Nasally Voice – Are you singing through your nose?

A nasal voice is a voice production in which there is too much nasality in your tone which is most evident on high notes. Indeed, the singer may sing with a very strong accent or may sound whiny. This voice is typical of country singers who have a southern accent, as well as singers in the hip-hop and R&B genres who often employ a nasal voice in order to sing the ad libs and embellishments that are distinctive to those genres.

Sometimes referred to as nasalance, hypernasality can be appreciated by some audiences. Some singers may also sing that way on purpose, but generally speaking, this is not a desirable or pleasant tone. Nasality is, like it or not, considered an official nuance in singing. According to many voice coaches and music experts, a nasal tone is a technically incorrect vocal element, because it allows and encourages singers to use poor singing techniques. The fact is that it sets severe limits on the voice, it is unhealthy and therefore unacceptable.

Nasality is most often a product of several problematic factors, such as a forward jaw position, a lower soft palate, and a raised back of the tongue. It is a combination of many vocal problems working together to alter the true vocal resonance. Examples of singers with a nasal voice are the lead singer of Puddle of Mudd, Rascal Flatts and also the popular Vanessa Hudgens.

To see how nasality works when singing, and to find out if you have it, I suggest you try these steps at home.

1. In your comfortable tone, sing the vowel ‘a’.

2. As you sing the note, pinch your nose as gently as possible, then close your nostrils completely.

3. The pitch should change a bit, like when you sing a non-nasal vowel and have a stuffy nose.

4. Then try humming, while pinching your nose again. Notice that the voice stops producing sound. When you sing nasal consonants like ‘m’, the air that leaves your body is eliminated through the nose. When you close your nose, the flow of air stops and so does the tone.

However, some singers do not intend to sing in a nasal voice. This may be a side effect of a chronic or severe allergy or nasal congestion. However, to get rid of such a fun singing style, treating allergy attacks and congestion is the only solution. For singers with long-term nose problems, this can be a bit of a nuisance and would require further voice training, as they will most likely have developed compensatory vocal habits. But there is always the possibility of improving your singing voice, despite all these health conditions.

The nasal voice can be a blessing or a bane for some singers, depending on the genre they are working in. But as we’ve said, while nose singing can apply to a couple of musical genres, that still doesn’t make it an entirely acceptable singing technique, especially in the eyes of professional judges and music directors.

You may want to try signing up for singing classes where proper singing techniques are offered with professional voice coaches. From there, you’ll learn how to overcome a nasal voice and even more.