Sing Notes That Soar!

By Carole Brewer

The art of relaxing the tongue, teeth, and jaw may be a difficult concept to “sell” to your inexperienced singers.  Without vocal training, most singers go with the familiar feeling of holding the mouth in the same position as for speech.  Songs have lyrics and so “speaking” through a song comes naturally.   The difference is that lyrics are sung over an extended length of time vs. speech which is articulated rapidly.  Simply said, singing is not the same as speaking or yelling!  

With a tight tense mouth, a self-trained singer tries to squeeze out the sound especially when running out of air before the phrase is over.  Singing with constant muscle constriction in the tongue, teeth, and jaw creates out-of-control tension that:

1.      often is the result of nervousness

2.      may cause hoarseness in the throat

3.      may cause nodes on the vocal cords over an extended period of time

4.      will probably make the tone quality inconsistent and flat

For singers who are serious about improving their vocal quality, learning to relax the tongue, teeth, and jaw is a necessary skill to develop.  Besides, from the audience’s perspective, a singer with a relaxed mouth and face is much more pleasing to watch than a singer whose teeth are clenched.

TWO WAYS TO THINK ABOUT IT   

The Birdcage: Imagine that your mouth is a cage door and the birds inside are the notes you’re singing.  If your mouth becomes tight and the door is barely ajar, those poor notes won’t get out no matter how hard you push down on your diaphragm.  Just remember to open wide and avoid squashing your notes on the way out!  Relax your tongue, teeth, and jaw and let them soar.

The Tongue Depressor:  Think back to a time a when doctor examined your tonsils by placing a tongue depressor in your mouth and told you to say, “Ahhh.”  If the doctor placed the stick far enough back, you felt like gagging, right?   I’m sorry to tell you that the position for singing better tones is much the same… minus the stick.  Honest!  This is no gag!  

SIX TENSION BUSTERS

Try these exercises in your upcoming rehearsals!

1.      Gently place your index and middle finger on your Adam’s apple.  Now yawn.  Do you feel your Adam’s apple drop to a lower position in your throat?   If yes, you’ve got it!  This is an excellent indicator that your mouth is relaxed and open.  Your vocal cords are where they should be in their lowest natural position; the best position for singing.  You can rest your fingers there while practicing to make sure your vocal cords are staying down through the song.  Remember, when relaxed, the jaw will drop and the Adams apple will drop lower.  Now, relax again and say, “Ahhhhhh!”

2.     Pretend that the dentist has just given you a shot of Novocain.  Before it takes affect you are able to say, “Good afternoon, Dr. Harris.”  After taking effect, you speak like this: “Goo afthanoo, Dahtah Hawith.”   All of the consonants are gone.  Your tongue feels like a blob just laying there and your jaw feels like it weighs a ton.   Twy to tawk wike thith.  As ridiculous as it may seem, if you practice maintaining this position while singing, you’re tone quality will improve.   

3.      Imagine that your chin has a hook on the end of it and you’ve just attached a bowling ball to it.   Let go!  Down goes the ball and down goes your jaw!  Imagine the heaviness and just let your jaw hang there.     

4.      Put your fingers on each side of your face and find your jaw hinges located slightly down and forward from your ears.  Gently massage your jaw hinges in a circular motion to relieve the tension.   This is a good practice to add to warm-ups, especially in cold weather.

5.      Use a warm wash cloth or heating pad on the side of your face to help relax tense, tired muscles.

6.      Relax.  Stretch and sing, “Ahhhh!” in a gentle sigh.  Try this on low tones, then on mid-range tones.  Relax, relax, relax the tongue, teeth, and jaw.   Reserve your energy and tension for your mid-section where you’ll be working the lungs and diaphragm. 

Another point to remember:  Throughout your song, the tongue has a “home base” located inside the bottom front teeth.  Gently place the tip of the tongue inside the lower bottom teeth when vocalizing.  This “home base” will keep the tongue forward and out of your airway; the throat.  Through practice, the tongue will return to “home base” automatically when not touching the teeth to articulate consonants. 

When I first studied voice in college, I had no knowledge of these concepts even though I sang in performances throughout my K-12 school years.  When asked to change the position of my mouth for singing, I balked.   Gratefully, I can report that the struggle to change was well worth it.  Along with using good breath support and focusing my tone for resonance, learning the art of relaxing my mouth made all the difference in my transition from being a limited range pleasant-voice singer to being a wide-range dynamic voice singer. 

Thanks for taking the time to encourage your singers to think about and practice this all-important next step to singing notes that soar!   

The LORD is my strength and my song;
       he has become my salvation.
       He is my God, and I will praise him,
       my father's God, and I will exalt him.  Exodus 15:2 NIV