Singing Lessons & Voice Training : Chin Muscle Test Vocal Exercise

[xvivaxlaxashleyx]

it works for me, except i can feel the vibes of my throat. so that can be confusing, cuz you think your flexing the muscle........... but your not

[MrRsnerds]

0:05 something he doesn't do often...

[YoungAbdiniho]

I get it now after a few 2 years later lmao

[sidneywidney]

its not useless, he was actually my teacher. if its your first time doing the excersize of course you wont be used to it or do it perfectly. practice and actually try to do it the right way and you will see the results.

[Fyeagass16]

useless?

[acehobojoe]

haha.. wow.. he didn't even show any way to resolve the problem

[faggyboy2]

i thought he was just pointing to his chin fat lawlz

[Azzkikr777]

maybe is just to fat to see a movement...

[Silverlenses4]

Maybe cuz so we would be using the right technique to sing, and not strain our throat.

[diamonddonut]

how come? it should be moving cause when you sing you say words so it should move.

[zooby11]

yeah but just to move your jaw. It shouldn't be tensing because you are hitting high notes.

[diamonddonut]

sorry , i'm still not getting it. try to sing so much high and try to feel it, you'll notice it.

[RocktheStageNYC]

check out my "checking head voice" video on a technique that helps you from tightening the muscles under your chin.

watch?v=cltPFoQsKZs

[XxJasmine52xX]

what does he mean by moving?

[stupidmofox33]

How the hell can you reach higher notes without stiffening that muscle a tad bit?! woah..

[ivy14]

affter i saw this i tryed it out.. and my musscle did not stiffen up or move at all.. i was excited because i was allways wondering if i was brithing right when i sing.(in my room at least)

[ktlady623]

Not offended at all... but you said that "nearly all americans are obese." That's not true. Sure, we have a few more people with some weight problems (thank you, McDonalds, which personally, as an American, I HATE.) But in reality, most Americans are average size. We do, however, have a large number of obese people. But not even close the the majority of us are.

[punisha93]

and your teeth are prob. disgusting. you should see a dentist.

[maziarkd]

This is not good advise. A tone is something that you hear and it finds its appeal to the ear. The way to judge the vocal action is by how the tone sounds not by what the mechanism is doing. The vocal mechanism does NOT behave exactly the same in every individual.

[RocktheStageNYC]

its Ok if its a little tense because that means you're training the right muscles - if they do when training, stop, rest a bit then continue. If they're a little tense all the time then you're carrying what we call "weight" in your voice. Check out my "Falsetto Slide" exercise to see a demonstration of going thru your registers without any tension. Its a good place to start getting to know how it feels to sing without tension.

[RocktheStageNYC]

chin muscles shouldn't be tightening. Singing should be as relaxed as possible. There is some tension for certain vocal licks but overall the muscles under behind your chin shouldn't be tense. If you're tensing than yes, long term your voice will suffer.

[debstarcrazy]

I do apologise James but I feel that the way you explain on this video makes it unclear what you are trying to achieve and why. I am also not knocking all of SLS, its just that the research going on in the UK has showed that some of Seth's terminology and methodology can be dangerous if applied without extreme care. I am also an Estillian, having studied with Anne-Marie Speed. I think you should consider that videos will be misconstrued and tackling any tension here may not be the best idea?

[kaecks1]

errrrr....is it false singing,too, if my muscle is "jumping" a litte litte litte bit? xD when i'm changing the note it's jumping....^^

(sorry for my bad english)

[Tbaby15Angel]

wow, how politically incorrect.. though i see your point... but although obesity is becoming a major problem in the us, the average woman in the us is a size 12, far from obese if you ask me

[NiggaPlease2222]

lmao thanx

[debstarcrazy]

Ha I just realised what he is doing. The muscle he talks of is 'the base of the tongue'. Tension in this can be problematic as it is MUCH stronger than the tiny larynx. Check Estill for exercises to free this tension.

[jamesmeny]

Studied Estill, too. In fact, still with them along with Richard Miller or Oberlin Conservatory, Bill Neill at McGill and, yes, Seth Riggs for whom I'm not ashamed of saying was a great influence in my current teaching. Thanks for your comments.

[debstarcrazy]

Hmm this is SLS. Again. Trotted out as new stuff. Even Seth Riggs isn't convinced about this stuff anymore.

[nateco100]

Yeah, it is moving, so what? Come on man, it is impossible for you to produce a sound and not have a movement on your jaw/ neck/ throat muscles.

[petelebu]

sorry dude, your neck may be soft but everywhere i put my figer on the front of my neck it is hard as a small bone anywhere unless im touching the sides of it.

[iMissNintendo]

umm it should be pretty soft. where a double chin grows there is softness ... yes !!!

[imover18gotityube]

He is not referring to the adam's apple.

[opticmovies]

you mean adams apple?

[FarhadTv]

No, its totally wrong... f u go yeeeeeeeeeee... it must go hard otherwise u have a problem with ur mouth ahahaha. This tip is clever cuz it means u should use ur throat and doin so will make ur voice and make ur vibrato better, but its impossible to have that part soft all the time.

[mkaarlssooon]

my thing moves :( :O

and people tells me im a good singer..

how can i do ?

[FarhadTv]

wot ting move? lol we r talking about singin here ahahaha

[Vittoria10538]

LOL!

[Anime4Ev3r]

either i cant find it or its always hard here lol

[orson198305]

James, I think I understand what's going on & which muscles have to be ommited. I have been told that I have a really big range and can sing really high without falsetto and am considering singing lessons. I was a little disappointed to learn that my higher range is almost impossible to reach without this muscle being used. Am I reaching beyond boundaries unaturally? Should I not consider those high notes to be in my singing range now?

Thanks :)

[jamesmeny]

Hmmm. That depends on what sound you are making and what muscles you are training to "not use." What particular high notes are you talking about and are you male or female?

[decoy55]

i counld nt find the muscle all i feel is my adams apple????

[niceuser123]

so you mean if the muscle is used in singing its fine?

[charlesprinceofswing]

You guys are having a real dig at James. What I found is that he says things that I say differently. He has results and so do I but you are not bothering to understand what is behind the words. One listen and then you judge. Having sung opera for 20 years, I know what he is not saying and what he is saying and some of you have sauid the same things but used didfferent words. LISTEN first!

[mellk]

if those different words work better for us who whant to learn....then what´s your problem?

[charlesprinceofswing]

that's ok. I am just telling others not to have a go at him for doing so. You are right of course.

[nicolashrv]

"Is not the chin, its not the neck....is this bunch of fat you have here under my big mouth that keeps talking stupidities".

For your information, that "muscle" you are talking has nothing to do with the jaw opening, and as SopSarah said, it only receives tension when you move your TONGUE.

Try to open your mouth with the tongue relaxed, and you will see that muscle doesnt get tight at all, then move your tongue with the jaws closed, and you will see it gets tight and moves with the tongue.

[jamesmeny]

You're one hell of a person. I'm sure your students love you and more people should be just like you. I'll end all comments with you as we are going to have to agree to disagree. Best of luck to you!

[freaxxx]

yes, but sing wrong and aou'll notice that this muscle gets hard.

[jamesmeny]

Actually, I'm not talking about the root of the tongue, though that needs to be relaxed, too. I'm talking about the digastric and mylohyoid muscles. I studied with Richard Miller, Jo Estill method and with very prominent ENT surgeon for singers TX. I hope they would know what they were talking about. I've also researched their information just to verify that others found, from science, that they knew about singer physiology and voice production. Thanks for your input, though.

[MusicAdd4ever]

Your videos are so short =/

[artettina]

I feel what you are talking about.

[charlesprinceofswing]

you never do any thin!

[AleifrLeifrson]

Yeah, this makes NO sense.

[segerocker]

Hes saying, when you sing, don't push with your neck muscles.

[vandomVenom]

?? im a dude and all i feel is my adam's apple! and of cos it moves up and down!