Welcome to Part 1 of the Elite Vocal Academy Tongue Tutorial. Tongue placement is something we don’t often think about when it comes to singing. We figure, as long as our breathing is OK & our pitch is good that’s all we need to know. Right? Wrong! The human voice & the way it works is much more interesting than that & the Tongue plays a big part.
The Tongue is what helps you create vowels & helps direct sound. Used correctly & it will never get in the way, quite literally. Your voice needs room, & you have the power to provide it. Also, if the back of your tongue is raised it is in the “ready to swallow” position…which is not what we want. We want the “ready to sing” position.
The tip of the Tongue is quite active & needs no encouragement. However, the back of the Tongue (without focused exercise) can grow to be quite lazy & therefore just lie around & get in the way.
How to start correcting it.
1). Using a mirror, open your mouth to a relaxed position (your teeth should be about a fingertips width apart) & keeping the tip of your tongue behind your bottom teeth, curl it upwards. By curling the tip of the tongue, the back of the tongue immediately drops, making the opening in the back of the mouth bigger. This creats an open, relaxed space for the voice. Do this 10 times and repeat x 3.
2). If you have success with the curl, try laying your tongue flat & say “Yah Yah Yah Yah Yah”. You should see the back of your tongue bounce up & down like a trampoline. You want to try not to use the Jaw for this one. Make the tongue work! Repeat x 4.
3). That’s enough exercises for today. Time for a big yawn!!! This will give your tongue, along with your whole mouth, a nice big stretch.
Note – it is important to do all of these exercises in front of a mirror until you are confident. Don’t tilt your head back, your jaw should be parallel to the ground.
Result
By doing these exercises you will gain more control over this muscle. Once you have isolated it you will be placing less pressure on your vocal folds, your Larynx will be in the correct position (not raised & tightened) & you’ll start to gain control over the tone of your voice.
Confused? Understandable. Intrigued? Of course you are! Want to learn more? Book a lesson at www.elitevocal.com & enrol online today!