Why do sopranos struggle to project on high notes while tenors cut through effortlessly? It's not effort—it's acoustics.

In Part 2 of our Formant Series, we explain F1:F0 tuning: the formant strategy high voices need in the upper range. When your fundamental frequency exceeds 500 Hz, the singer's formant cluster stops working. You need a completely different approach.

We cover why vowel modification is acoustic necessity (not technique failure), exactly how much to modify each vowel at specific pitches, and three exercises for developing smooth, systematic adjustments.

Research from Garnier, Joliveau, Schutte, and others—translated into practical application.

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Written by Josh Manuel | Recorded by Drew Williams-Orozco

Your cold symptoms cleared up days ago—so why does your voice still feel off?

Cold symptoms resolve in 3-7 days. Vocal fold tissue takes 3-4 weeks to fully heal. That 1-3 week gap where you feel fine but your voice isn't ready is where singers cause preventable damage.

This episode covers what's actually happening in your vocal folds during a respiratory infection—the swelling, the fragile blood vessels, the disrupted mucosal wave. We break down the three injury patterns from returning too soon (hemorrhage, nodules, and muscle tension patterns that stick around after healing), which medications help versus hurt, and when hoarseness means it's time to see an ENT.

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Episode delivered by Drew Williams-Orozco

Written by Josh Manuel

Why do trained male singers cut through orchestras effortlessly while you're straining to be heard over a single guitar? The answer isn't talent—it's acoustic physics.

In Part 1 of our 5-episode Formant Series, we break down the singer's formant: a learnable concentration of acoustic energy around 3,000 Hz that gives low voices their characteristic ring and carrying power. You'll learn what creates this physiologically (hint: pharynx width + epilaryngeal narrowing), why this frequency region exploits a built-in perceptual advantage, and how to develop it in your own voice.

We also tackle the passaggio—that stuck, heavy feeling around E4-G4—with the acoustic explanation for what "covering" actually means and practical strategies for navigating the transition smoothly.

Next week: Why sopranos use completely different physics.

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