Speech Level Singing - Tips on Singing with Passion

How many times have you been told "Singing is just not your gift" or "You need to be classically trained in order to sing well"? And how much more frustrating it is when you are taking lessons and the teacher tells you "Give it more support" or "Raise your soft palate" or "Bring the sound more forward" and you have no clue what they are trying to communicate!

Well hope that lingered upon the horizon has now been bestowed on those of us who just want to learn how to sing without a "medical" or "educational" diagnosis. Speech Level Singing (SLS) is an approach to singing that the develops the inner muscles of the larynx in order to produce good quality vocal tone¹. So often it is seen that singers use their outer throat muscles to increase their range and sing with power. This approach, however, is faulty in that outer muscle growth fosters vocal restriction rather than vocal freedom. A common result of this way of singing is that as singers attempt to sing in their higher vocal registers, tension begins to increase, words begin to "splat" and singing becomes shouting. Not only does this sound horrible - this is also horrible for your vocal health! Singing this way for prolonged periods of time cause sore throats and at worst can cause nodules and cysts to develop on the vocal cord tissue.

Speech Level Singing attempts to correct this faulty but popular approach to singing by developing specifically the inner muscles of the larynx and removing all necessary tension from the voice. Because the inner muscles of the larynx and throat are designed to regulate things such as air flow and cord closure, training these muscles will inevitably "teach" you how to sing more easily and freely. In essence, speech level singing focuses on controlling the larynx with the inner throat muscles so that as you sing throughout your range, your larynx stays in a neutral and resting position.

One may ask, "Well how is this supposed to help"? The SLS method is effective because it uses special vocal exercises that disengage the outer muscles of the larynx and "force" you to build the inner muscles of your larynx. As you build the inner muscles of your larynx, air flow, tone, and resonance naturally fall into place. Once these muscles begin to develop, increases in vocal range and vocal consistency come easily and naturally. One way to determine if you are using too much tension as you sing is to first place your finger on your Adam's apple (the V-shaped notch in your throat). After placing your finger on your Adam's apple, attempt singing as high as you can possibly go. If your Adam's apple moves up any at all, you are using more outer muscles than inner muscles to control your tone production, and this is harmful to anyone who desires to sing well!

If you are interested in learning more about this technique, check out the websites for SLS teachers such as Seth Riggs and Brett Manning. Best of luck to you on your vocal journey!

1. "The Speech Level Singing Method." Speech Level Singing International