This exercise is not complicated or glamorous, but it is VERY useful. It’s the perfect example of what I call “Automatic Resonance” exercises – exercises that tap into easy, familiar noises that happen to have a singing-friendly resonance and then transfer that resonance into other noises. Here’s how singing exercises like this actually helps you improve your technique:
- The automatically resonant sound naturally draws you into some advantageous coordination (high palate, loose tongue, etc.),
- Then you move from that naturally advantageous sound into some other sound, usually a vowel, CARRYING THE SAME RESONANCE into that open vowel. So then all your sounds are beautiful and you are wonderful, you’re welcome.
So, here’s that Hng-Ah:
Begin with the “Hng” sound. This is like the end of the word “sing” – if you hold that ending “-ng” sound you’ll feel that the tip of the tongue is behind the bottom teeth and the back of the tongue is up against the roof of the mouth. Practice making that sound a few times – “-ng, -ng, -ng.”
You’ll note that this exercise is not called “Ng-ah” but “Hng-ah”, and that is because to get the full benefit, you’ll need to put some air through the pipes before you start making noise. So take one index finger and put it under your nose like a little mustache and say, “HHHHHNNNNNNGGGG.” Feel that puff of air coming through the nose right at the start? Keep it up!!! Try to keep the air flowing actively the whole way through the exercise. You should feel some yummy buzzing up high in the face – bookmark that feeling!!
Now make it singing – start on Sol and sing a five note scale down with “Hng-Ah” on each pitch. This doesn’t require you to flap the jaw, you can do it all with the tongue. When you open to “ah”, think about biting into an apple so the opening in the mouth feels more like lifting upward than downward. And finally, as you sing DOWN the scale, think about the air moving UP.
Now, remember that high and forward sensation you felt in the Hng? If your air is carrying the voice, and keeps flowing up and out throughout, you’re probably feeling it on the ah, too. Got it?
That is a perfectly wonderful vocalise, and you can do it up, down, and sideways everywhere in your range. But if you’re a real go-getter, try extending the exercise like this:
If you’ve got that nice forward, high feeling all the way down the scale to Do, then stay on the Ah and slide back up to Sol and then back down to Do. So the whole thing is “Hng-ah, Hng-ah, Hng-ah, Hng-ah, Hng-ah . . . -Ah – Ah.” Crystal clear? I’m glad. (Much easier to understand in the video!)
Enjoy! And thanks for practicing.
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