ABSTRACT
A resonant voice is something that most performers and trainers seek. The soft palate has a key role in controlling nasal and oral resonance. To this end many training exercises for improving resonance will work the soft palate in a general way. The soft palate will also be worked during consonant routines that involve moving from nasal and velar consonants into vowels. Specific work on the muscle groups that move the soft palate are rarely given, and there is confusion as to how the soft palate itself moves during some common exercise routines. Students may be told they have a 'lazy' or 'tense' soft palate, but be unclear about how to address these. This is such an important subject that I have devoted a whole chapter to this structure.
