Welcome to Part 1 of the Elite Vocal Academy Jaw Tutorial. Where should we start? At the beginning of course! Before we even start singing or making phonation it is important for us to free our muscles of any tension & build good habits so that our voices can take flight in a stress-free environment. NOTE – Once you are comfortable with The Jaw exercises, you can then move to the Tongue & then the Palate. Please read & perform the three Blogs in the above order for best results.
For starters, you’re probably thinking, “Why don’t we start with breathing?”. Don’t worry, we will get there, but first we must help relax the biggest cause of tension in the body, a tense Jaw. When our Jaw tenses, a horrible domino effect happens throughout the body. Unfortunately, the Larynx is part of that domino path and trying to separate the two actions is sadly impossible.
Give this a try…
Try swallowing…. Now swallow again & take notice of how the Jaw tightens as the vocal tract moves up & forward to let fluid & food pass without entering the airway. This is a primal physical reaction so we don’t choke. Now try & swallow without tensing the Jaw…It’s impossible!! With a tense Jaw it is also hard to truly relax any other muscle in the body. So, by tensing the jaw we have now sent a message to the brain that we are in the “ready to swallow/closed” position instead of the “ready to sing/open” position.
A few tips
Firstly, the cartilages & surrounding muscles of the jaw are the main culprits of tension in that area. They hold it all together & provide free movement….when the muscles aren’t tightened by us that is.
Exercises
1). Clench your teeth together & make the jaw as tense as you can! Hold for 3 seconds. Release. Do not repeat! This is just to show you the extremes between this & the next exercise.
2). Let your jaw fall slack so that your teeth are about a fingertips width apart. Place the base of your palms together & put them palm to chin. Your fingers should now be on either side of your neck, just under the ears. Now, gently push your chin back into your neck. It won’t go far and a little to start is good. When you feel it resist against your palm, remind yourself to relax & give in to the stretch. Hold for 5 seconds & release. Repeat x 2.
3). Place the base of your right palm on your temple & the base of your left palm on the side of your jaw. Now gently push inwards. Hold for 5 seconds and swap sides. Repeat x 3.
Note – be gentle with yourself. These exercises are meant to be slow & smooth so to gently manipulate & stretch the muscles & cartilage around the jaw.
Result
Now that you recognise the difference between a relaxed Jaw & a tense jaw, you will be more aware when you subconsciously tense up & how to once again, relax. Doing these exercises will stretch & release the muscle, preventing them from setting or locking. This will also set you up for the next set of exercises.
Confused? Understandable. Intrigued? Of course you are! Want to learn more? Book a lesson at www.elitevocal.com & enrol online today!