Working the Soft Palate demonstrates the difference between nasality (nasal resonance or leakage) and twang (sometimes called brilliance, squillo or forward placement). The camera hovers above the soft palate at the back of the nose, showing the soft palate raising (closing) and lowering (opening) during a sustained vowel. The sound moves from an oral vowel to a nasal vowel with no other deliberate changes of volume or timbre. The film contains both a voiceover and titles explaining the different sounds (oral vowel, nasal vowel, nasal consonant).
In the second half of the film the camera moves below the soft palate to show the larynx as the subject adds and subtracts twang from the sound. The film clearly demonstrates that nasality and twang are created in different places in the vocal tract.

This series has been devised for singers and speakers wanting to see and hear different vocal manoeuvres, for SLTs involved in voice and endoscopy, and for those new to scientific vocal terminology and application. Both nasal and oral endoscopy film are used, and the viewer can rewind or pause the video at any point.

Jeremy Fisher is a  performance coach, accompanist, musical director and singer.  He has worked on numerous operas and theatre shows in the West End and on tour. Jeremy contributes regularly to Music Teacher, Classroom Music and Early Music Today magazines, and is author of the free ebook 86 things you never hear a singer say and co-author of Successful Singing Auditions.

Charitable Donations
Vocal Process is donating 10% of the proceeds from this video ebook to registered charities. Our current chosen charities are the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM) and the British Voice Association (BVA).

    

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