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Oral Resonance

Using oral resonance is a way of improving the sound quality of your voice by ‘bringing the voice forward’. This helps to reduce levels of croakiness, strain, or breathiness.

These exercises use humming, which helps you to relax the muscles of the voice box and find a smooth, resonant sound. Focusing on the vibrations you can feel in the nose, lips and cheeks reduces tension and strain, and takes the emphasis away from the throat, allowing the voice to be used in a very relaxed way.

Exercises

Make sure you have good posture, are breathing low, and are in an environment where you can hear yourself and focus on your technique.

This exercise may be difficult if you have a blocked nose.

1. Place your lips together gently and start humming to produce an ‘m’ sound.

  • Ensure the beginning of each hum is smooth and not forced
  • Enjoy the tingling feeling of the sound vibrating on your lips, cheeks and nose. You can use your fingers to feel the vibrations
  • Keep your jaw and tongue relaxed
  • Use an ‘inner smile’ to open the throat.
  • If recommended, you can try this on ‘n’ and ‘ng’ as well.

2. Using your preferred sound, ‘chant’ using vowels like so ensuring you hum at the start of the chant:

  • Mmmmeeemmeeemmeee
  • Mmmmaymmaymmay
  • And in the same way: mow, my, more, moo, mah etc.

3. Now chant the following phrases:

  • Make sure you start each phrase with a long ‘mmm’
  • Join up all the words, to keep the resonant sound flowing.

mmmmmany men
Many moons 
Many Mondays
Many mothers
Many mothers mowing
Many Mondays in May
Many men mining
Many men on the moon
Many men mining minerals
Many mothers moaning in May 
Many men mining on the moon
Many men mining minerals on the moon

4. Now, say the same sentences with intonation (ups and downs in pitch) so you are speaking rather than chanting.

  • Keep the sound smooth and resonant
  • It may sound quite different from your ‘normal voice’.

Remember:

  • In all these exercises you need to be listening to your voice, and thinking about how it feels and sounds
  • Your sound should be smooth and gentle sound throughout, and not too loud
  • Stop when your air does not easily support the sound
  • Do not push to try or increase the volume.
     

Contact us

If you have any queries relating to this information, please contact the Speech and language therapy service.

About this information

Service:
Speech and language therapy

Reference:
VV/034

Approval date:
27 September 2024

Review date:
1 September 2027

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Important note 

This page provides general information only. It is developed by clinical staff and is reviewed regularly every 3 years for accuracy. For personal advice about your health, or if you have any concerns, please speak to your doctor.