“Please release me let me go!”…Creating a Balanced Release in Your Singing and Speaking
Noticing vocal fatigue, lack of clarity in your tone, feeling less free and flexible?
It could be the way you are releasing your sound that is irritating your voice…
Last week we talked about creating a balanced vocal onset, and this week, let’s talk your release when singing or speaking…
As Engelbert Humperdinck sang so beautifully –
“Pleeeeease release me let me go!”
Similar to the onset, we have a soft release, a hard release, and a balanced release.
Soft Release: when sustaining sound, the vocal folds slightly separate and additional air is released creating a breathy or “whisper” tone.
Hard Release: when sustaining sound, the vocal folds tighten or hold to accentuate the ending of the note. It’s similar to the constriction of a “grunt.”
Both the soft and hard release can occur on any note and at any dynamic, forte or pianissimo
Balanced Release: when sustaining sound, either in speech or in singing, you neither add more air nor tighten to close off the sound, there is an ease to the end of the tone that doesn’t depend upon where you are in your range or whether you are creating a soft or a loud note.
Try This:
1. Begin with a relaxed inhale
2. Create a balanced onset
3. Sustain the tone
4. Release the tone with the same ease you used to create it
Helpful Hint:
I like to keep the open feeling of the inhale through the tone and during the release… allowing the sound to just drift away.
Exercise:
– Ha – Ha – Ha – Ha
– On any pitch say or sustain “Ha”
– Begin the Ha with a balanced onset and allow for a gentle balanced release. Not too hard, not to soft, but just right.
Use the either the hard or soft release as a color when needed to paint the landscape of your song or speech.
Make it a conscious artistic choice – not a unconscious habit.
The vocal folds help us express ourselves…. But you may be noticing extra fatigue, lack of clarity in your tone, feeling less free and flexible. It could be the way you are releasing your sound that is irritating your voice and affecting your communication and artistry.
Do some investigating, play with this…. and see what comes up for you. Let me know how it goes int he comment section below. I love hearing from you 🙂
Until next week, Rejoice in Your Voice™!
xoxoxo, Tricia
February 15, 2015
Absolutely adoring your blog Tricia – I hang out for it each week! The best one online. Thanks so much for doing these super videos.
This tip really helps when hitting the high notes, then sustaining them, especially for early morning singing 🙂
Is this used in Bel Canto singing? Could you possibly talk about Bel Canto in a future video, as I’ve heard it is great for the singing and speaking voice, but there seems to be some confusion about it and how to do it properly. Thank you so much.
February 25, 2015
You are such a sweetheart! Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words. Sooo glad this tip helped. Yay! I would love to dive into the topic of Bel Canto… I will put it on my blog schedule! Great idea! Thank you 🙂 Big hugs to you and I it makes me happy to know you are sharing your voice with your community! They are lucky to have you!