Volume problems

Hi Camille,

I have made a lot of progress with your video lessons and warmups, improving my tone and removing breathiness. However I am still being told that I am very quiet.  I have good breath support (I used to play trumpet, so that taught me about breathing) and I've taken your tips for making more resonating space.  My speaking voice can get pretty loud.  Are there any other things I can do to help make my singing voice louder?  
Thanks

Tara

Hi, Tara! Some singers, due to their anatomy (and structure of their resonators), just have naturally louder voices! More important than volume is the quality of your tone. If you hear a lot of air leaking through, then compression exercises should help. Check out day 10 (cord compression) and day 15 (FAQ and troubleshooting). 

I'd also suggest you spend time vocalizing on SOVT's like lip trills, singing through a straw, and using an MM, NN, or NG. All of those configurations help line up your vocal folds properly, which is crucial to avoiding a breathy tone (ie: insufficient cord closure and air "leaking"). 

Training on any of those configurations (SOVT's) or compression helpers (initial G, B, or Y sound) are great; you can also incorporate some exercises that start with "training wheels" and then remove them. For example: sing the same pattern on GOOG, then GOO, then YOO (or something similar). 

Here are some more tips on increasing vocal power:

- More power can come from increased compression (AKA vocal effort) and/or increased breath support/air resistance. The two go hand in hand, in my experience! 

- Make sure you're adding power with increased bodily engagement, not increased "squeezing" or "pushing" from your throat. The gentle "pushing out" feeling in your low abdomen (of your normal “breath support”) can intensify to a little more of a "lean" or "slight grunt" feeling. The important word is “slight”: we do not want to squeeze or lock up the abdomen! 

- The other thing you can play with is brighter, more forward resonance - that's not necessarily power, but it does sound louder and can be perceived as more powerful. 
- Lastly, encourage more "chest voice" function by "speaking" or "calling" into some vocal exercises. Singing on NO or HEY usually helps singers find more of their chesty sound when singing. Using a slightly wider mouth shape (think HEY or YEAH vowels) also encourages more chest quality.