So since the post on plugging your nose to see if your tone changes, I have been noticing that my sound goes up into my nose and nasal cavity a lot more then I would like.... Especially when actually doing a song.... My vocal teacher has been having me plug my nose while I do my exercises which helps but I revert right back when I sing a song. 2 Questions:

1) What is actually causing this?
2) What can I do to change this so it automatically
stays where it belongs?

This is very frustrating to me - I appreciate any wisdom you can shed on this

The reason why you sound nasal is because your nasal passage is open! You need to raise your soft palate...the soft palate is situated just behind the hard palate in the roof of your mouth ...try looking in the mirror while bending your head backwards! Then you should see your uvula (the uvula is the fleshy part of the soft palate hanging above the throat)...then try to act surprised (taking a qucik breath inwards)...if your uvula is rising then your also lifting you soft palata....remember that specific feeling and try to maintain that feeling when you sing! You should also just practice to raise and lower your soft palate so that you can adjust it anytime you want

Is that the yawning sensation that Jaime talks about????? My uvula disappears as I go higher no matter what I do.

You have to work on placing your voice in the right cavities. I wouldn't rely on lifting the soft palate alone as it can be lifted and you can still sound nasal. Also I find that a little too stressful. This should be done naturally without having to "think" about it. That is just my personal opinion though...

Continue vocalizations plugging your nose from time to time and get accustomed to your right placement. Than practice your songs in fragments; one sentence at the time and slowly. If you realize you voice is nasal in a certain passage, do it over and over until you have overcome your challenge. That will create correct muscle memory. Soon you will learn to recognize more easily where your voice should sit.

Yes the jawning sensation can also be used to lift your soft palate ...I disagree a little with oiselle because it should be you who chooses whether the sound should be nasal or not.....you should be in control of your voice, not the other way around. And another thing..if you raise your uvula you can NOT be nasal because you block the nasal passage...

Sorry Martin, we will have to agree to disagree I'm doing it right now and it is actually making my sound more nasal!!

If you block the passage completely to your nose, how can it resonate in the upper part of your head at all? The sinuses around the nose (on the cheeks and forehead are important components of the resonance cavity. I also find the soft palate not to be such an easy part of your body to move on purpose. I find myself applying too much pressure to move it when I do it on purpose and that affects my singing. Just my 2 cents

Everybody is different though. May be it works for you...

Sure we would have to agree to disagree ...actually if you close your uvula you can NOT be nasal....if you still sound "nasal" it´s because you are "twanging" your epiglotis funnel which may sound nasal but has nothing to do with nasality! As to the cavities in the sinuses etc. your hard palate vibrates and therefor the cavities above the hard palate will also vibrate .... of course we are all different ...but we can´t deny the physical laws...it may feel different from person to person but it´s the same physical "movements" that occurs

I know that if I am plugging my nose, I can direct most stuff out of my mouth except the mum. Is there a reason why I cant get mum out of my nose? My teacher said that if I continue to do the exercises with my nose plugged, I will eventually do it automatically with out holding my nose. Do you agree with that oiselle??????

Try to say mum with a "dopey" sound...with an "OH" wowel....that should raise your soft palate(uvula)and will direct the air out of your mouth instead

Did your teacher agree that you found your right placement? Remember: your voice should sit to resonate a little above your nose and not in your throat. If so, than yes; eventually you should be able to place your voice properly without having to plug your nostrils because you will have created correct muscle memory and you will have trained your ears to hear the new improved and beautiful sound of yourself singing

Yeah she made me go from mum to gah and then back to mum and said it was right. The funny thing is I seem to revert back to the old way, that is why she said to do some them plugging my nose so I would get used to placing it in the right place. I am not sure why sometimes it goes nasal and sometimes it doesn't???
I guess it could be worse, I could be tone deaf hahahaha.

What is "placement" ....well you can´t direct the air from your lungs so what do you mean about that "diffuse" word??

Voice placement refers to how you have directed the sound produced by your vocal chords to a desired spot.

Well again we have to agree to disagree ...because the only way you can "direct" the air from the lungs is to raise or lowering your uvula (forcing the air to move through your nose or not, or in a way between)...In my opinion you can´t "place" a tone but you can change your sound colour by movements of your articulators. The vocal tract may be moved in many directions so there are many ways of changing the sound colour of your voice. EX. the shape of the epiglottis funnel, the position of the larynx, the shape of the tongue, the shape of the mouth, the position of the soft palate, the opening or closing of the nasal passage(uvula).....

Martin, this is my opinion: I'm not talking about directing the AIR but the SOUND. This may involve a slight movement of your articulators. I don't deny that.

However, my experience is that when you focus too much on purposely moving your soft palate, tongue and lowering the larynx the danger is for those muscles to become tensed and prevent the voice from vibrating freely in its correct placement. You may want to place your voice in different ways to create interesting qualities which I am all for if it works for you and your singing style however, there is such a thing as opening up all those resonance cavities to maximize the beauty and power of one's voice. That is what is commonly referred to as a correct voice placement. Focus on moving the sound from places to places rather than on your anatomy

I don't have any tonsils and no adenoids (tissue at the back of the pharynx that usually obstruct the nasal and ear passages). So the area that you perceive as being closed by your soft palate I may perceive differently. I can feel my soft palate lifting but the area does not feel shut down such as in closing the attic's trap (the soft palate) from the ceiling (the nose) in this case. This is the imagery your description reminds me of! My interpretation is entirely based on what I feel is going on. I'm not a ENT specialist and I haven't studied vocal anatomy that much. But I know what works for me

I actually do agree with you oiselle .....but (in my opinion again), you are talking about what I refer to as a "Sound ideal"...which means that you prefer a certain sound to be the most "correct way to sing" (correct me if i´m wrong)....if a singer whants a certain sound, he/she should have the tools for that (meaning changing different parts of the vocal tract)..."placement" or "resonance" can be misleading because people feel the buzzzing in many different areas....in my opinion the term is vague and to diffuse....but again if it works for you, that´s the right way for you ....no doubt about that

Cool! I knew none of us was totally wrong I'm glad we found a common ground.