Reddit reviews Freeing the Natural Voice: Imagery and Art in the Practice of Voice and Language

I teach voice workshops sometimes. Not singing, but speaking voice for actors and stuff

The industry standard texts for actors are usually Linklater (for vocal quality) and Skinner (for clarity of speech).

This book is fucking legendary, though perhaps more technical and in depth than you're interested in and also a little formal / outdated. If you follow all the vowel sounds perfectly you'll end up sounding like a British twat (especially with the "ah" sound as in "father" and the "all" sound, just do what's natural). But everything about the consonants pretty much holds up.

This book is a really good place to start. Most of the exercises revolve around freeing the "channel" from your diaphragm through your mouth and making sure you have both the dexterity to communicate with ease and the proprioception (imagery and understanding of the body) to adapt your voice as needed. If you've seen The King's Speech, that's pretty much all the stuff he's doing during that montage where he's shaking his fists around and yelling and stuff. Practice a few times a week.

I'm sure looking up youtube videos of Linklater and Roy Hart technique is also useful if you don't want to buy the book.

Practicing by reading aloud, as others have mentioned, is also really helpful. Generally, the verb is the most important word of the sentence, but it's also prohibitive to set too many rules for yourself in terms of cadence and emphasis since contemporary speech is pretty organic and you don't want to sound like a machine. Also listening to your favorite actors / singers / etc with a critical mind can be helpful, it isn't really useful to try to emulate them since the mechanics of everyone's voices are vastly different, but understanding the quality of their voice and finding that same quality within your own voice is a nice way to start.

Without more information about your voice, it's really hard to say. A nasal singing voice can result from your voice resonating more in your sinuses than in your face (cheekbones) and chest; it can be related to muscle tension in the tongue, soft palate, jaw, etc. Be wary of people telling you what to do without actually hearing your sound.
Work with a singing teacher, or work on your own with a great voice book. This is my mentor's book - while it's billed as a book for the speaking voice, if you do every exercise you will notice a huge difference in your singing voice. Mrs Linklater knows her stuff; she is the head of Columbia's MFA acting program, and coaches major Hollywood and Broadway actors. Check it out & good luck!

One book that I learned a lot from was Kristen Linklater's "Freeing the Natural Voice". If you can pick up a copy from Amazon or something, it's so worth it. There's lots of useful techniques and exercises for getting down in your gut even if your natural inclination is to be restricted to your upper level. She talks a lot about the core and nature of animals to make noise from their gut.

Link to the book on Amazon.

Link to her Wikipedia page if you want to learn more about her

Give it a try :) If it doesn't work for you, there are plenty of voice coaches out there who would charge a reasonable fee to get you where you want to be.

I believe that reading and practicing Freeing the Natural Voice by Kristin Linklater is one of the best things an actor can do for him/herself. I studied the Linklater Method in my university studies, and it not only ameliorated my performance technique, but it changed me as a person. This is stuff that one can practice in numerous scenarios, not just in preparation for performance. It is absolutely worth a look, and isn't expensive on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Freeing-Natural-Voice-Practice-Language/dp/0896762505

Sorry for the link, I am using a French keyboard and can't figure out how to make brackets.

My range improved dramatically studying Linklater as an actor. Freeing The Natural Voice. It's not for everyone, but if you can grasp it and consistently practice, you can reach new depths vocally & frankly, emotionally. It's a technique many stage actors have studied.

Vocal training really does wonders. I was a theater major for a while, and took a voice and diction class. Really enunciating your words and speaking with confidence makes a big difference. I also learned that my voice was very nasally, and the exercises really helped me speak from my throat and not my nose. I've found it to be really helpful in my life. When I worked as a receptionist, I was constantly complimented on my voice, especially over the phone. I also feel it helps me stand out because I'm not slurring my words together. It also helps you sound more pleasant, which is nice. This is the book we read. We also learned timing, so that you have enough breath to say what you need to say without taking unnecessary breath-breaks. You might feel silly doing the exercises, but they really do work! It's also a great resource if you speak in front of groups.