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Ah! I did not know that. Goes to show I need to double check my research. Thanks for letting me know

@@OpusMyo Yes. I have Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, so as an voice and acting teacher, I'm very aware of how difficult it is to work with this type of facial nerve injury - and what it does to the muscle/nerve system on one side of the face. It even has an effect on the tongue, gums, jaw, ears and eyes!! Enjoying your videos!

GREAT QUESTION!!! Yes, I agree with you- i personally also need some lower ab pressure on my lowest notes as well. Basically because the most demanding parts of our range- both high and low- take the most amount of effort, so when performed healthily, the body recruits more of the musculature needed for that task, in this case, more ab pressure as well. Nice!

jaja, si es un poco difícil mostrar pequeños cambios en el cuerpo- pero esto es el punto exactamente- pero esa es la razón exacta por la que creamos estos ejercicios: para que TÚ puedas sentirlo, si no puede verlo

Yes yes yes!

I'm not sure I understand...you mean your cheeks fill with food while you chew or are swollen after you finish eating or...?

Swollen after I finish eating

@@sway1596 I am not sure, but that certainly not normal! I would explore 1. whether you are chewing correctly 2. whether you are swallowing correctly and 3. potentially if you could have some food allergies

I don’t have any allergies but one of the first two could be. It happened after I chewed gum to work the jaw but I would spit out the juice as I thought it isn’t so healthy. Wasn’t the smartest idea, I realized. What would you recommend and how can I be swallowing wrongly?

Lifting the back of the tongue doesn't change the laryngeal position. The genioglossus muscle STRETCHES the tongue upwards, enabling the larynx to maintain its original position. The only time this is not possible is when singers are 1. tongue tied and/or 2. actively engaging other, malicious laryngeal-attachment muscles in some way. I do however agree with you that some singers must let the tip come backwards slightly if needed so that the pharynx and sp can lift and 'float' more, however, the back of the tongue should be floating up, not pressing down. The tongue's natural position is already slightly lifted, so by lowering it we actually changing its more restful position and adding tension and also depressing the larynx.

@@OpusMyo At leaſt in operatic ſinging the larynx muſt be an a very much lowered poſition, maintaining its oꝛiginal poſition is not enough. Keeping the tongue vp and foꝛward will make lowering the larynx difficult. When one yawneth the tongue retracteth, this is becauſe the retracting tongue openeth the thꝛoat. The tip of the tongue and the back of the tongue are antagoniſtic, ſo when the tip retracteth it tendeth to pull in the back of the tongue, opening the thꝛoat. As long as the vowel is clear the tongue will not be blocking the back of the thꝛoat at all; this is actually the moſt open thꝛoat poſition. Mario DelMonaco, Bꝛigit Nielsen, Franz Wnderlicht, Enrico Caruſo, Apoolo Ganfoꝛte, Renata Tebaldi, Roſa Ponſelle, all theſe legendary ſingers of the paſt, and many, many moꝛe, all retracted the tongue in their ſinging. Thou canſt ſee it in pictures of them and in ſtills taken from videos where thou canſt heare their tone on ſaid notes. The had free, loud, extremely rich in ouertone voices, and very dark open ſound; and all with great releaſe of the aire. A retracted tongue is not iuſt foꝛ ſome ſingers. If one deſireth to haue the pharyngeal ſpace maximized, the way to make the moſt ſpace and that without conſtrictiue tenſioins is when the tongue tip retracteth (front third of the tongue), which in turn pulleth the back third of the tongue out of the thꝛoat, while the middle third is free to create the vowel at any giuen time.

@@RememberGodHolyBible Well we will have to agree to disagree on this. Retracting the tongue downwards depresses the larynx. I know all the great opera singers (including the ones you mentioned) specifically warned against depressing the larynx as it not only adds tension and false dark color, but widens the vibrato and can add false vibrato as well. Simulating a yawn is dangerous territory- as the chords are open, the body is inhaling, the pharynx is tightening/engaged, and the jaw is tight. All not good things- regardless of what the tongue is doing. I suggest you watch Pavarotti's high C- here- you can see him physically lift and change the shape of his tongue even though the vowel and word stays the same: th-cam.com/video/cWc7vYjgnTs/w-d-xo.htmlsi=nBpDMaUz0ZxvNhYX

​@@OpusMyo In regardeth to Pavarotti changing his tongue with the vowles, of courſe that is needed. The tongue is the moſt influential ſhaper of any and all vowels. But euerything elſe thou haſt ſaide is incoꝛrect. Depꝛeſſing the larynx is to incoꝛrectly lower the larynx that reſulteth in a woofy oꝛ choked ſound. Mario DelMonaco had his tongue retracted with the tip down. The back third of the tongue needeth to go down the thꝛoat WITHOVT cloſing it off which IS poſſible and neceſſary. The tongue retracting away from the front teeth alſo pulleth the back of the tongue foꝛward leauing the thꝛoat in the moſt open poſition The middle third of the tongue maketh the vowels and that can go vp and down depending on the vowel. The iaw can vary, but generally a dꝛopped and low iaw is good and many times neceſſary. Not only is there ample video pꝛoof of this with pꝛofeſſional ſingers better than Pavarotti, but my voice is alſo a teſtimonie. I lower my larynx all the way, ALL the way down, tongue tip retracted with the tip pointed down, lips foꝛward, cheſt voice thꝛough an open thꝛoat. And by this I go to my top very eaſily, with no wobble, with maſſiue amounts of ſquillo, no tongue obſtructing the aire, huge releaſe of the aire, very loud with very ſoft dynamics poſſible, ſuper clear vowels, and very dark at the ſame time becauſe of the maſſiue ſpace created via the very low larynx, retracted tongue, iaw down lips foꝛward, with cheſt voice ſung thꝛough that ſpace from the bottom to the top of my range. Euen if thou art not into ſinging operatically, the retracted tongue is eſſential if one deſireth maximum reſonance. One can get by without a retracted tongue, but it is obiectiuely leſſe efficient. Look vp the video title below on the channel "This is opera! ARCHIVE" "TONGUE RETRACTION, LIPS FORWARD, VIBRATO PULSATIONS etc." It ſheweth theſe things quite concluſiuely and alſo ſheweth what kind of ſound it pꝛoduceth.

Hard to tell whats going on without looking at you. I offer free consults if you'd like to chat: www.opusom.com/schedule

@@OpusMyo thank you so much

Totally normal- I see lots of 'regular humans' too!

YESSSSSSSS. Theres a lot of talk with the vagus nerve and tongue posture. I dont have a good video on that...but there are some on yt. Short answer: correct tongue posture stabilizes the nervous system -> happy. Bad tongue posture -> unhappy nervous system.

Ahhhhh. yes none of these symptoms surprise me! Looks like you're on the right track now! I'd get diagnosed!

@@OpusMyo thanks for your reply, booked in too see a myo. Any advice on who is best to get the release done by? I’ve seen videos of extremely thorough releases done by medical doctors with a scalpel. and then 1 minute one’s done by a dentist with a laser.. surely can’t be the same quality and result

Hey there! yes check the description box- i uploaded a better/new one!

There are a few published medical articles on over-tight fascia- you can find most on PubMed. (I have a few on my website, although none directly mention singers.) Unfortunately there is not enough data for a statistic at this point- we in this field are in the process of gathering! It's hard to publish a statistic for fascia as we cannot directly measure fasica elasticity; patient's report and rate their own changes. But I personally have had patients have their migranes cured by a tongue tie release and many who have had changes in balance and flexiblity. It just takes MASSIVE amounts of data to get to a valuable (and accurate) measured statistic!

Yessss!!! Hooray! (But maybe make sure you talk to a tongue tie person, because sometimes "regular" doctors have no idea about this lol)

Yes, that is common and easily avoided. Surgeons can gently move either side of the vein without cutting it. It may make the process slower, adding maybe 5-10 mins, but shouldn't change the quality of the release.

Yes, they can help, I dont use them so much myself

Volume as in capactiy (1 oz, 2 oz etc). High notes require LESS air volume- or less air amount- regardless of whether they are loud or soft. We are also talking about PRESSURE. Remember pressure and volume ARE mutually exclusive- we need both in any combination. Yes, correct, we want to prohibit rib collapse so that all the volume doesn't release in one big flood of air. Everything is a continuum, a graded scale. Not 1+1. The exact combination of pressure and volume is dependant on the pitch and task at hand.

@@OpusMyo so if I want to sing a high note, i should inhale less air (in context of pitch only) and press my lower belly more. On the contrary, on lower notes I take more air and not press so much?

​@@OpusMyo One more question: is there such thing as chest/belly breathing? Or is it all the same, just depends on how deep you breathe. I mean, it seems when you inhale, the chest comes first and after that - belly. And it's so in any case, never separated. But they say some people breathe with their chest only (and that's wrong) and some people breathe with their belly

@@irinazaharova4598 Yes...your high note 'recipe' is correct (although you can always inhale a normal amount of air and just keep the ribs expanded, therefore not letting any volume out. Opera singers use this technique- we almost always take large breaths!) For lower notes, you need to allow more air out- yes not pressurizing the ab cylinder as much but allowing air to escape, not holding it in so much

@@irinazaharova4598 Belly breathing is a yogic term that gain traction in the singing world. Many human will hold their bellies in or firm them for aesthetic reasons so yogis encourage movement in that area for their kind of breathing. Yogic breathing is not correct singing breathing. Unfortunately a lot of singing teachers teach yogic breathing, hence why many singers have heard the term. We want the ribs to expand, as thats where your lungs ARE! Not in your belly! Chest breathing while in practice is correct, however it can appear wrong if the singer is breathing too high in the ribs and engaging the neck and shoulders as well.

Yes, your analogy is true. I agree with you that we need more pressure for high notes! But there are two extra problems: 1. sometimes the natural increase of pressure isn't enough- we need to create even more. (So the thumb does increase pressure, but we ALSO may need to turn up the faucet!) 2. humans can perform an additional change- we can also open the gottis at the same time as stretching the chords. This creates a high, "breathy" sound and will decrease pressure. (So you put your thumb on the hose but you also make a small hole in it). So its always good to be in complete control of pressure in the body cylinder rather than just letting the chords do it! Less stress on them!

Well the chords are mucosal membrane tissue. Tissue is not the same as muscle. The chords are stretched BY muscles, but they are not muscles themselves. Think of stretching a rubber band. The band is made of rubber, our hands are the muscles that stretch it. The flag analogy is to explain that they are vibrating FROM THE AIR that moves it; a flag doesn't wave itself- the air moves it. Hope that helps.

Ah ha- you should check out this video where you can do the exercises with me! Here: th-cam.com/video/BYIbvoNJTGQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=YdymA3cu2-vqRCXg

Hmm, hard to say, as it could be a few things. Could be your bite, your maxillary position, even your body alignment! But the answer is YES you can change it! I'd start by focusing on doing all your exercises as balanced as possibly- not adding 'extra reps' on the 'weaker' side. And chewing on one side is a BIG NONO

@@OpusMyo thanks for the advice I appreciate it! 🙏🏻

Well, obviously I disagree, mostly because there are infinite ways to make any one vowel sound; I can make what sounds like a perfect Italian /a/, but also add additional muscle groups not required, which will lead to tongue tension and strain and overuse. Also, I personally find that teaching by example can be dangerous- many people are physically built differently in their mouths/tongue just as much as we are all different on the outside. People with different rib shapes have slightly different methods of breath inhalation. And what if I, a heavy soprano, taught a light tenor? If I only taught by example of what I do and not what they need, I would not be serving them- in fact, I could damage them unintentionally. Lastly, I am a fan, and indeed, user, of the Italian operatic school, so I don't disagree with any of the ideas, but I find that teaching with all metaphors/visualizations can lead to a LOT of confusion- even amongst singers who already have professional careers- I've personally seen this happen quite a lot. Just my two cents!

Oh thank you! And YAY! Can't wait to meet you! Remind me when we meet ;)

Old italian opera singer word for the feeling of effort/contraction/engagement/breath support that is located right where the ribs separate in a V in the front of the body. Spelled 'appoggiatura' if you care to research further. **a word of warning however, it is an IDEA / METAPHOR, not a literal anatomical structure so take it with a big grain of salt!

Sounds like you could have a large and/or restrictive lower lip tie that is preventing the lip from stretching upwards comfortably! I'd start there. I also assume your teeth are almost together at rest? (They should be!)

I have the exact same problem! Have you found any exercises to fix this? I'm 23 years old btw, I'm not sure if it's too late for me now

@@tinchydraws Yes I do! www.myodiy.com 🤩

​@@OpusMyosame here how to fix it?

YAY! I am so glad :D

Yes....theres a few that are amazing (and specific to singers) posted on my website here: www.myoforsingers.com/articles

Unfortunately not, as frenulums cant be stretched. We can potentially improve tongue STRENGTH but not mobility without an operation. BUT, I personally am also a professional singer and have had two tongue tie releases (as my first was not fully released). I extensively and almost exclusively work with other professional tongue tied singers of all genres and all of them are thrilled with their changes post-release! You can check out some of their stories here on TH-cam channel and also on my website if youre interested :)

Sounds like they could have a very tight lip tie (upper or lower- even buccal)

Yes, so sorry! Its not a perfect scoring system, but its close enough. (for a formal diagnosis, they have a special ruler and they actually measure each one in mm!)

@@OpusMyo ok, thanks!

hmmmm- are your teeth together? Also, we want the tongue suctioned UP, not sucking BACK. Try making some tongue click noises to see if your tongue suction changes.

@@OpusMyo I can't get the whole back of my tongue up if I only suck upward.

@@RS54321 Ahhhhh well THAT sounds like it could be a posterior tie

@@OpusMyo Really? I guess I'll have to get it checked out.

Great question! I see this often in my singing clients; as we age, our technique improves, which should mean we have less injuries and more stamina, etc. But (as you said, and you are exactly right) that lifetime of tension finally becomes harder and harder to manage and to 'reset' and dissipate each day (as opposed to when we are young and fresh!) I'd recommend at the very least having a consult and chatting about it! It could be the tension from a lifetime of being tongue tied and/or some compensations- you'd need someone to help you find out if its one or both :)

I absolutely can! 1. Do a quick self-assessment for tongue tie. measure your mouth openings in the specified positions and compare your singing issues with those stated. 2. If you think you are tongue tied based on your answers from 1 above ^, seek out a formal tongue tie diagnosis from a tongue tie expert such as an airway dentist or myofunctional therapist (preferably one who is familiar/has experience with singers!) 3. If/Once you are formally diagnosed as tongue tied, pursue tongue tie release surgery, making sure you do myo exercises both before and after surgery with a myo expert. (4. Consult a voice technician who specializes in eliminating compensations if you still have some technique and or singing-muscular issues post release) 5. Live your new life tongue-tension free and with a happy, free, isolated tongue! Yay!

Well I'm sad to hear about your pain but HAPPY we may have a solution! Be sure to find a myo to help you before and after your release if you move forward- no 'same-day-tongue-tie-releases"!

lol! Yes, keep the tongue posture going