How to Relieve Tongue Tension
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- Опубликовано: 3 июл 2024
- Most singers would benefit from a strategy for alleviating tongue tension - I know that I certainly did! In this video I discuss what we mean when we talk about tongue tension, go over some basic anatomy, and introduce a process to assess and relieve tongue tension.
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I've watched dozens of videos on singing techniques, but this is the first one in which the instructor provides such practical and clear techniques to follow. And, free of charge, to boot! Thank you, Ms. Friedlander!!
So glad you're finding them helpful!
Thank you; I love singing and sing in a choir. I have enormous tongue tension for years and years. I am starting today with these exercises.
Ive watched a lot of tongue tension videos but this is the only one that helped. I had a lot of tongue tension but its getting better. thank you!
Thank you very much Claudia! Awesome knowledge, thanks again for sharing it with the world!🙏
This is fabulous, Claudia. Thank you!
Thank you, this is so helpful, and your instructions are so clear and it's amazing, thank you for your hard work making this video ❤️
Always appreciate your sharing your expertise Claudia. Bob
As another tense-tongued clarinetist-turned-singer, I thank you for these teaching/learning materials.
Maestra Friedlander, thank you for all these amazing, very helpful and totally logical (in sense of physio-anatomy) advices. I enjoy very much your way of presentation. Thank you!
Hi Dr. Friedlander,
Thank you for sharing your knowledge about the voice and professional teaching for free! I stumbled upon your videos and I am so incredibly glad I did. I am in my mid 30's and stepped away from classical singing/opera after I graduated with my Master's in Classical Voice about seven years ago. My voice and my brain needed the break! I had been diagnosed while in grad school with muscle tension dysphonia. Fortunately, I had an amazing voice teacher who learned a healthy technique, so she was able to help me rebuild a healthier singing technique over the course of my three years of graduate studies.
Long story short, I have the singing "bug" again and would like to start up singing back into the opera world. I retained quite a bit of my training and exercises from grad school, but I needed a refresher course and some additional tools to help with my breathing, tongue tension, etc., residual from years of not singing. Your videos are AMAZING! So in line with everything I had been taught by my grad school voice teacher. These exercises and tutorial videos on breathing, etc. are exactly what I need to "jumpstart" my body back into singing.
I hope you keep putting these videos out. They are a great source of correct information and incredibly helpful!
This video is so extremely helpful! As a freshman voice major struggling with tongue tension from years of musical theatre, this really made so much of a difference. My voice teacher has been trying to help me alleviate this tension but the methods shes suggested haven’t been working for me! This works very well and is extremely helpful! Thank you so very much!
You are amazing! Thank you so much for sharing this. THIS is so helpful. I already feel a notable difference after watching this video & trying out exercises. I feel very hopeful now about relieving tension and freeing my voice. Thankyou 🙏
As a physical terapist in Rio ,i appreciate the exercises you shared.God bless you.
Thank you for this. So detailed and informative. So clear!
Amazing. I will be practicing this.
Thank you for your knowledge.
Thank you Dr. Friedlander!! Perfect video 😍
Thank you from the bottom of my heart...
Wow! This is the best I have learnt so far. Thank you.
thank you. you got a new fan.
Wonderful video!
Amazing ❤️ Thank you!
Really enjoy your videos Claudia. Also recently picked up your book and have been enjoying reading it. Thanks for your great break down on relieving tongue tension. So much good stuff here that works well with Steven Smith's exercises. Thank you.
I'm so happy that you are finding the book and videos helpful, Joy! Thanks for letting me know! Steve is of course my mentor as well as an ongoing source of inspiration.
Great vid! Thank you!
Ms. Friedlander: you obviously have great expertise, but you also have a wonderful manner of presentation, from which I draw heartfelt hope. Thank you!
Thank you Thomas! That is my aim! So many things about vocal technique can seem mysterious and elusive, but it all breaks down to movement patterns if you know what to look for. And movement patterns can be learned and habituated. It may take some time, but with intelligent practice strategies and patience, all components of singing technique should be attainable.
Great advice…thank you!
Hi Claudia! I'm 43 and have been singing since I was about 7 years old. No lessons, just always loved to sing. I made it my profession at age 22 when I started my own DJ/Karaoke business. I've been doing that for over 20 years. For the last 3 years, I've been in bands and acoustic duos, singing much much more than I ever have. About 6 years ago, I started experiencing vocal issues. I went to one of the best ENT's in the state in Albany, he did the whole scope thing and found I had "callouses" in the middle, outer sections of my vocal folds and lots of mucous accumulating there constantly. I did speech therapy for a little while there but it didn't help with my singing. I was on a lot of prescription drugs at the time because I was unhealthy and very overweight. I had GERD very badly and was on Prilosec and/or prevacid daily. I changed my diet according to what the doc told me to do. Lower calories (1200), less fat, no garlic, tomatoes, hot stuff (all the things I loved). I exercised 3-4X per week for 3 hours each session. In nearly two years with this routine, only lost 25lb and acquired plantaar fasciitis in both feet. Inflammation in my body was incredible. I was in more pain than I had ever been in on a daily basis, however, went back to the doc and vocal chords improved a LOT, despite me practicing in a band 2x a week and very long practices.
Completely overhauled my diet 2 1/2 years ago...went completely clean ketogenic way of eating, lost 60lbs and got off ALL 8 prescription drugs I was on. Nearly every ailment went away and my voice got strong, however, there were still times after double header shows that I felt like I was singing through a straw. Next day, very very hoarse. I'm in a full-time band and have been for over a year now and also just starting another duo. First gig always goes great but my voice is tired by the 3rd set. Second night is ALWAYS a struggle. Again, singing through a straw feeling.
I went back for another exam and the "callouses" are back. Not as bad as the first time, but not as good as the last time, either. Kind of in between my last 2 visits. He suggested a vocal teacher. I have seen her twice. She has a master's in pedagogy and another master's in something else revolving around voice (I can't remember what she said though). I have had two lessons with her so far and I have been left confused both times. She tells me "what" to do, but not "how" to do it, so I'm finding myself wasting a lot of energy and hurting myself by practicing wrong while trying to figure it out.
I watched this particular video and got more out of it in 6 minutes than I did those 2-hours with her. I will be implementing your strategies daily.
Question:
Would you say this particular video is a good place for a beginner to start? I'm not new to singing, but I am new to singing correctly, I guess you could say.
Also, I noticed there is a link to take a class from you. How do I go about doing this? What is the charge, etc?
Thank you so much for this informative video. I will be watching more and I've already subscribed to your channel! God Bless!
First of all, major kudos to you for your determination to improve your health and the success you’re already enjoying in that area! I have a number of friends who have had fantastic experiences with keto. It must be a huge relief to have liberated yourself from all those medications. It’s also very helpful to be able to decouple overall health issues from vocal health and technique issues. It sounds like you’ve gotten to the point where you can probably assume that if you’re having a vocal issue, it’s due to the way you are using your voice rather than something more systemic.
I’m so glad you’re finding this material helpful! Regarding this video, as well as most of the others I’ve posted to RUclips, the exercises are fine for singers of all levels of experience. But for the most part, they are homing in on specific aspects of technique rather than presenting a comprehensive view, and I think it’s important for singers to have the bigger picture as well.
I’d love to help you work on your technique. My studio policies and rates are posted here www.claudiafriedlander.com/the-liberated-voice/2019-rates.html, and I do all of my scheduling online via Appointment Quest www.appointmentquest.com/scheduler/2120064031/. Please also feel free to be in touch via email, claudia at claudiafriedlander dot com.
Great video!
Thank you so much for this
Oh my goodness! Dr. Friedlander, you are a Godsend!! I am an advanced classical singer, and thanks to you I have discovered a subtle, chronic tension in the base of my tongue that initiates upon inhalation. This is perhaps the most empowering knowledge I've discovered on my singing journey. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and knowledge with the world! I am grateful to have found you!
Thank you so much for the feedback, Chandra!! This is exactly why I make these videos 😀 There often isn't time to go over the details of things like articulation mechanics in the space of a one-hour lesson, and even if there were I know I'll be more structured and articulate if I make a video about it instead. I'm so glad you found it helpful!
Thank you Dr. Friedlander! Honestly, I've never met a teacher with such comprehensive knowledge of all the mechanisms involved in singing, PLUS creative and PRACTICAL exercises to truly free up the voice. It's really special what you have created! I purchased your book, Complete Vocal Fitness, on amazon. They provided a sample to read before the hard copy arrives. I'm already inspired by your courage, resolve, and resourcefulness. I hope all of your work becomes a mainstay in vocal pedagogy for generations to come!
@@Theaterofthepilgrammige thanks, I hope so too! I hope you like the book!
Thankyou so much I never realised any of this I am sure this is going to help me
I can't thank you enough for this ☺
I'm so happy you found it helpful!!
Very useful videos thanks
Thank You.
Thank you very much 🙏
I can’t vocalize right now because I’m resting my voice due to what I think is vocal cord swelling.
However, I tried the massage under the chin while lying down and it really helped me to breathe without tensing my tongue root. Thank you.
thank you so much ♡
You rock!
What an awesome video! From a country singer.
Country singers often sing with a very similar approach to classical singers, I find - well-modulated registration and long sustained melodic lines!
Thank You
God almighty!
I just found another technical issue I have, and this one’s a doozy
Thank you for your help and insight!!!
Excellent video, I've been learning how to trill my Rs, so I can flutter tongue on the recorder. This video is super helpful, I will be reviewing a lot. (So happy pencil didn't fly out of my mouth lol)
Wooooooooow thats my way to correct singing
Maam i hope you will also teach us on the correct position of the tongue when singing.
As an untrained country singer singing three hour shows in honky Tonks 4 nights a week, this was extremely helpful.
I've got a long story as to why I struggle with tongue tension and things of that nature, but it doesn't have to do with singing, although I used to love singing! I have trouble talking normally, because I have tension in my jaw, tongue and throat, and it's very depressing. I would love to be able to sing again, let alone talk!
I'm sorry that you are dealing with this tension, and I hope you will find ways to release it. I did not really begin studying singing until my mid-20s, and the reason was that I had so much chronic tension restricting movement in my breathing, throat and articulators. I had the opportunity to do some bodywork that helped me to free a lot of it up, and that experience is the reason that I am so interested in finding ways to help singers condition their physical instruments, in addition to learning how to play them. For many of us, that conditioning means a lot of myofascial release.
This is amazing!!! Can one short video change my life? I think so!!!!!!! Thank You!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you Thomas 😀
This video immediately helped most of my tongue tension awhile back. I have made an earth shattering discovery. It's probably "meh" for you. What do you think of singing a scale while stretching the tongue; and; if the tongue pulls your fingers, hold the note and pull more, then less, repeatedly, on the tongue. Doing this makes me aware of the tension and it goes away. As I work on higher and higher notes, it gradually helps those higher and higher notes.
Well, I think you should do whatever works well for you! and it sounds as though this procedure does. However, it may be more effective to engage the genioglossus (the muscle that protrudes the tongue) to stretch the hyoglossus, rather than pulling on your tongue with your fingers. You can do this by holding a pencil under your tongue, as shown in the video. Ultimately you want to retrain the muscles of the tongue itself rather than overriding their activity with your fingers.
Hey dear. Thanks for the lovely video. I'm just purely anxious. I'm not even a singer. Do you recommend any other method for me or is this relevant for a person not a singer?
Dear Claudia
Thank you so much for this lesson! I’m a mezzo and I’ve just noticed that my basic technical issue is tongue tension. It’s making my vowels drop down to create a “fake” deep sound *classic mezzo fail* and I have big problems in my passaggio and headvoice because the jaw and tongue wants to grip and pull down. Are the exercises described in the video also good in the headvoice or do you have another approach up there? I find it difficult to sing in my headvoice without adding weight.
Many thanks for sharing your knowledge 🙏
My first voice teacher also encouraged me to retract my tongue to create more depth and resonance; I had to learn better tongue coordination before I became capable of modulating my vocal registers well, because the tongue tension was limiting range of motion for my larynx and making it difficult for me to properly engage my “head voice” muscles. The exercises in this video can be performed throughout your range, but be aware that tongue tension doesn’t let go all at once - you will probably find that it is easier to keep the tongue root free on lower pitches at first and that it will take some time and practice to be able to keep it free on high notes. Be patient and vigilant, it will come!
Here is an article I wrote on vocal registration that will help answer your question about head voice: www.claudiafriedlander.com/Registration.pdf
You’ll find more in-depth discussions of articulator and laryngeal anatomy and function in my book, Complete Vocal Fitness: A Singer’s Guide to Physical Training, Anatomy and Biomechanics goo.gl/kLc8pF
I have been dealing with tongue tension for years and am happy that I finally found this video. Can you tell me what brand is your massager? Thanks
The one I use now in the studio is the Nea 2 - I think I'm using one from the same company called the Siri in this video, but the model was discontinued and I actually really prefer the Nea 2. www.lelo.com/nea-2
@@ClaudiaFriedlander thank you
Relating to the pencil exercise, and how the use of the genioglossus makes the contraction of the hyoglossus difficult; is this something we should take with us to our singing? The use of the genioglosses, or the active feeling of bringing the tongue forward when phonating - should this always be present when singing? Or was this just a way of preventing the hyglossus from contracting during the exercise?
One of the things I find so useful about the athletic paradigm is the understanding that what you do to *condition* your body for peak performance in a given sport is one thing, and your actual sports performance is another thing. These exercises are designed to bring balance to the overall musculature and function of the tongue so that the hyoglossus is no longer overactive and so that you can do whatever you want with your tongue rather than having to do what is habitual. Which is to say, once you've trained your tongue to define your vowels the way you wish to (taking on an appropriately arched position rather than retracting), you can stop thinking about it and just sing. You may need to continue conditioning your tongue when you do vocal exercises, but when it's time to work on or perform repertoire you'll need all your head space to focus on how you plan to get revenge on the evil baritone, how magical the moonlight is, whatever story you're telling - not what your tongue is doing.
Hello. Are you giving lessons? If not is there anyone you could recommend who teachers similarly to you?
Hey Dr. Friedlander! Thank you so much for this video, and your wisdom. it made me quite hopeful.
May i ask: with the pencil exercise, would it be alright if we used it more generally (and frequently) as well? I mean, just singing songs and the like? Cheers, jeff
I encourage you to experiment and use it any way that you think might be helpful! When used in combination with the release and stretching exercises as in the video, the point of the pencil exercise is to begin integrating released and lengthened hyoglossus muscles into simple sung phrases. Keeping it simple makes it possible to focus your attention on what your tongue is doing. Also, there are a very limited number of phonemes that you can articulate well with a pencil under your tongue, e.g. you can't properly articulate [o] or [u] because you can't round your lips in that position. So if you want to apply this exercise to singing songs, I recommend singing phrases on "ah" rather than trying to sing the words.
Hey, thanks again for your time, and kindness! Cheers, jeff
thank you my tongue's veins went kind of red n dark from straining it.
Does this happen often to people? it hurts when i stretch it now.
Hi Maestra,
I was wondering if you could do a video about lips when singing if you already haven't? I have a tendency to spread and that raises the larynx. Sometimes I feel like I'm not making progress or I get frustrated with myself when I practice because I know this is a problem, so what should I do?
Sure, I can put something together about lip coordination (still working on a breath management video, which is taking some time to put together, but I can have lips on deck for when it's done!). In my experience, a lateral spread of the lips (combined with opening the jaw wide) is often an instinctive *compensation* for an elevated larynx (i.e. a response to the fact that the larynx has elevated rather than the thing that causes the larynx to elevate. To tune your highest notes the thyroid cartilage has to tilt maximally at the cricothyroid joint. When the larynx is in a low, settled position, it's easier to access the necessary laryngeal range of motion to pull this off. If they larynx comes up it doesn't have as much room to move, so we have to find creative ways to wedge it into position, and the lateral lip spread can be part of that pattern.
Like you said, the washboard was greatly reduced immediately. I sounded like Donald Duck and things improved. Thank you so much.
Hey, like I always say, less washboard, more cowbell! uh… Glad you found it helpful!
😊
Is it OK if I post here a link to my Christmas video "Joy to the World?" It's a four part multitrack version with echo.
Sure! Or if you'd prefer to share it privately feel free to email me, claudia@claudiafriedlander.com
So we dont have to tense those muscles at all right?
Hi I have a question what can I do if my larynx visibly moves up and down when doing vibrato?
The first thing I would recommend is that you stop "doing" vibrato. Vibrato is not a thing that a singer *does*, but rather a phenomenon that occurs when the singing voice is free and energetically produced. You may be manipulating your larynx to try to make vibrato, which will actually prevent a natural vibrato from occurring.
I studied opera for two years and I just realise I retract it just because I learned like that. I noticed this because when I warm up with the easiest exercises like lip trills, and sovt, my voice is really tired, I discovered it was tongue tension because if I let the tongue like when I sing I sound like Kermit the frog. I try those exercises where you hold your tongue out and again my voice was tired, and that created a lot of confusion in my head is it supposed to be resting like almost flat, or the tongue can go up in the high notes???
Nothing should be moving behind my chin?
I’m gonna try this exercises
Muchas gracias 😢
I had already completed my doctorate and was singing and teaching professionally when a new teacher pointed out to me that I was chronically retracting my tongue! I had built my whole technique around it. Wow did life get easier when I learned how to release my tongue root and engage my tongue more intentionally in articulation.
Dear Claudia. What is your opinion on the Feuchtinger technique. He taught that the hyo glossus had to be strengthened. I studied with someone who absolutely believed this. 😢
I was asked about this years ago in response to a blog post - here is how I replied: Feughtinger recommends a "grooved" position of the tongue, so he would seem to be advocating for engaging the hyoglossus as well as tensing up the other components of the tongue that create this deep groove; in his video I think he is also advocating for singing with a lowered soft palate/uvula.
These days most vocologists and vocal pedagogues are in agreement that the ideal position for the tongue is usually in an appropriately arched position, with no retraction/depression of the hyoglossus; there is also wide, albeit not universal, agreement that for classical singing, the soft palate should sustain a raised position closing off the nasal port except when the demands of articulation require that it be otherwise.
Creating a deep groove in the tongue and dropping the soft palate is one means of shaping the resonance space. If Feuchtinger and his disciples are able to elicit great results from their students with this approach to articulation and resonance, then clearly it works for them. However, I do not find this is the most effective way to shape resonance - it runs counter to the way I approach articulation and resonance in my own teaching of technique.
I can see no advantage to even lightly engaging the hyoglossus. Doing so will necessarily create some degree of downward pressure on the larynx, because the hyoglossus originates in the hyoid bone, from which the larynx is suspended. But I also don't think you can evaluate the effectiveness of doing this outside the greater context of what Feuchtinger proposes.
I will say, however, that I find it seriously off-putting when a method lays claim to "superiority" and "perfection" the way this web site does! They say, "We are the only course in the world to go into such intense detail to explain how the voice is produced and how it is possible to correct it and develop it." You can't imagine that someone like me to take such language seriously. There is plenty of bad instruction out there, but there are also dedicated teachers conducting valid research and training outstanding singers who would never make such outlandish claims! Besides, if what Feuchtinger asserts is true, then the only great singers would be the ones who trained in accordance with his methods, and as I've pointed out, most do not.
So, in short, what Feughtinger is advocating is a specific technique for developing resonance and articulation. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a "discovery," though, because he is not the first to suggest these things, and it is not the *only* way to develop resonance and articulation, and strong arguments (also based on anatomy and physiology) can be made in favor of others.
Wow! Thank you for your reply Claudia. I was studying with one of his students who made the same kind of claims. It has taken me many years studying with an Italian soprano who sang in Milan and Europe to get rid of this brainwashing. But your video really opened my eyes to the tension I still have in producing sound with the hyo glossus although I have an impressive range and voice which is obviously still a bit forced. Thank you so much.
I'm so glad you found it helpful! I find that I have to work at releasing this part of the tongue on a regular basis. The hyoglossus just tends to be more active than we'd like it to be for singing due in part to the other things we need it for to stay alive and well (e.g. swallowing) - like our hamstrings, most of us have to continue releasing and stretching it to keep our technique in balance.
@@ClaudiaFriedlander I am truly grateful. Thank you for your time and wisdom 😊
I have a very bad gag reflex and I have trouble resting my tongue in the normal resting position at the dentist. Anything to help with that? It tends to go up.
Try the exercises I shared in this video. If the pencil is too thick, a crochet hook may work well. I really did put into this video everything I know about tongue release that could be conveyed in a video, so if these exercises don't help you may need to find a practitioner (voice teacher or SLP) who can work with you one on one.
I have recently found out I have some bad tongue tension. Becoming aware of that has made me focus a lot on the area under my chin. I noticed something funny when I sing vibrato that area shakes. You can even Visibly see it if you pay attention to under my chin. Is that because of the tongue tension as well? Or is that normal?
If your jaw or any part of the chin area is shaking along with your vibrato, it's probably the result of tongue retraction. The exercises in this video will help! It takes some time, repetition and patience, but you can do it 😀
I experience discomfort while speaking, especially with words that include the 'd', 'th', 't' sound, as the tip of tongue hurts. I feel like my tongue apply high force than required. Could you suggest some exercises to correct this problem?
I wonder whether you might have a short tongue frenulum. This would limit range of motion for your tongue and make you have to work harder for the tip to reach the dental ridge for the consonant sounds you cite.
There is a surgery available to address this, but you would want to research and consider carefully before doing it, and be prepared to carefully retrain your tongue and other articulators afterwards. med.stanford.edu/newborns/professional-education/frenotomy.html
Should there be any tension when I pronounce other vowels? Because it's quite hard to do the exercises especially for 'o' and 'u' - the sound which comes out doesn't resemble anything :) And for the lip trills: should they also be free of any tongue tension? Thanks!
The tongue plays no role in lip trills, so it should ideally be pretty relaxed when you perform them. I'm not sure what tension you're referring to on other vowels, but if you have a good tongue position for your [a] then [o] and [u] are pretty much the same tongue position plus some lip rounding. You can't articulate a lip vowel with a pencil under your tongue, if that is what you were referring to!
Ok, perfect. I had another question, to which an answer would help me a lot: every time after I sing more than 1h I get problems with my voice (I can't even speak normally for 2-3 days, I assume that the vocal folds have been somehow damaged). But if I just afterwards (after the rehearsal) took my bike for a ride of ~10km, that tension/strain disappears. Are there any exercises/habits that I can embed into my warm-up to get rid of that in the long run? Thanks again! Mihail.
@@mihailstoian7237 What you need is not an exercise or two but the means to build a fundamental singing technique so that you can sing efficiently. There are lots of things than can lead to the kind of vocal fatigue you are describing. Develop a solid technique, learn to sing efficiently, and your fatigue will be greatly diminished. I'm sorry I don't have a better answer. People still seem to think that singing is something that people should just be able to do naturally and so when everything isn't working great all you need is a neat trick or a different exercise. We'd never look at learning to play any other instrument, or learning to play a sport, like that. We need a comprehensive technique just as much as a pianist or a tennis player would.
What about the back of the tongue? Doesnt it have to be relaxed and down so that it wont block your throat?
To be clear: when you're talking about the back of the tongue, you're talking about the hyoglossus. Most of this video is about releasing and stretching the hyoglossus, so that it *can* be relaxed, because for most of us it is overactive and tense when we sing until we learn to relax it. However, I do not think that the tongue is capable of blocking your throat. You could *try* to tense it so that it blocks your throat, I supposed, but eventually you would pass out (because that would prevent you from breathing) and then it would relax and you would start breathing again.
I came here because on some notes, I sound like I'm riding on an uneven washboard road. At the end of this video, you say some singers tongue tension to stablize the larynx. Do you think I'm on to something here?
Could be! Where stabilizing vocal production is concerned, there is a useful analogy to learning how to ride a bicycle. When kids first learn to ride, they'll often be given a bicycle with training wheels. The training wheels provide a measure of stability and will keep them from toppling over while they learn the coordination of peddling, steering, etc, but they won't be able to go very far or very fast. When you take the training wheels off, they must learn to use forward momentum to stabilize their movement and keep from falling over, and at first they will be unstable until they get it. Tongue tension is a means of compensating for a lack of stability that you can similarly provide to your voice through momentum - momentum of breath, of expression, of musical direction. I suspect that when you discover how to stabilize the notes you're referring to, it's probably what you ought to be doing elsewhere in your range.
What is the name of the song at the beginning and the end of the video?
"Aus alten Märchen" from Schumann's Dichterliebe
Well actually beatboxer just trying to learn liproll and it aint going well
Dear Claudia,
when I INSTANTLY get a muscle ache in my tongue when I try to do the thing with the pencil and sing a simple 5 tone scale, that probably means tongue tension is one of the bigger issues for me, isn't it? I can open and close my jaw without any tongue retraction and sing a single note on a comfortable pitch without any issues but once I move the pitch with the pencil in place my tongue starts aching.
Well, it does suggest that there is some entanglement going on between what your tongue is doing and what you are doing to change pitch. Does it happen when you siren between two pitches or just when you try to sing a scale? If the ache is the result of feeling a muscular stretch, it should lessen over time. If it persists, it would be a good idea to do something that produces less of an ache. A narrower rod, such as a crochet hook, might serve you better.
To be clear, the tongue is not involved in changing pitch. It has attachments to the hyoid bone, from which the larynx is suspended, so there is some indirect interaction between the tongue and the larynx, and because tongue tension can be applied to stabilize the larynx (not recommended) it may feel as though there is a relationship between pitch change and tongue activity, but it's best to decouple these things.
@@ClaudiaFriedlander thank you very much. I am well away of that 😊 I have sirens now and I can sense that the sensation is generally less intense on sirens than on scales and also that the tension seems to be worse once I change into chest voice/modal function.
I've recently started getting into heavier (mezzo and contralto) repertoire and I think, I am artificially darkening my low notes more than I was aware of. With the pencil in place and attempting to release the tension I can still access very low pitches with a lot of oompf but they sound a lot brighter than without the pencil (which is another clue that I am definitely beefing up on the bottom 😅).
Interesting! Retracting the tongue can be a means of creating a fuller, darker resonance - my first voice teacher taught me to do it that way - but it comes at too high a price. You will find better ways to access your full resonance without tangling up your tongue in the process.
@@ClaudiaFriedlander I am absolutely aware of what you mean. Thank you again so much! My past singing teachers have always made me undersing and squeeze my instrument a lot because they had the opinion that it would potentially be harmful to let me sing heavy repertoire too early (what an old story. So many examples!) Which ended up in very little projection, a breathy onset and no real progress.
Now I have changed teachers and am getting into the "meatier" stuff (I am 27, btw) - of course not on stage - and my new teacher also started working with me on jaw and tongue release.
However, until now I just trusted him and followed his advice but could not fully sense the extend of the tension. Thanks to your tips in the video I have a better concept now what EXACTLY to do to detect the issue when studying alone. And also some perhaps more physiotherapeutical methods on how to solve it.
You are great!!!
I can’t even breathe when I press underneath there .
And tongue tension for speaking?
These exercises should work well for speaking too.
Can i use my own hand to massage my own tongue muscle? Is it a must to use electric massager to do it??
You can use your hand. All that matters is that you have a means of releasing the tension and then also a means of assessing whether the tongue root is remaining free or retracting. I didn't have access to a small massager when I learned to release my tongue. Looking back, it might have made the process a little faster and less frustrating, but it is not necessary.
@@ClaudiaFriedlander Thanks maestra for replying! well i want to do what exactly you did in the video as i'm easily losing track of what's wrong and right if i do it differently, so is the mini vibrator doing the same as yours? I try to find a cheap one that might work but i'm afraid it doesn't work as well
@@titiksuprihatin4185 I like the model that I'm using because it has a narrow tip and offers variable levels of intensity, but you can definitely get results with a cheaper model. I have a bunch of these that I use when I give workshops and they're a lot less expensive: www.amazon.com/Uniclife-Massager-Portable-Shoulders-Operated/dp/B018U6Q1V2/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1538105438&linkCode=as2&tag=thelibvoi-20&linkId=589b4462fa4215971e41e18a59326063
@@ClaudiaFriedlander thank you so much maestra!
Hello! Can tongue (root) tension cause hypersaliva prduction?
I do not know, and that is definitely outside the scope of my practice! I recommend checking with an ENT or SLP.
@@ClaudiaFriedlander :)Okay, thank you!
Had s tounge cramp, thanks. Ps i can't sing
dog just pulled out a vibrator