Tips to open your throat and gain resonance you never thought possible:

• Record yourself 

First of all.. record yourself speaking or singing something so you have a baseline from which to assess your progress.

• Open your nose

If you have what is commonly known as a "nasal" sound, the nose is actually constricted - like when you have a cold. Paradoxically, to get away from the nasal sound, you need to sing through an open nose - not just your mouth! Try singing or speaking with a flared nose to see the difference.

• Activate your eyes

Another thing that can help open the nasal portion of the throat channel: Use your eyes!! Try counting to five LOUD with your eyes small and frozen. Then count again with your eyes wide moving like you're communicating to a baby.

• Articulate in front, not back, of mouth

To open the throat channel where it forks into the mouth... Articulate your words in the front of your mouth... not at the jaw hinge! You may not realize you're speaking from the jaw so try this... put your knuckle in your mouth and try to speak. Then take your knuckle out but try to speak like it's still there.

• Make chewing circles

It can help tremendously to circle the jaw with a slight chewing motion to keep from locking it on a note or passage. 

• Morph vowels

Morph, or shape-shift your vowels instead of freezing them!  For instance, try sustaining the vowel 'ee' as in 'me', or  'oo' as in 'you'. First, freeze the shape of the vowel, then morph the shape by doing that slight chew and move your face expressively. 

• Imagine ping pong ball

Try speaking or singing while imagining a ping pong ball is on the back of your tongue and you don't want to crush it.

• Keep head over tailbone

Another thing that affects the channel at the top of the throat and back of the mouth: Don't hold your head forward! Try doing wall work: Stand against a wall (head and heel against the wall, flexible spine, chin level and floating) and speak or sing. Notice and/or hear a difference?

• Pull with mic

When using a mike, pull your mouth back from the mic like you're playing tug of war. Don't go too far, just a little stretch. Your head should go back and to the side a bit, and keep your chin flexibly level.

• 6 way inside stretch from Power, Path & Performance training

If you have my 6-disc vocal training course, study the section on the "6-way inside stretch" to learn more about expanding your channel. It's important to make the stretch equidistant so as to keep the larynx from lifting or dropping, and instead allow it to float in place so it can rock back and forth slightly as it adjust vocal cord length and width. 

• Control breath

And one last point... sometimes the throat tightens to try to defend the vocal cords from too much breath pressure. That's why I emphasize the three cornerstones of Power, Path & Performance vocal training - studying breath technique along with open throat and performance communication. Put them all together and you have your best, most expressive, healthy voice! 

• Let me know how you do with these suggestions by clicking the comment link.