you may have heard that many times lift
the soft palate lift the soft palate but
is it always necessary to lift the soft
palate when you sing in this video I am
going to talk about the soft palate
function in singing we are going to find
your soft palate and learn how to let
soft palate when singing easily don't go
away and I'll be right back
hi and welcome to this video series
about vocal resonance if we haven't met
yet my name is Katrina and I'm a speech
and language pathologist from how to
improve singing and here on this channel
I share tips on how to sing in a healthy
and efficient way
so consider subscribing to my channel
and hitting that Bell notification icon
so that you don't miss any of my future
videos in this video let's talk about
the function of the soft palate in
singing but first we have to find it
right place a clean finger up behind
your upper teeth and then slowly slide
it back feel the hard bony structure at
the front of your mouth then feel the
soft part this is the transition between
the soft palate and hard palate
if you move your finger even more back
then you will feel the soft palate but
do this gently because you may trigger a
gag reflex alternately you can use your
tongue to explore in these structures
the soft palate can be raised and it can
be lowered the primary function of the
soft palate is to close up the nasal
cavity from the throat an oral cavity
during swallowing when the soft palate
is lifted the opening to the nose is
closed which prevents food from entering
the nose when we swallow we want the
food to go down into the eating tube not
into your nose the right
[Music]
when the soft palate is lowered or
relaxed that part of the nasal cavity is
open which means that air can travel
through the nose when the soft palate is
raised the port of the nasal cavity is
closed and air can travel only through
the mouth you can see the soft palate
raised in this picture and here the soft
palate is lowered the soft palate is
also important for correct sound
production during speaking and for
adding nasal resonance during singing in
speech the soft palate is lowered to
make nasal sounds which in English are
mmmmm-hmm like in the word sing the soft
palate also plays a role in producing
death and good sounds these sounds are
created by lowering the soft palate and
by lifting the back of the tongue so
should you be lifting soft palate all
the time when singing just from what
I've said it so far it is not a good
idea to always keep yourself palate
lifted you would not be able to produce
nasal sounds many vocal teachers with
classical training will always recommend
lifting the soft palate to achieve a
balance president while singing by
lifting the soft palate a singer creates
more resonating space in oral pharynx
which is the space right behind your
mouth this is of course a good thing
however not every singing style requires
a lifting of the soft palate nasal
resonance which I talked about in my
previous video
and important part of healthy singing if
you haven't seen that video you can
watch it right there some degree of
nasal resonance is present even in
classical singing and more so in top or
country singing now how to lower and how
to raise stopped palate lowering
yourself palate is easy and you already
know how to do it when you are humming
when you do your usual humming exercises
your soft palate is lowered because all
of the air travels through the nose and
create nasal resonance
[Music]
lefting the soft palate can be trickier
many vocal teachers recommend yawning as
a tool for learning to lift the soft
palate but be careful with this
recommendation yes when we styling the
soft palate braces and the larynx lowers
but when you are in a full-blown yawn
the structures in your mouth reach their
extreme positions and the muscles are
stretched to their maximum try to talk
or sing in a yawn this is definitely not
the right position to sing instead learn
how to control your soft palate by
observing it directly get a mirror and a
watch or record the inside of your mouth
notice how the uvula is hanging down
from the roof of your mouth when it's
relaxed and how it moves up when you
raise the soft palate now let me share a
little trick on how to lift your soft
palate easily try and in help the soft
palate lift somewhat automatically
during inhalation now add a light to
that inhalation and your self palate
will move up
[Music]
observe yourself in the mirror and
become more and more aware of the
sensations associated with lifting the
soft palate until you can control it on
demand if you found this video useful
click the like button and share it with
your singing friends check out my other
videos right here below and I will see
you in next video
[Music]
you