn to manage them yourself. There are several exercises that will help your voice “coarse”.
Daily:
- Sing the sound “a” first in your “native” voice for 5-7 minutes, then for the same amount of time pull it down a tone. The next day, immediately start with a lower tone. This is a very effective exercise.
- In addition to the "a" sound, you can sing any vowel in the same way, such as "o", "i" or "u".
- Pull your chin to your chest and hum, then raising your head, then lowering it again. The exercise is done for 5 minutes.
- Sing songs performed in rough voices, trying to repeat after the vocalist. You can listen to recordings of songs by rock artists, repeat their techniques, or sing in unison with them.
- Take a deep breath through your nose, hold your breath for 2-3 seconds and exhale through your nose. The exercise is repeated 50 times in the morning and 50 times in the evening.
When performing exercises, you need to monitor your posture. Correct posture and a deep voice are interdependent. Therefore, it is important for those who wish to lower their voice to monitor their spine.
- Wide enamel pan Pour boiling water halfway through, throw in a bunch of mint, leave for half an hour. Next, take a sip, pull out the sound “a” for 15 seconds, take another sip and sound. And so on until the mint infusion is over. However, it should be remembered that mint has a negative effect on male potency. Therefore, with the help of mint, the voice will become a little rougher, but at the same time you can earn impotence.
Fastest way:
- Surgical intervention. The doctor will perform the necessary manipulations under local anesthesia, and your voice will become rougher.
The most unhealthy way:
- Smoking. Yes, it is this bad habit that contributes to the emergence of more rough voice. However, in order to achieve the desired result, you will have to undermine your health for more than one year of your life. A normal voice from smoking will sound rougher and may produce high notes when singing. However, significant disadvantage It will be that when smoking you can lose control over your voice. In other words, the voice will “wiggle” - involuntarily becoming lower, then higher.
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Many people whose voice is naturally very high, hoarse, so-called angelic, want it to become rougher. Some people believe that a hoarse and rude voice gives them self-confidence, but psychologists say that these are just prejudices and you need to work on yourself.
Male representatives who run businesses and work with many representative people also think about this. They are intuitively perceived by partners as authoritative and self-sufficient, balanced and completely self-possessed, inspiring trust and enjoying the sympathy of both men and women.
Anatomy of the vocal cords
The pitch of the voice depends on the vocal cords, or more precisely, their mass and general parameters(thickness, length and width). It is a biological fact that in women this figure is two times less, and those who have bass carry ligaments 4 times heavier.
Even during the school period, boys' voices begin to break. This is associated with puberty, when the larynx becomes larger, lowers, and gains mass. As a result, you may notice that the voice acquires a low timbre, and an Adam's apple often appears on the neck.
The rough voice comes from a low larynx and a long extension tube. A similar situation can be observed in an instrument such as an organ. A high sound is heard from short pipes, and a low sound from long pipes. The movement of the larynx occurs due to the work of striated muscles. Therefore, to change the timbre of your voice, you need to learn how to control them.
There are many methods to achieve your goal, including breathing exercises, exercises for posture, taking medications, surgery and others.
It is often believed that smoking can help in this situation. But it takes many years of breathing tobacco smoke, which significantly shortens human life, causing harm to health.
There have been cases when smoking caused the voice to sound low during a conversation, but in the process of singing it remained high. At the same time, the singers lost control over their voices, not hitting the right notes. Vocal stress causes a sore throat and causes the need to clear your throat frequently, which is especially difficult during a performance.
Of course, there are people who consider this method unacceptable, since mint tea is a sedative that calms the nervous system. This is where complaints about the sound of your voice come from.
Many people who are prescribed hormonal medications realize after treatment that they may not affect the human body as planned. Girls' breasts may shrink and a mustache will begin to grow, while men may end up with a pimply rash on the face, baldness on the scalp, and hair growth on other parts of the body. In this case, the voice does not change at all.
Regarding surgery, the patient is first diagnosed. The larynx is examined by a specialist using a mirror or frontal reflector. After local anesthesia, a flexible optical fiber is inserted into the nose to identify scars or other formations on the ligaments that interfere with their normal functioning.
An acoustic test is required before surgery. The most common method is to make cuts in the desired places using a laser or long surgical instruments. The outcome of the operation depends on the individual characteristics of the body, and its cost is quite high.
Correct posture can be checked by leaning your back against a wall. At the same time, the buttocks, shoulder blades and head are touched at the same time. If the situation is different, you need to stand against the wall, take a step forward for 3 seconds and return to the starting position. Do 10 repetitions on each leg. The same manipulations are carried out while leaning against the wall with the back of the head, neck, back, lower back, hips and buttocks, legs and heels.
The simplest and in an effective way is walking with a book on your head. Models often do this, so posture correction occurs before our eyes.
Ligaments should be trained for 20 minutes every day. The vowels last for a very long time, while the volume of the voice increases. When the maximum volume is reached, it should be turned down until it fades completely. This makes your voice stronger and your breathing better.
