Tone :)

Hello, so i have recently made it to the tone lesson and it has been very helpful, but i seem to have this congested tone when i sing sometimes. It not really nasally, it doesn't have that loud ping to it, but it is mostly held back like the air hits a part of my mouth in the back and gets stuck. It usually happens with M and N's, and i heard the coach say something about putting the sound in the mask which i dont get. Is it suppose to be a buzzing sound in the mouth/nose and how does smiling eyes help? 

Thank you for your question! 

Singing in the mask or with "forward" resonance essentially amounts to using some nasal resonance when you sing. This gives your voice a nice "ring" and also helps you access your mix/middle register more easily. You're correct that singing in the mask results in that "buzz". 

Smiling helps your soft palate gently lift, which results in a more lifted, energetic sound. If your cheeks and facial muscles are totally "heavy" and disengaged, the resulting sound can be dull and flat. 

You mentioned an issue with MM and NN sounds. What happens if you start on a sustained Mm or Nn, and then open your mouth to a vowel (ex: MM-AH on the same pitch)?

I think it happens when im singing phrases, if i hold it in my mask like you said, and open my mouth, it seems to be better. The side of my face buzzes and sometimes my nose, it does sound held back. Maybe it could of been that the noise was stuck in my soft pallet when i would do M and N? I also feel like it could be due to poor nasal air passage causee it is sound like if i just plugged my nose and tried to sing in the back of my throat. Any tips? Thank you.

Hmm... I'd love to hear you singing to be more helpful! It sounds like perhaps you're having a difficult time transitioning from the more nasalized resonance of an M or N to the more open/mouth resonance we typically want on vowels. 

If that's the case, I'd start on an open vowel (like AH), and then very quickly close to an MM or NN before opening back up. For example, on the same pitch: "Ahhhhhh-mm-ahhhhhh". That'll give you practice pronouncing an M or N within a word, without getting stuck in that position. The AH or UH position is your default (tone-wise), and the M or N is just temporary closure to create that consonant sound. 

Does that make sense? Let me know how that goes!

That seems about right, last thing, i see that we can tag something as a listening post, what does that mean? Reagrdless, thank you very much.

Good question! I'll find out what the purpose of that is meant to be. 

Hey, Gerardo!

The "listening post" thread is for users to share their progress with one another. 

- Camille

Thats great, would i just talk to them or could i attach audios for them to listen to? 

You can insert a link to an unlisted Youtube video, Dropbox file, etc!