What Causes A Nasal Sounding Voice? - John Henny Vocal Studio

In singing, when singers think they are nasal, in most cases, they actually are not. True nasality in singing is when the singer is driving all of the sound into the nose, which is rare in singing.

Quite often, nasal resonance is caused by singing with the larynx a little too high, so more sound waves end up in the nasal tract.

Another thing to consider is that some languages, such as the French language, tend to use nasalized vowels more. In contrast, the English language does not use as many nasal sounds.

But let's break it down a little further. There are two types of causes for nasally voices:

Hypernasal Voice

The first is "Hypernasal Voice," where too much air leaks out through your nose while you speak or sing. As a result, the nasal airflow gives the sound too much resonance in the nasal tract.

This nasal voice results from air and sound waves not being easily passed through the vocal tract and mouth. Therefore, nasal resonance is not created at the voice box or vocal cords; it is a result of where the sound waves resonate.

A hypernasal sound can also happen when the tongue is up against the soft palate or partially blocking the air as it travels through the vocal tract, and the sound waves are pushed towards the nasal cavity.

Try this: Put the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth. That’s your hard palate. You drag it back, and you’ll feel it gets soft. That’s your soft palate. So when the back of your tongue meets and presses against the soft palate, and you try to make a sound or sing through some notes, you will hear those nasal tones.

Now say the word "hung" and hold the "ng" sound. This "ng" nasal consonant sound is what creates nasal sound quality. Also, notice where the back of your tongue meets the soft palate when making this sound.

Hypernasality can also be caused by the back of the soft palate or velopharyngeal valve not fully closing to the upper walls of the pharynx during speech. This velopharyngeal insufficiency leaves the nasal cavity open and causes nasal air emission during speech sound. Again, this is considered a speech disorder rather than sound quality in singing.

Hyponasal Voice

The other cause of sound with a nasal quality is called "Hyponasal Voice." This is when too little air pressure gets through your nose while speaking. As a result, the sound started at the vocal folds doesn’t have enough resonance in the nasal cavity. This happens when you have a cold and nasal congestion or some sort of blockage in the nasal passages restricting airflow during speech or singing.

Medical conditions or a genetic syndrome can also cause both hypernasal and hyponasal speech. A disorder with nasal speech can include a cleft palate or even a traumatic brain injury. A speech pathologist or an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) doctor would diagnose speech disorders or medical conditions.

Many conditions that cause a nasal voice are very treatable. In some cases, a language therapist would be recommended.

But with singing, if it is a nasal quality sound in your singing that you want to reduce, there are ways to adjust it.