Singing exercises to release tongue tension - Tame that terrible tongue
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ก.ค. 2015
- Get rid of tongue tension when you sing with these singing exercises for tongue tension.
** Facebook - / madeleineharveymusic **
The tongue is often called, “The singers worst enemy.” In today’s video, we’re going to be talking about why the tongue is so terrible, and give you some sounds that you can play with to relax it. You can find this entire lesson as a download through my website here: madeleineharvey.com/downloadab.... I’ll give you some tips today to get you started.
Singing exercises for tongue tension
A lot of singers unconsciously store tension around the root of the tongue. When the tongue tenses, it creates a collapse in the throat by pushing and pulling on the larynx. This blocks the space in the throat and literally chokes your sound. Since everything inside is connected, this creates a domino effect of tension that carries into the jaw, throat, mouth and face. When you relax the tongue, the muscles inside your larynx are free to move as they need to. The result is, your throat stays open and your sound is clear, and free. So it’s crucial for singer to pay attention to what is happening to their tongue while they sing.
The tongue bite siren - singing exercise
This is a wonderful singing exercise for tongue tension. it really shows you just how much tension you may store at the root of your tongue.
Allow your face to relax - let the jaw hang loosely. Tilt the head forward slightly. Let the tongue flop out and dangle just over your bottom teeth. Gently rest your top and bottom teeth on the middle of your tongue, holding it in place. Place your index, and thumb right under your jaw where the soft place is. Slowly slide in pitch from low to high. (With your fingers placed at the root of the tongue, you should be able to feel if any tension occurs as you slide upward.)
You may also notice your tongue pulling against your teeth, wanting to slide backward. If you notice that your tongue has a little mind of it’s own, take a minute to just be still without moving sound. Register that feeling of stillness with the tongue and try again. You do not need the tongue in order to create sound.
Summary
Do this exercise about 10 times a day. When you feel tension, immediately reach for that lazy tongue. When you can retrain the tongue to come forward, and out of the way, you will experience so much clarity, range and power.
Thank you for watching this video on singing exercises for tongue tension! This was just a little taste of an one hour voice lesson available on my website here: madeleineharvey.com/downloadab.... Remember to click subscribe for lots of singing tips, and give me a thumbs up if you found this helpful. Thank you again for watching! I’ll see you next time!
Royalty free music for intro and outro from www.audiomicro.com | Copyright: "Sentimental Stories" by Katzy
1:55 if you want to get straight into it.
THANK YOU
thanks. going to start doing this every day. that extra 2 minutes will save me some time.
My tongue tension is so bad. I wasn't even aware my tongue was riding up until a voice teacher pointed it out to me. Now I feel like I've probably had tongue tension for the entire time I've been singing. Which is years. I'm going to try and do this exercise 10 times a day for as long as it takes to fix it.
Lacey Juk did it work?
Did you fix it?
Lacey, you probably have other challenges going on, probably based on your voice characteristics *all voices are unique, and features become a strength when you master how to handle challenges) and so you are either 1)trying to compensate for those challenges in your voice by tensing up your tongue/jaw/throat... which will shut you out and limit you like this lady has already said, but you can overcome those challenges with good technique and the results will be such a profoundly more amazing voice than you have known (worth it!) OR 2) tongue tension is not actually your big problem but you are contending with other challenges that the voice teacher and others are not grasping, but they are mistaking issues with your singing to be due tongue tension without identifying the real area that you contending for vocal mastery. I see this too, sometimes other coal coaches and instructors make errors in their diagnosis and classifications. But for someone who is working so hard at it like you after years of being an experienced singer, it is one of these 2 situations. if I heard you sing, I would be able to tell you better what is going on. Keep striving to reach your goal. Good luck
But don't strain your tongue ...it could prove bad
It may be you have tongue tie. Here on fb there are teachers who talk about this. I have it that’s how I know.
I have tongue tension even when I speak.
The base of my tongue moves no matter what I do. I really don't know how to do anything different, I keep trying but nothing ever changes. It's like I can't make any noise whatsoever unless I engage the base of my tongue.
Luke Jackson 🎤you are not alone
My tongue tension is so bad, i can feel my tongue tired so hard after sing few songs. Thank for the lesson.I'll practice following your lesson
I love this! It has really helped me because my tongue always has the feeling of being in the way and was really holding me back from singing.
Thank you xx
You're welcome Deanna!
Ma'am Madeleine harvey your such a talented person.. you have a lots of tuturial and it helps me a lot! now i can save many videos to my phone and just watch it. all of the day :-) double thumbs up!!!!
Thank you so much for helping all of us singers!
Thanks for the great lesson - God bless!
Thank you mam,for teaching me such important lesson,that too in so effective way.
How to make an "eee" sound without engaging the base of the tongue. Thanks. I appreciate your videos a lot.
So grateful for your help/advice /videos :) :)
Thank you Mads!! This helps a looooot!
Great exercise. I'm going to use this going forward with all my students. ;)
I can`t wait to get home and try this 😍😍😍
thank you so much ma'am!! this vocal exercise is great! it really works! it helped to clear a lot of tension from my tongue. Once again thank you very much!! You are the BEST teacher ever!!!!!!
Tongue tension is really a problem for me... I'll try this exercise everyday.. starting today..and you really looked cute doing that Harvey ma'am..😊 ❤
Tongue tension is definitely one of my issues! Thanks. Do you have a downloadable lesson on placement? My voice is too far back in my throat, this is my biggest problem.
Ever show good for me about teaching how to learn about sing is help me full I'm from Nashville T N To Laos in 2007 Un till now..
Thanks for all teaching ❤️🙏👍😘
loooov this vidéo. so practical. thaaanks so much
+Marc Bidias I'm so glad you liked it!
thank you for the vid
I can't for the life of me figure out how to do this in my upper range. I sing in a choir and my throat/neck hurts by the end of rehearsals. I don't I"m doing something wrong but I don't know how to fix it.
+Madeleine Harvey I had a mock audition today, and a professor told me the reason I can't sing pure pitch soprano is this exact reason. She didn't give me a name, but I decided to look this up for help in excersices, and found this video. I have a question on top of this. Is a tiny bit of tension normal? You can barely feel it, but I wasnt sure if this is also something to work on getting rid of aswell. Thanks!
Superb instructor
Thank you so much Faisal!
more excersizes please, this ended up being only 20 sec on actual work
Your tips are so amazing.... Thank you so much...your videos and exercises are really helping me a lot... But is it possible to talk to you personally because I have some vocal problems which I wanna fix, I am a trained singer in Indian classical music... And I really need help.... Kindly reply...
Hi Thank you for upload this video! I enjoyed this so much and I have got a question. I think you said that singer should not feel any tension. Then how and where do you feel your voice. All in your head? I want to know the right feeling.
can you do a video on how to access mixed voice?
Thank for ta teach me how to get the terrible tong away when I sing , because that tong block my voice .
Whenever i go above middle c doing this i go into falsetto but when i tense i can easily go an octave higher , any ideas on how i could fix this little issue?
Really good excercise by the way, only good one i've found ever.
Hi. i find ur exercise help me to learn and relax my tongue effectively. However, i could not do the "free and open" sound the way you created.. I sound like my vocal chords tighten too much, creating a tight, thinning sharp sound during the "bridge" or "gap" to my falsetto. can u tell me if i have bad vocal cords closure habit or its normal?..
Very helpful exercise. However, when I try to apply the technique--thumb under the chin--while singing a song I can feel my tongue tense up when articulating certain words or consonants. If I try to keep the tongue completely still, I am not able to articulate the words clearly. I notice it particularly on words with the letter T in them. Is some tensing of the tongue natural, or is the goal to keep the tongue completely free of tension at all times while singing? Thank you for posting your videos.
The tongue is one of your articulators, so it will be moving to create the sounds necessary for good articulation. The goal is relax the root of the tongue so that we can feel a greater sense of openness in the throat. AS long as you feel that your tongue is not flexing and creating collapse in your throat, you are good! Reach for that feeling of flow when relaxing the tongue. Great work!
I have so much tension. I hate the way I look when I sing because of it...going to try this
Hi Madelene, thanks for this tip. Can this also help with speech? alot of times when I speak and I start to feel the voice become a bit heavy, I basically do some tongue release thing like chewing a gum.. and then release the jaw using some "beh beh beh beh" vocalize and then the voice opens up and gets clear and easy afterwards.. so I guess this is an indication of tongue tension?
when I do my exercise I always find the tongue ones the hardest to do I cant do it at all can you please help me :(
Gosh so pretty!
Wow this has worked! Thank u so much
A couple of months in and my chest voice has been tamed. Only head, and whistle registers left
That's awesome!!! So glad this helped!!!
Oh my god madeleine!!! Your tips are working!!! I can sing the notes i make from the siren!!! But my one problem is that as soon as i go to articulate or sing actual words my tongue literaly freezes and cuts of sound. So for example i can sing sustained sounds like the "i" from i will always love you by whitney huston but when i try to sing the rest of the words like "will always love you" my tongue freezes and blocks sound. Is this tongue tension too? Also i cant stop thanking you oh my god even though its a simple "i" ive never been able to actually sing on a note like a4 and b4 with shucch good tone and freedom from that song. Omg thanks!! Id really appriciate help in knowing what i can do about the fact that i cant sing words but insted only simples "ahhs"
If your tongue is flexing at the root there is an attempt at controlling the flow right there. try this....Take out the words and just sing the vowels of "I will always love you" I - Eh - AH - AY - OH - U Produce an open tone and support that sound by allowing it to land forward out in front of you. You shouldn't feel pressure in the throat...if you do, adjust the volume by reducing the air pressure. Let the tone happen naturally. I hope this helps! Happy singing!
+Madeleine Harvey thanks a lot madeleine. I cant tell you how helpful youve been!
if i do that exercise, my tongue explodes :d gotta practice this, its the perfect exercise for me
When I do the sirens in a higher register, my tongue wants to move back. Is there a way to stop that? Any tips?
Every exercise I’ve ever looked at from online and a few teachers in person don’t seem to work. I can’t get it to 100% relax, even in any exercises. Any advice
hey
This may or may not go with this video; but how would I know if I'm singing correctly or producing as much power and volume as I can? Sometimes I feel like I'm not singing or I'm just talking.
HI Jay! Thanks so much for your question. There are a couple of things to consider....Singing is a lot like speaking but sustained on a pitch. However, there are specific things that will differentiate your singing a wee bit further from simple speaking. The first one to really play with is tone. Tone is generated in your head space, and gives your voice a musical quality. Tone also plays a big part in power as well since most of a persons vocal power comes from a combination of breath support, vocal cord coordination, and tonal resonance. To develop more power through tone check out this video on projection that I did..th-cam.com/video/hsmnISEGqmY/w-d-xo.html I hope this helps!!! Happy Singing!
Where you in movies! You look familiar to me!
Mmm i dont understand how i "tame" by using this method, its only giving me a way of feel when it happens, i can control it. It happens when if go high, and i can control it only by lowering the volume when going high...
I feel more tense after i stretch my tongue and do these types of exercises. Is this normal?
Also, how long would you recommend doing this per day?
It depends entirely on your experience. The goal is to feel that the space right under your jaw and behind your chin stays soft. If you can do some siren sounds going from low to high without that part becoming hard then you've done well. But I would always work in some tongue releasing as apart of every song rehearsal. Because we can always benefit from a little more relaxation there.
+Madeleine Harvey thank you :)
Madeleine Harvey but as we go high it seems like pushing over the lower chin
Hey madeline, like someone else said, what do i do to actually sing with these notes that i can produce while doing the siren with my head down. I feel like as soon as i bring my face back up from the chin in position, the tension comes back. Because the tongue was disengaged in the excercise, i could sing high notes, but when facing up, i feel like im at square one, the tongue chockes me off again.
That's great work! Keep it up! Another element to look out for, is excessive air pressure. Too much cannon fire to hit those higher notes. (I can't say that is exactly what is happening in your case.) But that is a common issue for singers addressing tongue tension. Try this...say that word SING really slow. Focus in on how the NG feels. Now try just saying the NG sound. As you NG, sigh from high to low (It feels a little bit like a cow mooing) Should be NO tongue tension here, but if there is, work with it till it's gone. Really go slow with the sensation of a cow mooing but in this NG position. When you've got an easy open feeling on the NG without any tension, sigh into the higher note on NG then drop the back of the tongue into a rest position as you slide down. This gets that tone production into the head first. So you may notice lots more sound as you sigh into NG then drop the tongue. Hope this helps! Happy Singing!
U said to use this technique while Singing a song...cud put a video by demonstrating more vivid with a song example
nice practice, but how can I use it when actually singing text? I can not stick out my tongue.
Great question! When working to release tension in the root of the tongue, you'll want to concentrate on the feeling of ease and openness as you create your tone. Articulation of text works more with the tip of the tongue that it does with the root of the tongue. A great way to practice articulation while releasing tension in the tongue is to take your index finger and make a hook shape. Now rest your finger - hook on your chin. Let the weight of your hand gently pull the jaw downward. Then rest your thumb in the gushy part under your jaw. (That's your tongue.) As you sing, you'll notice tiny movements. But you should be able to use your thumb to kind of massage that muscle to keep it soft. It will feel really hard when it flexes. Hope this helps! Happy Singing!
OMG Madeleine Harvey THANK YOU SO MUCH. This exercise allowed to me to hit high notes like F#5 in mix voice, and im a guy. I just have one question, how do i prevent my tongue from pushing down when i sing with an open mouth, not facing down. Doing this exercise (with the chin down and humming with the tongue out) its easy to reach those notes, but when i sing looking straight, with my mouth open, my tongue inevitably pushes down and my sound is chocked off and nothing comes out, literally. Please help!! PS your a vocal coach god!!!
Actually, i should mention something. I have probably only done this exercise for a month now. Should i give it more time to erase the muscle memory of pushing down the minute i go to make a sound while looking straight and trying to sing an actual word out of my speak range?
I feel like i have tamed the tongue, only when i look down and make the humming siren sound of this exercise. As soon as i go to sing facing straight with my tongue in, i'm back at square one. PLEASE HELP Medeleine, nothing comes out. It's hard to know i can make reach these notes on the siren but not sing them :'( AGAIN THANK YOU AGAIN FOR this exercise because i reached really high notes. just cant sing em. Anyways bye for now!! Lots of love from CANADA!! YOU ROCK
Sorry for my constant replies, but I think i should mention one more thing. The closest ive come to singing the high notes from this amazing excersise is this like squaking sound i can make that lets me make sounds in the high fifth octave range. ( soundcloud.com/user-700499233-67854847/mix-voice ) You can sort of hear it there. but its really hard to even make that squaking sound as 99% of the time i try to make it my tounge keeps pushing down and i get chocked off and even the squaking doesnt happen, unless im looking down like in this excersise. Please help me with the annoying tongue :'(
HI Friend! You're doing great work! I appreciate your tenacity to taming that tongue! Keep it up! Another element to look out for, is excessive air pressure. Too much cannon fire to hit those higher notes. (I can't say that is exactly what is happening in your case.) But that is a common issue for singers addressing tongue tension. Try this...say that word SING really slow. Focus in on how the NG feels. Now try just saying the NG sound. As you NG, sigh from high to low (It feels a little bit like a cow mooing) Should be NO tongue tension here, but if there is, work with it till it's gone. Really go slow with the sensation of a cow mooing but in this NG position. When you've got an easy open feeling on the NG without any tension, sigh into the higher note on NG then drop the back of the tongue into a rest position as you slide down. This gets that tone production into the head first. So you may notice lots more sound as you sigh into NG then drop the tongue. Hope this helps! Happy Singing!
THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU ROCK!!!!! Ill try that!!! :') THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
The muscle below my jaw pushes down on my thumb. I think that indicates tension. What can I do?
+Akhil Wazir That's super normal. Those muscles are connected to the tongue. See if you can move some sighing sounds around high and low without any movement at all. The only thing you want to feel move is the air. It takes some time to get used to, and you might have to police these muscles for a little bit. After all, the habit that created that movement took time to develop. But thankfully it doesn't take long to undo. Practice at a medium level volume...sighing high and low. Just release sound, and let your body feel the sensation of "relief" as it releases your sound. Let me know how it goes! Lots of love!
What if your tongue starts pushing down at certain higher notes while doing the excersise? Please help!! Will continuous practice get it to stop pushing on those higher notes?
The objective with these sounds is to feel a little bit more freedom around the root of the tongue. Since the root of the tongue is directly attached to the larynx, there is going to be a tiny bit of movement. What we want to do is stabilize any flexing in that area that makes your experience feel collapsed. A really good counter sound if you are feeling lots of movement is to tilt your chin inward - without putting pressure on the throat - and gently rest your teeth on the middle of your tongue as it rests forward. Then moo like a cow. (Seriously) Playing with different pitches. This will allow your swallowing muscles and tongue to not interfere with tone production while keeping your larynx stable. I really hope this helps! Thank you for your question. Lots of love!
She remind me of hyerim wonder girls ahaha
What's wrong with me ahaha
wow Disney Eyes
3:25 to 3:33, plz for the love of god someone make this a meme
dammit I cant do it
Tongue tie…
bae