Advice after your nerve block for surgery
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Healthy volume for speech and singing - What is twang?
‘Twang’ describes a particular sound quality of the voice. Some people have naturally twangy voices, and it is a normal part of certain accents, e.g., Australian and American.
It is created by narrowing the vocal tract, which amplifies the higher frequencies of the voice. This means the voice ‘cuts through’ and carries better, and is particularly useful for projecting or speaking over background noise. This creates healthy volume and projection without vocal strain.
Twang is commonly used for actors/singers in musical theatre. But it is also a useful skill for teachers, people who work in noisy environments, people who work with the hearing impaired, or people who have to project their voice in large spaces.
Tips for achieving twang
- Ensure you maintain an open, relaxed throat when voicing – don’t strain or tighten up. Think of the ‘inner smile’, both when breathing and speaking. Keep your face relaxed, especially your jaw.
- Ensure you are breathing low connecting your breath support.
- It can help to think of a ‘nasal’ sound (this is often how twangy voices are described) but it doesn’t want to sound too nasal or ‘witchy’ – this is not pleasant to listen to!
- Practise at natural speech volume first, before projecting.
If you are a singer
After learning twang for speech, start to practise in singing. Scales/arpeggios/tunes on ‘nya’ are a good way to start. Then start short sung phrases in your mid-range, before extending into your lower and higher range. Practise switching twang on and off. Then increase the length of the phrases.
Twang exercises
Only do the exercises your therapist has advised.
1. Find the twang sound using one of the following (whichever works for you):
- ‘Nya nya nya’
- ‘Waaa’ (cry like a baby, but keep your face relaxed!)
- ‘Miaow’ like a cat
- ‘Hahaha’ cackle like a witch
2. Practise making your chosen sound with and without twang – learn to switch it on and off.
3. Practise ‘nya nya nya’ using different rhythms and intonation patterns – speech like.
4. Start to use twang on single words. Start with a ‘nya’, like so:
- ‘Nya – now’
- ‘Nya – right’
- ‘Nya – no’
- Continue with ‘fine’, ‘great’, ‘stop’ etc.
5. Repeat the above with short phrases for example:
- ‘Nya – stop that / right now / go away / that’s fine / go over there / ladies and gentleman / can I have your attention etc.
- Choose phrases that you would use in your day to day life
6. Practise the words and phrases with and without twang, so that you learn to feel the difference and master switching twang on and off.
7. Practise using twang above background noise (e.g. the radio).
8. When you feel confident and that your technique is good, start to use it in day to day life when you need to project your voice.
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/040
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.