Something that comes up time and time again with voice training is “when will my vocal tone be thicker?” or “deeper?” or “fuller?” or “more powerful?”, “how do I get better vocal tone?” or words to that effect.
Well, there’s no easy answer to that. There’s so many factors that go into development of tone, some of them trainable attributes, others are a by-product of living in a given condition for a while, and others still are style/personality/psychology dependent.
As such, it’s impossible to give a one size fits all answer. That said, I want to discuss the general arc of development and how that ties into maturing of vocal tone.
Technical facility leading to release and resonance
I’ve waxed lyrical about the importance of technique when it comes to singing, but this is only part of it. Technique is what enables singers to hit high notes and low notes with ease, and make it sound good and connected throughout. However it’s not merely enough to be able to get the mechanics of the vocal apparatus correct. You’ve got to spend sufficient time in that co-ordination to start to train your nervous system to expect the result that co-ordination provides.
This leads to greater relaxation of the rest of your body, which in turn maximises the efficiencies of the vocal apparatus itself. This leads to greater release into all areas of the voice, which leads to greater resonance in the voice. This translates to increased volume, harmonics and harmonic richness, and a feeling of being able to sit up on high notes with decreasing amounts of effort as time wears on.
This too feeds back into the mechanical co-ordination and further improves efficiency and vocal depth and maturing of tone.
Time is also a factor
Bear in mind this all happens over time, years for the most part. And as we get older, our larynx will descend and our voices get gradually darker sounding. Partner this with the upper frequency vibrancy in good technique we end up with a great blend of dark and full lower frequencies with bright and vibrant top end to our voice. This creates what we call ‘chiaroscuro’, the Italian word for light and shade, to have both top end AND bottom end in a pleasing balance in a given voice.
The more of the all of the above occurs, the greater the maturity of vocal tone.
All of this matters
All of these factors tie into maturing of vocal tone. It starts with technical development in a very mechanical sense, which then progresses into a passive/reactive acceptance of this technique within the body. The release and resonance of this then further enhances the mechanical correctness and, through the general progression of time, leads to a darker and fuller sound as we get older. But it must all start with correct vocal technique to enable all these things. Without good technique we encounter strain and force, which will never lead to the relaxation of the nervous system to encourage release and resonance. Such a force based approach will kill any chance of further development and maturing of vocal tone.
Personally, I love that this is the arc of development, as it show shows how important good technique is, and that the rewards are much deeper than just being able to hit notes… it’s about development of quality of tone.
Learn More: Related Articles
If you’d like to learn more about the voice and how it changes as it gets older, you may enjoy these related articles:
The perks of being an older singer
What actually happens to your voice as you get older
Why can’t I sing as high as I used to?
Vocal Tessitura
How long does it take to train a voice?