Your Voice is Like a... Garden Hose?!

October 15, 2019

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Your voice is like a…GARDEN HOSE?!

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Visualize a garden hose…perfectly unraveled and ready to water the garden. Notice how it does not have any kinks or restrictions/constrictions…notice how there are no holes on the sides of the hose. Turn on the hose and notice how the water is free-flowing easily from the source all the way to the end where you are holding it.

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Why am I spending this much time on a visualization about a garden hose? Your VOICE is like a garden hose—have you ever heard this comparison? When you speak or sing, your VOICE should flow freely UP and OUT of you similar to how the water flows easily through the hose. When you speak, your voice is like the water flowing through the hose, moving easily towards the goal, and never getting “stuck” (in the throat or elsewhere).

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Imagine if I came over while you weren’t home and poked holes in your garden hose…not only would this be RUDE, but your hose would now be a very inefficient system. The water may still flow out but it’s going to also travel out the holes and not be the powerfully and free flowing system it once was. This directly relates to the VOICE: If vocal fold (VF) pathology creates incomplete closure of the VFs, then there are “holes” in the system, making it inefficient for good vocal production and the voice can no longer flow freely & efficiently/effectively; your sound will not be all that it should be. In addition, there’s a good chance your body will overcompensate in an attempt to re-create an efficient system via muscle tension—and then not only your anatomy but your use pattern of vocal production will be sub-optimal.

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Consider the effect of a “bend”, kink, or constriction in the hose, and how this might negatively impact the easy free-flowing water. The areas of “tightness” will cause an inefficient system once again, and one that has to work a significant amount harder to move the water. Again, compare this to the VOICE: if you (unintentionally or intentionally) “hold” places of restriction/tension anywhere in the body (but especially within the vocal path), your vocal mechanism will not be functioning as it should be to give you your best sound—it will instead be perceived as strained, effortful, thin, or restricted. You will be "working" much harder than you need to, and will also likely experience vocal fatigue.

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Don’t allow vocal “holes” or “restrictions” to win. Identify & rehabilitate or retrain these areas. Visualize & use your VOICE like a free-flowing garden hose and always think UP and OUT.