Voice Tips
Rib Swing Breathing
In many breathing exercises the student is instructed to put their hand
on their belly and feel their belly fill with air. But, there is never
any mention of the ribs swinging open at the same time. For singing we
need the bottom of the ribcage to expand which lowers the diaphragm and
thus causes the belly to lift up. It is important not to miss the
correct sequence of inhalation, which is the ribs swing open and then
the belly expands. This takes place almost concurrently, so don?t feel
alarmed if you feel them happening at the same time. If we only feel
the belly open but the ribcage stays closed we are only allowing the
lungs to expand downward and are depriving the body of breath capacity.
We are also not engaging the costal muscles of the voice, which are
also important muscles of breath support and vocal power.
Lie on your back and put one hand on the belly and the other hand on
the side of the ribcage. Inhale and feel how the ribcage naturally
swings open and the belly lifts upward. Continue to breathe feeling the
rib-swing and belly movement. Continue rib- swing breathing until you
feel that you have a good awareness of this movement. Slowly roll to
one side still focusing on the rib-swing. Slowly, sit up, still
focusing on the rib-swing. See if you can rise to a standing position
still feeling the rib-swing. Notice the tendency to hold the breath
while moving. This is a physiological activity that should be taking
place in our body at all times when we breathe, but we have become
disconnected and unaware of this process and our body no longer
breathes as a whole entity. But, don?t despair, the good news is that
the body likes to breathe this way and will take to the new behavior
most readily.
Have you ever been tongue tied?
The tongue is one of the biggest
causes of tension for the singer, actor or public speaker. One of the
strongest muscles in the body, the tongue can create a great deal of
tension in the throat, jaw and neck area. Many people are completely
unaware that the tongue is the culprit of tension they are feeling in
their body. The tongue is a much larger than the part you see when you
stick out your tongue. It is attached to the chin bone and descends in
the throat attaching to the vocal body. It is a flexible muscle and can
change shape depending on the sounds articulated. Many of us go to yoga
and relaxation classes to stretch and relieve tension, but do we
remember the tongue? When completely relaxed the tongue will float up
and rest on the roof of the mouth. Here are some exercises for the
tongue. First stick you tongue out as far as you can and say AHHHH.
This is the yoga posture called the lion. Next, turn your tongue to the
right, now turn your tongue to left. Now with your tongue still out of
your mouth make circles with your tongue clockwise, now make circles
with your tongue counter-clockwise. The next exercise is the most
important of all. I call it hanging out with your tongue. Close your
eyes, slightly drop your jaw, now completely release the tongue muscle
from the root. It may slightly protrude out of your mouth on to your
bottom front teeth. Just hang out in this position for a few minutes.
You will notice that your jaw will start to release and many also
notice a release in the cervical spine. This is an exercise that you
can use throughout the day. I especially recommend doing it at red
lights while driving, but don't close your eyes.
The rule in singing is to keep the
tongue relaxed and touching the bottom teeth for all vowel production.
The tongue will change shape depending on the vowels, arching for some
and flattening for others. Take a hand mirror or stand in front of a
mirror. Relax you tongue in your mouth with the tip gently resting
behind your bottom teeth. Now say ah, eh, ah, eh. Notice that the
tongue changes shape but the tip of the tongue if relaxed stays in
contact with the back of the bottom teeth the whole time. This is the
goal for the singer and is also a good idea for speakers. When not
relaxed in singing the tongue will pull back and can actually obstruct
the sound of the voice as it rides the air outward. This can cause a
throaty voice quality and alter vocal color. The tongue often tenses
thinking it can help pull the air out of the body, but it is mistaken
and more often obstruct airflow and causes a squeezed or blocked vocal
sound. A relaxed tongue guarantees good vowel production and assists in
free airflow leading to our goal, beautiful singing.
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