Do you experience tension when singing?
Do you strain when singing high notes or when you increase loudness?
One of the reasons for tension and straining can be the tongue.
It is a big structure in your mouth made of several muscles.
The tongue is connected to your throat and your larynx, where the vocal folds are so
incorrect movements and position of the tongue can cause unnecessary straining.
In this video, I am going to share three exercises to tame your tense tongue.
Keep on watching and I will be right with you!
Hi, I am Katarina from How 2 Improve Singing.
This is another video in a series about vocal tension and straining.
This time, we are talking about the tongue.
The tongue is very very often responsible for straining and tension when singing.
It is a huge muscle, actually it is a structure made of many muscles that are attached to
the surrounding structures.
Therefore, any movement or position of the tongue will affect these structures.
There are four intrinsic muscles that shape the tongue and there are four extrinsic muscles
that move the tongue to the sides, in and out, up and down.
The optimal position of the tongue when singing is behind the lower teeth with a slight arch
when singing.
The height of the tongue will depend on the sung vowel.
The tongue will quickly move to create consonants but should return to its position behind lower
teeth.
Some singers think that moving the tongue back creates more resonating space.
But the opposite is true.
Pushing your tongue back actually creates space in the mouth, which is one of the resonating
cavities in your vocal tract but the tongue that is pushed back now occupies the back
of the throat, which is another resonating cavity.
The sound created in this way will be weak as there is no resonating space in the back, it will
be strained because the larynx is pushed down by the tongue, and it will be also muffled
because pushing the tongue back is like putting a lid on a pot.
The backward tongue position keeps the larynx in a fixed position, which causes a loss of
vocal flexibility.
This often happens when singers ascend in their ranges.
So here are three exercises to teach your tongue to behave:
Exercise #1: Keep it out!
Do your regular vocal and breathing exercises while keeping the tongue out!
This doesn't look pretty but it re-trains the tongue to keep out of the throat.
Place the tip of your tongue on your lower lip or on top of the lower teeth and do your
usual breathing and vocal exercises like humming.
When you do these exercises, don’t forget to take a low breath and lift your soft palate.
Here are a few examples.
Exercise #2: Stretch it!
Yes, you can stretch your tongue on a regular basis as part of your usual practice routine.
Open your mouth comfortably but do not overextend it as it may cause tension in your jaw.
Then, stick out your tongue as far out as you can but without moving your jaw.
If your jaw is jutting forward during this exercise, keep it in check with one of your
fingers.
You should feel a slight pull in your tongue.
Hold the position for 30 seconds and breathe.
Bring your tongue back and place the tongue tip behind your upper teeth.
Hold the position for 30 seconds and breathe.
Again, you should feel a slight stretch in your tongue.
These exercises don’t look pretty but they are very useful, especially if the range of
motion of your tongue is limited.
Exercise #3: Move it independently!
Some singers move their jaw during singing way too much, more than it’s necessary.
When singing, the tongue is moving more than the jaw.
However, some singers move their jaw together with their tongue and are unable to disassociate
tongue and jaw movements.
So, in this exercise, let’s teach your tongue to move independently of other structures.
You can use your regular arpeggios or scales to practice this exercise.
Do this exercise in front of the mirror.
Open your jaw slightly and make sure that you are moving only your tongue.
If your jaw is moving with the tongue, use your finger to keep it in check but don’t
press down on your chin.
Just touch it lightly to control the movement.
Now sing: la-la-la-la-la.
But not like this.
Once you can do this exercise, let’s challenge your tongue.
Now sing: ga-ga-ga-ga-ga.
Again, not like this.
You will observe some movements under your chin because the back of your tongue is lifting
towards the soft palate and it’s pulling the surrounding structures up.
But your chin should not be moving.
Finally, lets sing a combination of the previous sounds.
Gla-gla-gla-gla-gla.
Did you move your jaw?
If yes, use the finger to discourage it from moving and do it very slowly until the tongue
and jaw learn to work independently.
And that’s all for today.
I hope you liked these exercises.
Next time, we are talking about jaw tension so stay connected by hitting that red subscribe
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I hope to see you again soon.
Have a wonderful day!
Happy singing!
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