Hey there :-) I have a solo in a cathedral on Tuesday and I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how I could project my voice more - it's one big cathedral! Thanks. Stéphie.

Hi Stephie,

Vocal projection is down to one thing and one thing only - the singing formant - a certain band of harmonics that is necessary in the voice to make it heard over great distances (and orchestras !) irrespective of the volume of the singer.

To find the singing formant, and this will only work if the rest of your technique is spot on, you'll need two things :

1) a really open throat
2) a slight backwards movement of the epiglottis

To find both quite quickly, pretend to be American and say the word 'honk' - make it brassy and harsh with the O sound close to a British A. Then drop the consonants and keep the vowel. Feel this open space that appears in the back of the mouth and the slightly metalic ring that appears in the voice (it may sound reedy or nasal to you, don't worry about it - outside, if you're doing it right - it will sound rich and full at a distance of more than a couple of metres- on average you'll hear around 30 - 40% more 'metal' or 'reediness' than the listener) - the more you exaggerate the twangy, metallic resonance that you feel in that space, the more your voice will project.

Try it out until you find a sound that works for you.

It's very important not to increase support for this, nor to send any more air or try to sing any louder (a mistake made by many singers trying to project) - you may find it helpful to cry gently into the sound to sweeten it a bit and keep the metallic sound working well. This is very much something that you over layer on the sound you're already making without changing anything else. How it feels is a more reliable feedback than how you think it sounds.

If you're lost, send me a PM and I'll record a couple of exercises to help you get it (or you can record yourself and I'll tell you if you're doing it right).

I'm sure you'll get loads of great advice from the other teachers too.