Speaking in Your Optimum Range

It is very important to know how to take care of your voice.  True vocal damage is very difficult to reverse so you want to avoid it at all costs.   

One of the most essential ways to care for your voice is to learn to speak correctly as we speak much more in a day then we sing. If we are not speaking at the right pitch level or optimum range, we can cause major issues with our singing voice.  The best way to find your optimum range, which is the pitch level your voice lies in naturally, is to bend over at the waist and let your head fall to a relaxed position and just say uh-huh to see where your speaking voice lies naturally.  Chances are it is much higher in range then you might have expected.  You can vary the pitch up and down from that optimum range, but never let your voice go into a really low guttural range which is called vocal fry.   Women tend to go into vocal fry at the end of a sentence and men will often speak lower then their optimum range to sound more authoritative.   If you speak in your optimum range, you will definitely find your voice sounding more rested through out the day. This is especially important for people who have to speak a lot on their day job.  Speaking in your optimum range is something you will have to practice but the results will be fantastic!  Remember to also practice supporting your speaking voice the same way as you do your singing voice.