Hello and welcome to my blog. This is my first post! It’s about Speech Level Singing. I have a more detailed article about it here: Speech Level Singing. I hope I can offer useful information that is written so that it is understandable and not too academic. I chose this subject for my first one because I want to convey the essence of Speech Level Singing, the method developed by Seth Riggs.

When you speak in a comfortable voice this is your ideal vocal condition with which to sing. What is happening is that your larynx (a man’s Adam’s apple or a bump in the throat for a girl/woman) is resting or stable in what you could call a “speech-level” position.  If you learn to sing and maintain your tone in this comfortable “speech-level”  manner nothing will feel different in your throat or mouth.  Both your tone and your words will feel natural and sound natural. Seth Riggs did a lot of research to perfect this understanding.

The correct way to sing is “speech-level,” the wrong way to sing is either reaching for high notes or putting the chin down for those low notes.   Try this:  Say “here kitty, kitty, kitty” in a real high pitched sound while having your open hand on the bump at the throat. Notice, does that bump go up?   It probably does, but try it so you can feel what i mean. Many famous singers have said that Seth Riggs’ methods have transformed their performances, starting with this insight.

If you can tell  the larynx goes up, then you are feeling what happens to the larynx when “reaching” for a high note.

Now say  “here kitty, kitty, kitty”  in an unusually low voice. You might feel that the larynx goes down a bit from the initial position.

Hopefully this has helped to understand a bit more what it means to sing at speech level. Speech Level Singing does not mean “sing like you speak.” Speech Level Singing is more than that, such as keeping a stable larynx.

Hope you get something from this blog. There will be more to follow on all types of subjects.

Signing off for now,

Jane Jenkins,
Certified Speech Level Singing Instructor
www.Voice-Lesson.com
San Antonio, Texas