Description:
A warm, rich tone is desirable for many singers, especially those who sing jazz, contemporary pop, and r&b.
Singers with this kind of sound include Whitney Houston, Ella Fitzgerald, Adele, Michael Buble, and Nat King Cole. If you find it easy to match the warm tone of these singers, then you may have an easier time singing the aforementioned styles. For singers who don’t typically have a lot of warmth, this video will be your friend!
To achieve a warm, round tone, we need to create space in the right places. #1: the larynx needs to be neutral or slightly lowered to have space in the throat. And #2: we need the soft palate to be lifted to have space in the mouth. The great thing is that these two work together quite nicely.
To maintain a neutral larynx, we’ll use vowels that help the larynx stay relatively stable. The “UH” vowel is your friend: specifically, a dopey “UH” sound. [demonstrate] This may feel like too much, and it is. But we’re learning the coordination to create space and sing within that space. We’re going to a bit of an extreme, which you can then dial back depending on the style, range, and sound we’re going for.
Let’s get comfortable with this dark, dopey sound. Our exercise is very simple: BUB on a 1-2-3-2-1. It should feel relaxed and spacious within your throat. We’re purposefully starting in chest voice, because it’s typically easier to produce a warm tone in the lower portion of your range.
[Exercise: BUB on 1-2-3-2-1]
[Exercise: BUB on 1-2-3-2-1]
To maintain a lifted palate, we’ll breathe into the feeling of a yawn, and then actively think about throwing the sound back. Our next exercise sounds like this: WUH 1-3-2-4-3-5-4-2-1. I encourage you to start with UH as your vowel, and then challenge yourself later with an “OH” or “AH” vowel. Try this exercise with me: breathe into a yawn feeling, dopey UH to keep the larynx neutral, and throw the sound back.
[Exercise: WOAH/WUH 1-3-2-4-3-5-4-2-1]
Finally, a tip for bringing this sound into your song work. Round, tall vowels will help you out. If you’re getting a bright or nasal tone where you’d like it to be warm and rich, take out the lyrics and sing it on a dopey “BUH” or “MUH”. Pay attention to how that feels in your throat and mouth. Then, add the lyrics back in, modifying vowels where necessary. Especially if you have a bright EE or AY vowel, you’ll want to add a
shade of AH or UH for extra space and rounder tone.
Lessons:
Instructor: Abram Poliakoff
Abram Poliakoff is a singer, guitarist, pianist, teacher, conductor, and composer. He received a Bachelors of Music in Vocal Arts from USC’s Thornton School of Music and has been teaching music for 8 years. He is currently both the Associate Artistic Director and a tenor in the L.A. Choral Lab, which recently released its first studio album Sonic Visions in the fall of 2019. Abram teaches and performs a wide range of genres including Classical, Jazz, Folk and Popular music in the Los Angeles area. He has also sung with the San Francisco Opera and Pocket Opera in the Bay Area. His teaching mission is to help his students utilize vocal technique to find their authentic and healthy voice while maximizing genre flexibility and a naturalness of expression.