This is a common complaint. A nasal sounding voice is the result of air passing through the nose when we speak. For a pleasant and functional voice, we want air to simultaneously pass through both the nose and mouth in a balanced proportion. Too much through the nose results in nasality and too much through the mouth creates a woolly sounding voice without brightness and brilliance.
Often, people who complain of nasality don’t really have nasality. Instead, they have what I refer to as “effortful voicing” or “pressed voice”. Excessive tension within the larynx creates a voice quality that mimics nasality. Although laryngeal tension is common throughout the entire population, it is particularly prevalent amongst trans-women who are learning to use their voices differently.
Many things can cause laryngeal tension – emotional upheaval, compensatory behaviours when voicing becomes challenging or using your voice in ways that are detrimental to its function. When people experience highly emotional states, such as anxiety, sadness or fear they may hold tension within the larynx (and other parts of the body). Tension may cause pain; reduction of power and vocal pitch range; and ultimately, unhealthy changes to the larynx.
Tension may manifest in a slightly longer ‘closed quotient’ of the vocal fold vibratory movement. When the vocal folds stay closed a fraction longer than usual (image g below), the quality of the voice becomes more “reedy”. I often use the analogy of an oboe sound quality vs a clarinet sound quality. Sometimes people intentionally adopt this sort of vocal production because it makes their voice feel stronger and/or more controlled.
Simple diagram of vocal fold vibration. Drawing g shows vocal folds fully closed.
Another cause of apparent nasality is the mechanical lifting and holding up of the larynx. This change shortens the vocal tract and changes the quality of the voice. Some people refer to this quality as “bright”, but many people consider this quality to be “nasal” sounding. There is usually little breathiness in the vocal quality.
If you have any of these concerns, there are some things you can do to change it.
Yawn/Sigh
In order to reduce this reediness or excessive brightness in quality, we need to relax the larynx and allow it to float upward and downward within the throat. One way to relax the larynx is to yawn. When we yawn, the larynx lowers within the throat, the soft palate rises, the pharyngeal space widens and the oral cavity opens to create a very large resonating space. When the vocal tract is in this open, relaxed position, we can still create voice. A gentle audible, voiced sigh - with lots of air - as we exhale allows us to hear how that release changes the quality of the voice – it lessens the reedy (nasal) quality.
Silent Gasp of Joy (I know…)
Another way to create a relaxed laryngeal position is to pretend someone has surprised you with a delightful gift of some sort. When this happens, we naturally take in a quick inhalation (usually with a smile on our face). This achieves the same position as the yawn, but in a much faster time frame. We can set the vocal tract in this more relaxed position and use the exhalation to create voice that is less pressed, yet still clear and bright.
An additional benefit for some trans-feminine voices is the opportunity to allow a little bit of breath to enter into the vocal signal. A bit of breathiness is a very feminine characteristic - but beware – if you overdo it, you will lose functionality as you won’t be able to be heard easily.
Whether your voice is “nasal “or “effortful”, these two exercises (which are based on how our bodies naturally move and function) are useful in developing your desired vocal timbre. Added benefits of muscle relaxation and perfecting the salient characteristic of vocal breathiness are also possible with practice.
Remember – tension is our enemy!