How to Sing -- 11. Freeing the tongue Pt 2

www.OxfordSingingLessons.co.uk - Alexander Massey, international singer and singing teacher, based in Oxford UK gives the last two of four techniques on how to free the tongue for singing. This makes a big difference for how comfortable the throat feels, and for singing high notes.

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[jspankin]

when are you uploading more videos?

[voicewisdom]

@jspankin I'm not sure. My next plan is to create a series of videos on breathing technique for singers. It will take a little while to plan these, and I am about to take a month's sabbatical for writing. Being realistic, this means possibly March before the next videos appear. But keep an eye on my website Oxford Singing Lessons, as I may well write some instructional notes there before I get round to making the videos.

[Seres1091]

Thank you so much for this great video. Just a quick question, is the tongue suppose to take the 'NG' position at all times during singing or only sometimes?

[voicewisdom]

@Seres1091 It's hard to answer this with only 500 characters! The back of the tongue must be a) free moving, b) clear of the back of the mouth which is a very important resonating area. The tongue moves all the time, in articulating language, so it is never in one place all the time. Moving the tongue 'towards' NG position as much as possible, is definitely something to aim for. An actual NG makes tongue and velum connect, closing the mouth airway, creating the nasal NG sound.

[KarineRibbens]

@voicewisdom thank you Alexander!! These answers really help! I think Seres has been introduced to the Feuchtinger technique :)

[voicewisdom]

@jspankin Thinking of a tongue 'position' is not helpful. When we articulate vowels and consonants, it is is constantly on the move - the middle and tip have to move a lot. Even when we sing just one vowel, but move over our pitch range, the tongue must move subtly in order for us to maintain a rich, ringing, consistent tone throughout. It is far more useful for a singer to think about tongue freedom, rather than tongue position.

[jspankin]

@voicewisdom I am not a voice trainer or anything but I read the tongue should neither be flat nor curved like a spoon, but it should be raised up as CLOSE to the position it would be when humming on the "NG" consonant with the tip of the tongue gently touching the back of the bottom teeth. It should be CLOSE to this NG position on all VOWELS. However you should not try to *force* the tongue in this position when singing an actual song but rather let the tongue go however it wants.

[merovingio89]

this video is great, thanks! and sorry, but in some parts I really can't hide a laugh! ;)

[KimCullen10]

STOP SCARING ME!!!!!

[Seres1091]

@voicewisdom Again, thank you for the reply. I realize that the tongue should never jump back into the pharynx, but appearently this teacher (David L. Jones) believes that the tongue should be arched all the time only (sent links in private messaging); he say this is the "Italian/Swedish school" of singing. All of his other topics make perfect sense, but this one is confusing. Do you have an opinion on his view?

[voicewisdom]

@Seres1091 Trying to 'keep the tongue flat' or 'create a furrow' tends to make singers tense their tongues in ways that are counter-productive. The key issue here is to free the muscles around tongue and jaw that are normally tight on most people. Then trust the tongue to go where it needs to for optimal singing. It moves a lot for different vowels and consonants, so never stays in one place (e.g. flat or furrowed). See the articulators link on my resources page on my website.