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Audio readings of TRANSlating Everything content and wacky discussions!
Tribbling: Fun And Effective Trick To Play With Vocal Resonance
Sweet home, sweet chariot, sweet vocal resonance
Hi there, and welcome to TRANSlating Everything. It's Tuesday, May 9, 2023, and I want to share with you two of the most playful and effective techniques to play with vocal resonance.
Today, I want you to forget about words, sentences, and phrases. You might be putting the transgender cart before the non-binary horse. I need you to take a step back.
We're going to instead explore a fun and effective vocal technique that will help you go back to so-called "words" with a deeper, more intuitive understanding of how to manipulate your vocal resonance.
This vocal resonance technique will also teach you a vital component of how to use your voice, too.
This vocal technique is called "tribbling."
Tribbled for your pleasure
If you've listened to me talk about the voice before, then you know I see the voice as an instrument. The sounds we make with our voice box affect what people hear and who they hear when we speak.
If you're a trans woman, I can teach you how to make ultra-feminine sounds in about thirty seconds.
If you're a trans man, I can teach you how to make stereotypically-masculine sounds in about five seconds.
Words are a lot harder, but they're not really any different. They're the exact same sounds connected together into what we call words, sentences, phrases, rants.
So of course if you want to practice saying certain words and phrases, I'm going to point you immediately to channels like TransVoiceLessons, Seattle Voice Lessons, and of course the few videos we made on vocal coaching here at TRANSlating Everything.
But if you're still listening or watching or reading or whatever, then you're ready to get into the tribbling technique that will help you get to the next level in mastering your voice as an instrument.
Lip tribbles
The amazing thing about mastering lip tribbles as a resonance exercise is that you can't even perform a lip tribble without also mastering breath control and the tension in your lips.
If you have too much tension in your lips, the tribble won't happen.
If you have too little, the tribble won't happen, either.
You have to tribble your lips a precise amount of pressure from your breath against the tension in your lips.
It doesn't matter if you have to use your voice to get your lips tribbling. Just get to tribbling so we can start to adjust your resonance.
If you're listening to the video or podcast, you can listen to me doing the same thing I'm asking you to do.
Make that same sound over and over
Make that same sound over and over again. If you can maintain it, hold it for a few seconds or longer. What I want you to pay attention to is the resonance. Don't identify it as bright or dark or anything. Just listen to what it sounds like as it is.
Put a pin in that tribbled pitch and resonance - now let's raise the resonance.
Brighten that ****!
Brighten that ****
Do you remember how brighten your voice?
It's different for different people, but for the most part, your larynx rises, your tongue shifts position, the very shape of your cheeks might change, and your exhaled breath to make the tribble doesn't necessarily get faster or tighter, but it does get more focused, more deliberate.
Now don't worry if you're having trouble (tribble?) with this. My voice teacher at Hinds Community College taught me this trick, and I still remember what he said. Too much tension and it just won't happen.
If you're on the video or podcast, here's me brightening the resonance of my tribble.
Now let's go back to the tribble you're able to do easily.
It's time to darken the resonance.
Turn that tribble into dark chocolate
Just like raising the resonance of a tribble doesn't exactly require you to breathe faster or harder, darkening the resonance doesn't exactly mean slowing your breathing down.
But I'll be damned if that's not what it feels like for me.
As my tribble resonance darkens, it's a lot like darkening the resonance of my voice.
My larynx drops, my tongue descends from the top of my mouth and begins to drop into a sloping low curve. It's almost as though the air has to ramp off the deepest parts of my throat.
Translating tribbling to speaking
So if you made it this far, you're probably curious how to translate tribbling into speaking.
Well, that's where the next step comes in. Some of you may already be doing it by virtue of what your body required from you in order to first make a tribbling sound.
You need to add a vocal pitch.
Pick any pitch. Preferably one that's comfortable - because like the voiceless tribble, you'll now want to add a vocal pitch.
Your test will be to leave that damn pitch alone!!! All you're doing is adjusting the resonance of the tribble. As you adjust the resonance of the tribble, listen to your voice.
The pitch can stay the same or adjust as is needed. What you'll hear, though, is that as you adjust the resonance of the tribble, you are also adjusting the resonance of your voice.
That's it for today
Thanks for spending a few minutes with us talking about vocal boxing and vocal tribbling. Hit the subscribe button or whatever is appropriate where you're seeing this. Or just head to the comments to talk trash. I appreciate you being here either way.
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