Twang is a voice quality that gives the voice ‘cut through’ and dynamic control. It requires very little breath, or push, and can become the quintessential ingredient of good vocal production. Most seductive of all – it makes the voice very LOUD!
I’d initially found it scary experimenting with ‘twang’ as I’d foolishly presumed that, being so loud, it must necessitate tension or force. In actuality it is the ONLY safe alternative to these and feels effortless and easy.
Try not to presuppose what twang will sound like when mixed into the singing voice. If well used as an active ingredient, like baking soda in baking, you won’t even know it’s there.
We already use twang in our everyday speech and singing. Amplifying and controlling it, make it a vocalists’ secret weapon.
Reducing bad vocal technique to its bare bones: all-that-is-evil derives from either too much breath or too much push – often both.
The voice should NEVER be pushed and using ‘zero gravity breath’ allows only sound vibration to leave the mouth (aside from the wee puffs of air required by consonants). Think of yourself as a ‘resonator’ rather than a wind bag.
Twang (which gives the voice treble) and openness (which provides bass) become the Jedi alternative to the evils of breathiness and push. Always marry twang with openness. That way, the voice has a lovely fullness to it when both ends of the frequency spectrum are represented.
Openness provides bass and body by acoustically creating more sound though more space (resonance), it also eradicates tension.
Tension, like doubt, even in the tiniest quotient, brings the system down (like a speck of sand in a digital camera). It occupies areas of the body we should be resonating sound in.
Any schmuck who’s ever tried to sing twang while holding even parts-per-million tension will know just how painful that is. It can catch in your throat like a fish hook.
I only teach twang to students who have ascertained where on the body they hold tension (throat, tongue, jaw, chest, tummy, mouth, brow, ears et al.) and learned ways of actively opening those areas.
Just relaxing an area doesn’t open it. For example, we don’t just ‘send a door relaxing thoughts’ to get it open, we must walk over, turn the knob and pull. So it is with parts of the body that hold tension (sometimes subconsciously) – especially the throat which is opened with a silent giggle and the chest (opened with stretches and then a sustained buoyant elevation). There are many places on the body that we non-usefully tighten and there are many devices that can open these places up. Try listing them.
Our job as singers is to make our bodies as dynamically open as possible and then project our voices using a gentle effortless twang INSTEAD of push and strain.
Twang in its spoken archetype can be practiced by meowing like a cat – very gently. Make a meal of the point where the ‘e’ and the ‘o’ fuse together in the ‘meeeeeeooow’. It may sound like a crosscut saw.
Do not push!
Try to be as piercing and yet gentle and quiet as you can. Do not try to get volume, or, to be polite. It helps to accentuate the ‘e’ and scrunch up your face like a toddler having a tantrum.
Other twanged phrases are: a child’s teasing (nyeh-na-na-nah-naaaa!), a wicked witch’s cackle, a sheep’s bleat, a baby’s cry or a good Eric Cartman impression.
Aussie and American accents and many Asian languages use more twang than NZ English does. Think of how loud and edgy a freshly squeezed-off-the tour-bus American accent sounds, compared to our more swallowed, back-of-mouth ‘mooing’.
Use the baseline starting point for twang as 100% openness. Then fearlessly experiment with mixing different percentages of twang into your singing voice. All you have to do is add it like sprinkling seasoning on top. Note how it changes the sound and ease of production. The ratio can be likened to: 20% twang to 120% openness, 40% twang with 140% openness. Use the location of ‘ng’ – the third eye point on the forehead – as the focus and exit point for twang.
See how much is too much. Like adding salt or chilli to taste when cooking – a little goes a long way!
Notice how using twang not only projects the sound but allows for dynamic control. You can use twang to sing very softly because it doesn’t use any breath and is very light.
Singing higher uses less breath. We can really open up the top end of our register with twang. The higher you sing, the more twang (and consequent openness) you require.
Super-twanging singers include: Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, Anastasia and Aretha Franklin. Note how released and open they are, especially the mouth cavity and use of the ‘whole body’.
Country music uses twang too, but a more ‘closed mouth’ variety which brings more twang forward with less openness (more treble, less bass).
Different amounts of twang and ‘ratio of twang to openness’ provide a very wide spectrum of coloration to the voice. If you want power, strength and projection – a non-pushed twang is the ultimate solution.