Monthly Articles

The Vocal Coach

The Vocal Coach - Jan 05

Here we are, another brand-new year. Isn’t it exciting to know that we can start over every 365 days? You know Paul told us . . . ”old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.” (II Corinthians 5:17) So let’s make a new commitment to work harder for the Lord, to improve our vocals, and our ministries.

So let’s get started on the vocals.

The one thing I see a great deal is singing with a tight jaw. I want to express how important it is to relax the jaw for quality singing. Trying to sing with a tight jaw makes your vocals sound strained, and they are. Let’s see how we can change that.

The jaw should be comfortably open and quiet. It should move straight up and down and feel loose at the hinge. The jaw should hang by its own weight and not be forced open against the strong chewing muscle. Such forcing actually closes the throat and puts added pressure on the vocal folds. To loosen a tight jaw, the chewing muscle must be stretched and relaxed. Open your mouth as wide as is comfortable without hindering the larynx (or the voice box). Open the mouth, and massage the large muscles, which covers the jawbones until they relax and lengthen.

You may also relax the jaw by pulling the chin down gently to loosen and stretch these muscles. The pharynx will enlarge by dropping the hinge of the jaw

I can almost hear most of you asking, “What is a larynx and a pharynx?” Well I’ll tell you. The larynx is the part of the throat that contains the vocal folds. It must be relaxed and open and the dropped jaw along with correct breathing will bring this about for you. The pharynx is the passageway for both air and food from the nose and mouth to the esophagus and larynx. The esophagus is a long tube leading to the stomach. The larynx is an opening for air to the lungs. Take some time and look up these parts of the anatomy and see what it looks like and how it works. If you can get a picture in your mind then you will better understand how to make it work.

Work on relaxing those jaw muscles and I think you will find out how much easier it is to sing when you are not having to force the sound out by having the muscles constricted. The whole body should be relaxed.

Very soon I will have some great news to share with everyone, so keep looking for it. If you want to receive the information first send me your email address to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Until next time, keep singing His praises.