The issue of nasal resonance and the raising of the soft palate have always
been amusing and curious topic discussed in singing. It is well accepted
and documented that in phonation (singing and speaking) that any coupling
with the nasal cavities produces nasality and not nasal resonance.
The two are being confused in my opinion. Ringing, buzzing in the nasal
area is a byproduct of a certain posturing of the folds and coupling with the
vocal tract. The attempt to direct sensation there is mistaken, when in fact
it is the byproduct of other factors. It will most likely lead the student
to create tensions to drive the sound there.
Those that insist of raising the soft palate also make me scratch my head.
If the tone is not nasal, the velum is raised. Therefore, why even discuss
it except that a certain faction insists on making it a categorical issue
regardless if velopharyngeal incompetence exists or does not exist.
So I guess the question should be raised, "Why even bother if it is truly not
an issue?" I think the answer is that this group needs to focus on something
which is obviously under control. They can look in a mirror, see the result,
or feel the resonance, or tension created by hypertonicity of the velum
muscles.
Instead the focus should be on efficient adduction, bridging the register,
and the vocal tract adjustments that produce healthy phonation. This is a
little more ambiguous except that exercises exist that produce certain
actions that affect these events in a positive manner. The student then
becomes aware with the sensations that are a byproduct without directly
trying to create these byproducts. They instead focusing on the means
therein and avoid endgaining.
Randy Buescher
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