Understanding Glottal Compression

Here’s where the mis-understanding comes from and why I STRESS open throat technique.

Most people compress air in their throat and literally “squeeze” off the air choking their way up into their notes.

At Ken Tamplin Vocal Academy, I teach the proper way to “hold back the breath” and compress the air to not allow too much air to pass across the chord and not let it dry out, while keeping the throat open so you DO NOT CHOKE your way to higher notes.

This is my Open Throat Technique.

Until you keep the throat open (like a cross between yawning and drinking a glass of water), while you sing, you cannot obtain safe healthy compression.

Build the open throat mechanism FIRST. Then start adding compression.

I will be doing a LIVE webinar session for my KTVA subscribers on this and you will be able to ask questions while I do it.

I will demonstrate different kinds of compression so you will see and hear the difference.

Compression is not just for “distorting” the voice. It is THE way to control breath.

You can do it with less pressure (for pop singing) and it will give more power, control and range, OR you can really “lean” into the sound (over time, not right away) and add “safe” distorted compression (which rock singing is harder than pop singing btw ..it is the same compression….it’s just that rock singing takes more support and stamina. But the concept is EXACTLY the same).

This is an old very mis-understood bel canto (operatic technique) concept, I have just pushed it to its limits by combining mask, pillars, rib cage expansion and other forms of support to sustain “belting” singing.