Vocal Tension: Checklist
Vocal Tension CHECKLIST! Are my neck muscles calm when I sing? Check! Are my shoulders and collarbone staying still with my inhalation? Check! Does my chest remain lifted as I sing through my exhalation? Check! Is my jaw staying back and is my tongue staying high as I sing? Double Check! Is my larynx staying in the position that I’ve chosen for my stylistic needs? Check! Are my vocal folds finding a balance between compression and decompression? Check! If any of these things aren’t happening, then you should CHECK in right away! But, if you’ve mastered this Checklist, then get ready for your very best singing. Just remember to bring the Soul. CHECK!!!
Vocal Tension: Tongue Tension
To really feel like a SERIOUS voice student, try taking a popsicle stick and placing it against the back of your tongue. Do you feel your tongue pushing back? If so, that's a sure sign of unneeded tension. It's vital to achieve a calm state of "nothingness" with the tongue. The best way to tame it is NOT by insisting that it "Relax! Relax!". The best way is to TEACH it how to do... "nothing." Once you get the back of your tongue to settle down, try saying "AH". Do you feel it push against the stick now? Once you get an "AH" without your tongue pushing back, try to wean yourself away from the stick. This principle will not just eliminate tongue tension, but will also apply to your body and voice overall. Instead of trying to suppress tension by thinking "STOP BEING TENSE!" - just work on being mindful enough to actually do... NOTHING!
Vocal Tension: Tight Muscles
Is your voice TRAPPED? It might be because your TRAPezius is getting tight. Your Trapezius is the muscle that connects the back of your neck to your shoulders. As a major neck muscle, the Trapezius can really interfere with the voice. Avoid lifting your shoulders when you inhale during singing. Also, make sure to not jut the neck and chin forward for higher notes. These habits create Trapezius tension. That said, the Trapezius can also become tight from many non-singing tasks in everyday life. So, try holding Trapezius down with firm pressure or giving it a solid massage while singing. This should not only feel great, but should reveal vocal freedom that has been TRAPPED by your Traps!
Vocal Tension: Performance
In the middle of a performance your voice is feeling TENSE. What to do? Well, you can’t stop to ask the audience if you can do some vocal relaxation exercises! So, Step 1: Don’t PANIC. Panic only creates more tension. Step 2: Get grounded in your BODY and connect to your BREATH. Step 3: Communicate the LYRIC. The audience probably won’t notice your tension, but they'll notice if you stop connecting with them. Step 4: Use more Head Voice and Nasal Resonance to keep your vocal folds FLEXIBLE. Step 5: After the performance, journal about what caused the tension and make improvements for next time! Even elite PROS have onstage tension. But, navigating it in the moment sets the best apart!
Vocal Tension: Yoga
Get ROOTED - with Tree Pose! If you are experiencing unwanted vocal tension, try vocalizing in a position that requires BALANCE. The Yoga Tree Pose is very helpful for this. To find Tree Pose, place the sole of one foot on the inner thigh of the other leg. Bring your hands in a prayer position that makes contact with your sternum. You might notice that your leg, hips, or shoulders start to quiver and possibly cause you to lose your balance. If this is the case, think about lengthening the back of the neck and lifting the sternum. Once you are balanced, sing a phrase or a vocal exercise while maintaining Tree Pose. Do you notice a positive difference? If so, then return to your neutral stance and try to maintain that balanced and lifted feeling when you sing. If you ever lose it, you can always go back to your ROOTS again with Tree Pose!
Vocal Tension: Slow Exhalation For Relaxation
Do you know how your body achieves RELAXATION? It’s through a slow, steady exhalation! Think about someone who is experiencing a panic attack. Do they need to take a deep breath? No! They actually have TOO MUCH air in their lungs. What they need to do is to exhale their breath slowly and steadily. This goes for any time we need to relax. All we need to do is take a moment to release our air in a gentle stream. So, perhaps now you understand why singing has so many health benefits and makes you feel so great! It’s because all good singing is done on a slow, steady exhale! Singing makes you RELAX better… and relaxing makes you SING better! Aaaaah…
Vocal Tension: Breath Flow & Compression
Let Go and Let Flow! All singing requires a relationship between our Breath FLOW and our Vocal Fold COMPRESSION. Great Vocal Technique involves letting the air lead and guide every single sound we make. This doesn’t mean PUSHING the breath. But, it means that we should always have the sensation of our air moving gently through our Vocal Folds. So, if you’re sounding a little bit strained and pinched, try LETTING GO of the Compression inside the larynx a little bit. You’re probably holding the Vocal Folds a bit too firmly and asking them to participate a bit too much. Give them a break and let them ride on a graceful wave of that “still small breath”. They will know what to do if you’ll trust. Let Go and Let Flow!
Most of the time we think that vocal injuries only happen to those with poor vocal technique. But, sometimes accidents do happen. Just like a baseball player catching the bag the wrong way on a slide, even a brief misuse of the folds can sometimes result in injury. No need to panic though! The vocal cords are remarkably resilient and most damage can be fully healed or repaired. However, be sure when you practice you’re not pushing yourself in a way that feels overly aggressive. Especially when experimenting with new sounds, noises, or voices - always ease into the work and pay attention to what your throat is telling you. The best rule of thumb is - if it hurts, stop! Accidents can happen to even the best of singers. But, you'll be setting yourself up for the slimmest possible chances by practicing in a very mindful way.
Experiencing too much Vocal Fry? Solve it with breath flow! You may notice that when you arrive at the end of your sentences, the last word or syllable ends in Vocal Fry. Often, we unintentionally "give up" as the energy of the sentence wanes. Confident speakers, though, carry the momentum of the exhale PAST the end of the sentence! Say: "I have a cockatiel in Wyoming." Many people will notice some Vocal Fry toward the end of "Wyoming." Now try: "I have a cockatiel in Wyoming and one in Iowa." Notice that the Vocal Fry doesn't occur until “Iowa”. Practice blowing out a little extra air during the last word so that you don't hear a "crackle". While Vocal Fry can be an effective tool in singing and voiceover work, it doesn't need to be an everyday part of your speaking voice. Keep on flowing!
Diversity makes the world a better and more beautiful place! Just like we ask our leaders and politicians to engage everyone's experiences, we as artists must also seek opportunities to engage with other artists from different backgrounds. It begins by being open to seeing and listening to material you might not otherwise choose. But it doesn't stop there: TALK to other artists that are different from you. What inspires them to make music? How do they go about writing, learning, or performing a song? How does their unique style help them to share their soul? There is no better way to expand our artistry than by engaging with people very different from ourselves. And, we might indeed make a few new unexpected friends along the way!
In today’s entertainment industry, VIDEO auditions are often taking the place of LIVE auditions. Thankfully, video recording on your smartphone is considered to be an acceptable practice. This said, it’s still nice to make your audition videos look as professional as possible, even with a small budget. You might want to invest in a tripod for your camera or phone, so that the picture is steady and at the right height. Either purchase a basic lighting kit or find some good lamps that show you at your best. Record your audition videos in a space that is free from too many visual distractions. The space should also be free from any background noises. Keep your audition videos as simple and as professional as possible. This way the casting team will focus all of their attention on YOU!
Riffs aren’t harder than SCALES! Most Riffs in any style of music are variations on just a few simple scales. You can build your Riffing vocabulary by working these scales into your regular warm-ups and vocal practice. One of the most common scales you'll hear in Riffs is the major pentatonic scale (1-2-3-5-6). Try singing a pentatonic pattern instead of the usual 1-2-3-4-5 ascending scale. Then mix it up in as many ways as you can imagine! Leap between notes; start in the middle of the scale; sing on different vowels or words. Just remember to start slowly, and don't speed up until you feel comfortable at the slower pace. There's never a need to get frustrated! After all - Riffs aren’t harder than SCALES!
“Am I a good enough ACTOR?” Often, singers doubt their Acting skills or don't consider themselves to be gifted in this area. However, bringing your Acting to life as a singer isn’t about trying to perfect your Acting chops. Rather, it’s about simple COMMUNICATION. If your audience can clearly understand what you are saying, what story you are telling, and the journey that you are going through - then they will FEEL the emotion of the song. Overacting actually comes from doing too much "ACTING". So, keep your focus on being specific with the story you are communicating at each moment. You’ll be amazed how the Acting somehow takes care of itself!
Whether it’s over an orchestra, in an auditorium, or across a crowd of people - it’s common to want our voices to CARRY. Unfortunately, it’s also common to tighten or squeeze parts of the throat in an effort to do it. The famous saying “Many hands make light work” applies here. Instead of the brute force of projection alone, it's better to use SEVERAL ideas instead. First, make sure that your breath is not being shoved out, but rather allow your sound to be carried on a steady flow. Next, take advantage of the brighter resonances of your voice like TWANG. Higher overtones help sound waves to travel. Finally, allow your larynx, neck, tongue, and jaw to feel relaxed and loose so that your sound doesn’t get constricted. These many vocal hands will make your work light. Keep calm and CARRY on!
Many singers have trouble finding songs and learning songs. TECHNOLOGY to the rescue! Thanks to technology, there are some helpful resources for musicians these days. For obtaining sheet music, some great websites include sheetmusic.com, musicnotes.com, and Scribd. You can purchase sheet music separately or subscribe for a monthly fee. The first two sites have software that allows you to play the accompaniment or melody in multiple keys and tempos. This makes learning melodies and rhythms easier and is useful for rehearsal. Well-known websites like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube are also great for karaoke tracks and backing tracks. Creating playlists on these sites is a convenient way of organizing all the repertoire you’re working on. Recruit technology for better learning, searching, and practicing! Welcome to the vocal FUTURE!
Out with the OLD and in with the NEW! It’s time to look through your Repertoire book! Do the songs still suit you? Many songs will be keepers, but others you must not be afraid to part ways with. As human beings, we are constantly changing and evolving - mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. A big part of our growth is being able to let go of our past so that we can open up to our future. Ask yourself whether your current Repertoire is in alignment with the current YOU. Is it suitable for your current vocal technique and range? Does it have an emotional life that you connect to? Does it satisfy your artistic soul? Don’t be scared of change - be excited about the artist you are evolving into! And let your Repertoire reflect that!
Most people already KNOW what good posture, or body alignment, looks like. But, problems persist because we fail to RECOGNIZE when poor alignment happens. We are often unconscious of how we sit at a desk, play an instrument, use our phones, drive a car, or watch tv - the list goes on and on. There are MANY times when our alignment could be "out of whack". Luckily, that means there are MANY times when we could be improving it! A few helpful tips for breaking poor postural habits: Set an alarm on your phone to tell you to stand up and stretch. Place post-it notes in the areas where you sit as a reminder. Set aside a short period of time (even 5 minutes) everyday where you focus on ideal posture. Just a LITTLE awareness will go a long way for your posture and your voice!
Often the way that we THINK about things affects the way we DO them. Therefore, it can be wise to choose your singing terminology carefully, particularly if the word you choose has a negative impact on your vocal technique. For example, the term “Posture” often ends up causing rigidity. “Posture” is defined as “a position of a person's body when standing or sitting”. Whereas “Body Alignment” has been defined as “optimal placement of the body parts”. This subtle difference may seem like semantics. However, remaining physically static, tense, or rigid can have negative effects on the larynx, breathing, and resonance systems. So, try choosing a more specific descriptor like “Optimal Alignment”, so that your body doesn’t get locked into one fixed position. In all of vocal technique, choose your words wisely and free your body, mind, and soul!
The Ancient Romans described the LARYNX as the "first and supremely most important instrument of the voice.” And that it is! The Larynx houses your vocal folds which are responsible for your voice being able to make SOUND. Your Larynx also regulates the way that BREATH moves in and out of your body. The Larynx contains many muscles that dictate the PITCH and the STRENGTH of your voice. Finally, where your Larynx sits at any given time can control the STYLE of your singing. You may not think about your Larynx very often. But, smart singers know that it is “supremely important” to do so. When in Rome…
“Get TALLER as you exhale!” This is a classic Vocal Tip given to singers to improve posture, breathing, and technique. But what does it mean? Well, when we exhale to sing, there is a tendency to let the air escape too fast and too aggressively. We tend to squeeze the upper abdominals and thrust the chest downwards. These habits lead to pitch problems, register imbalances, lack of stamina, and even vocal strain. Luckily, it can all be fixed by getting TALLER! As you sing a phrase (particularly a long phrase), imagine your sternum, the back of your neck, and the crown of your head all growing taller and taller. You’ll notice an immediate difference to your vocal freedom, control, and stamina. In short, good singing can be as easy as getting TALL!