How to learn to sing softly

While listening to world-famous singers, many people are surprised: the performers convey the subtle nuances of the vocal work so subtly that even the quietest words can be easily heard on the last row in the hall. These singers sing into the microphone, which is why they are so heard, some vocal lovers think, but in fact this is not the case, and learning to sing softly is easy and fast if you do some exercises. At first it seemed to me too, while at one classical music concert in the DC I heard one singer, who had several victories at vocal competitions. When she started singing, her voice flowed surprisingly soft and quiet, although the girl sang the classic romance of Gurilev.

It was unusual to listen, especially to those who have been engaged in academic singing for many years and have become accustomed to the rich and loud sound, but soon the secret of the singer’s success became clear. She just masterfully vocal nuances, clearly pronounced the words, and her voice really flowed like a stream. It turns out that in academic vocals you can sing subtly and filigreely, without imitating opera singers with a forced manner of performance.

The ability to own quiet nuances - a sign of professionalism of the singer of any style and direction. It allows you to play with your voice, making the piece interesting and expressive. That is why the vocalist of any direction just needs to sing softly and subtly. And gradually, the technique of filigree performance can be mastered if you regularly do exercises, work out the nuances and sing correctly.

A bit of theory

Singing on quiet nuances is achieved with a solid breathing support and falling into the resonators. They contribute to hearing voices in any audience. The position of quiet singing should be close, so that the timbre is enriched with beautiful overtones and can be heard even in a distant row of the auditorium. This technique is used by actors in theatrical plays. When words need to be uttered in a whisper, they take low diaphragmatic breathing and form a sound as close as possible to the front teeth. It is also very important and clear pronunciation of words. The quieter the sound, the clearer the words.

In the construction of quiet nuances is of great importance and the height of the formation of sound. It is easiest to sing softly low and medium notes, harder - high. Many vocalists are accustomed to taking high notes loudly and beautifully, but at the same time they cannot sing soft sounds at the same pitch. You can learn this if you take high notes not with an open and loud sound, but with a quiet falsetto. It is formed by the head cavity on a strong respiratory support. Without it, only singing high notes softly will not work.

Singing in quiet nuances can be very expressive, if you make the most convenient resonator for the selected pitch. High notes should be taken with a thin falsetto, without straining the larynx and ligaments, low ones - with chest sounding, a sign of which is vibration in the chest area. Average notes also sound quietly due to the pectoral resonator, which smoothly connects to higher registers.

So, for the proper formation of a quiet sound, you need to comply with the conditions:

1. Strong respiratory support (no clamped ligaments).
2. Clear articulation without clips and correct diction.
3. Close sound shaping.
4. Maximum use of resonators.

How to learn to sing softly - Quiet nuances

To get started, you just need to sing a certain phrase of medium volume in a comfortable tessitura. If you get into the resonators correctly, it will sound easy and free. Now try singing it very quietly, keeping your vocal position. Do you hear yourself now or not? Ask a friend to sit in the far corner of the room and try to sing a phrase or a line from a song quietly without a microphone. Did you hear the words clearly? Did your voice disappear during quiet singing?

If you lose your voice when you sing quiet notes in high tessiture, this is the first sign of improper sound formation on the bundles. In such performers, the voice is very loud and shrill on high notes or disappears altogether. In such cases, it is worth taking high falsetto notes so that the sound is easy to control.

You can use the usual vocal exercises, just sing them in different nuances. For example, one unit of singing singing loudly, the other - at a medium height, the third - quietly. You can use vocal exercises with a gradual ascent to the octave and trebling the upper sound, which must be taken in falsetto.

Exercises for quiet singing:

1. Per-octave (do-me-salt-up-to-up-to-salt-e-do) per unit. Top sound should be taken as quietly as possible.
2. Descending chant from fifth to prima. Lower sounds should be well heard.
3. A little chanting up-re-mi-re-do. It will help you learn to pronounce words clearly in quiet nuances and low sounds. A very simple but useful exercise for practicing a low register with a soprano.

And, of course, decent vocal quiet singing is impossible without examples. One of them may be a scene:

Le balcon (Romeo et Juliette) in French. Notice how the high notes are sung by Juliet (lyric soprano), a singer with a classical education and an academic voice.

In the stage, an example of the correct singing of the top notes can be singer Nyusha (especially in slow compositions). She is not only well-placed, but she also sings high notes lightly and quietly. It is worth paying attention not to the singing of the couplets, but to how it shows the voice in the losses.

A singer who does an excellent job with low notes and can sing them quietly can be called Laima Wiucle. Notice how its middle and low register sounds. And how accurately and clearly she plays with the nuances on low and medium notes.