Resonant voice therapy is an evidence-based solution for hoarseness and other vocal fold disorders, teaching patients to feel vibratory sensations between their face and lips and everyday speech. Resonant voice therapy teaches these sensations are important components of everyday speech production.
Your speech-language pathologist will employ various exercises, such as humming, to help your child regain forward resonance in their voice.
1. Breathing
Resonant voice therapy aims to optimize vocal tract resonances (natural cavities that shape sound waves) so as to produce a rich and full voice without straining your vocal cords. You can do this through engaging various techniques that target the root causes of voice issues, such as breathing exercises, vocal warm-ups, lip trills, gentle humming, throat massage and posture & laryngeal massage – these techniques also work effectively against muscle tension dysphonia which causes tightness in vocal folds as well as hoarseness and voice loss.
One of the best things you can do for your voice is learn to breathe properly. Diaphragmatic breathing provides essential support and foundational protection of the vocal folds; SLPs specialize in teaching this technique to their clients.
Humming is another technique used for resonant voice therapy that encourages individuals to explore their “mask resonance.” Mask resonance refers to vibrations felt in facial bones, nose, lips, and teeth – distinct from “singing” or glottal resonance heard during normal speech production. SLPs work with their clients in altering this resonance in order to improve phonation, articulation, and pitch control.
Resonant voice therapy should emphasize easy phonation. This refers to a light, effortless voice that requires minimal effort from the singer. To assist your client in practicing easy phonation, start by having them repeat simple phrases or sentences repeatedly and point out when their vocal tone switches into nasal or throaty territory; cue them back out when that occurs and correct accordingly.
Regular practice of these techniques will enhance phonation, articulation and vocal quality as well as reduce symptoms associated with vocal nodules and polyps. For best results, however, work with a qualified speech-language pathologist for guidance throughout this process to ensure correct exercise performance to avoid complications. Our shop features evidence-based resonant voice therapy handouts and treatment guides; in addition, there’s also an SLP course available on how to utilize Resonant Voice Therapy effectively with clients.
2. Relaxation
Resonant voice therapy (RVT) helps you to speak more easily and comfortably, regardless of any existing vocal issues. RVT involves directing your voice towards areas on your face or head which naturally boost sound production for an easier, richer, more comfortable voice that’s also less strainful on vocal chords and breathier than ever. RVT may reduce vocal strain, hoarseness and breathiness as well as help alleviate throat pain or fatigue – an excellent option for teachers, singers or those using their voices often like teachers or singers while helping with common voice conditions such as muscle tension dysphonia or nodules.
RVT techniques are simple and straightforward, allowing speech-language pathologists trained in RVT to guide patients through exercises designed to strengthen and optimize vocal production. Warm-up exercises prepare muscles involved with vocalization while resonant voicing patterns generalize into everyday speech – practicing these daily can result in dramatic improvements over time.
As part of voice therapy, the initial step should be to relax shoulders and neck muscles. Engaging in neck rolls, deep breathing into belly space, or loosening tight jaw and tongue tension are all effective techniques to do just this. You may be able to find videos online such as that provided by National Institutes of Health showing you how to perform these exercises at home.
One key component of RVT is encouraging consistent daily practice at home. Doing this will improve vocal clarity, acoustic properties and range, as well as help reinforce new resonant patterns to prevent their return or the development of old vocal habits.
Once a patient has mastered their resonant voicing pattern, they can start applying it in daily speech. At first, this might mean practicing simple phrases with nasal consonants such as “Peter picked peppers.” As time progresses, however, they should try maintaining that resonant feeling during conversations, and eventually implement this into functional speech contexts.
Resonant voice therapy can be an invaluable aid for individuals suffering from voice issues. Furthermore, its application may also assist those attempting to embrace their true selves through upper body relaxation and resonant voice therapy; ultimately leading them to attaining more authentic and healthy voices.
3. Easy Phonation
Voice therapy uses various techniques to optimize each component in order to produce the highest-quality voice with minimum strain on vocal cords. Resonant voice therapy emphasizes forward resonance which allows vibrations of the vocal tract to shape its sound without tension in throat or mouth, helping reduce strain while increasing clarity for producing powerful and rich tones.
Vocal folds are composed of muscles that vibrate together to produce sound and shape the sounds we use in speech and singing. Their open or closed position determines pitch, volume, and tone of voice; when closed they create an airflow restriction which limits airflow through them and can put excessive strain on them; overexposure can even result in vocal cord damage if excessive pressure is applied too directly on them – they’re fragile!
Forward-focused phonation or Resonant Voice Therapy (RVT), is an increasingly popular and successful speech-language pathologist treatment option. RVT incorporates exercises designed to balance vocal subsystems and promote efficient vocal posture – helping reduce hoarseness, straining and vocal fatigue symptoms.
Humming is one of the primary techniques for increasing forward resonance in your voice. Humming exercises help activate and prepare the resonance system and vocal tract before speaking, so be sure to find an easy pitch that feels comfortable for you – start off higher or deeper and work down until smaller pitches feel right for you.
Humming exercises also aid with nasal consonant production. A therapist can instruct you to make a “U” sound in your head with a straw, placing it further back than you would when drinking from it, so vibrations travel through your nose rather than lips or throat. Mastering this placement may take practice; gradually shift down to smaller straws until perfected.
4. Vocal Placement
Resonant voice therapy focuses on the resonators in your mouth and throat that help create sound waves, known as resonance chambers. Speech-language pathologists teach patients how to utilize these resonators efficiently so they have healthy voices for singing or speaking.
Utilizing resonant breath and easy phonation techniques, patients can enhance their tone, vocal balance and range by using these methods to reduce effort on vocal folds, helping prevent them from tiring out too easily.
An ideal and resonant voice produces sounds with a “singing” quality and vibrating resonators emit a buzzing or tickling sensation that feels relaxing to produce.
Healthy vocal health goes beyond producing resonant tones; healthy voices also have even timbre across their entire range and don’t cause strain or pain when speaking or singing. These qualities can be achieved through optimizing harmonics-formant relationships to optimize first formant tuning (first resonance in vocal tract) and increase amplitude of voice spectrums radiated from vocal tract (Schneider & Sataloff 2007).
Resonant voice training begins with gentle vocal warm-ups that focus on oral sensations, easy phonation and sensory awareness. Exercise such as lip trills, humming and sirens to stimulate the resonators in the alveolar ridge, lips, and upper face are then utilized by clients as part of their training regime for reinforcing resonant tones at word, phrase and sentence levels to create and reinforce resonance within their voice. Negative practice then follows, where voice drops are performed so clients can identify when resonance occurs within their bodies in unhealthy ways and adjust accordingly.
Uncognizance of their Resonators It takes some time for speakers and singers to gain a full awareness of their resonators and learn how best to utilize them, but the effort pays off once you discover your optimal resonance points; once identified, these individuals can experience stronger and healthier vocal performances. Our website features free resources and eBooks on evidence-based voice therapy for various disorders and symptoms as well as professional handouts, treatment guides, and more to support this effort.
