Vocalist.org archive


Date sent: Tue, 8 Feb 2000 14:07:51 EST
Subject: Re: sound of the yawn
To: vocalist
Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>

howard,
if you make a sound when you yawn, you will hear what the vocal folds do
and you will hear how the resonator affects this sound (in fact, you never
hear a sound made by the vocal folds that is unaffected by the resonator).
when yawning, there is a tremendous upheaval of the resonator (flexing, mouth
open, palette humped). if you can make the sound without all the flexing and
palette humping, you may notice that the sound you are making on a normal
vowel will be a lighter guage than your normal singing voice (whatever that
may be). it will probably sound half way between falsetto and your normal
voice. it will also feel lighter and easier to produce. i use it many
different ways. i use it to help me get into my upper range. i use it to sing
softly in my high range, etc. try it in all sorts of places and see what you
think. i strongly suggest you use a tape recorder when experimenting with the
sound. it may amaze you to know how much of it you can get away with using
without it sounding stupid to everyone else. let me know if this is unclear.

mike