Introduction video/Tongue Exercise Questions!!

whitleyblaine

Hi guys!!! There's not much for me to write because it's pretty much all covered in the video lol but if you have any questions feel free to ask.

I know most of you probably aren't interested in my limited singing background so you can just skip to 9 minutes and 30 seconds in the video to hear me do the tongue exercise and ask my question about it.

Thanks!

https://player.vimeo.com/video/57041042

password: KTVA

highmtn

@whitley,

Here are a couple of suggestions in answer to your questions about Ken's tongue exercise.

First of all, you are rolling your tongue.  You don't need to curl up the sides for the tongue exercise.  When you are doing the Lah, you will want to put the tongue at the base of the jaw and curl the sides of the tongue up next to the molars.  This is to open a free path for the sound/air to not be blocked in the back of the throat by the bulging tongue when singing.

On the tongue exercise, it's a little different.  Just kind of inflate the tongue where it is round and meets your rounded lips all the way around at your mouth.  Go "AH" and close your lips around your rounded tongue.  Have your tongue forward, to where the tongue moves out of the back of your throat, leaving a ball-shaped open space in the back of your throat.  This is what your OPEN THROAT on your AH vowel should feel like, an open space like the beginning of a yawn, in the back of your throat.

The tongue exercise is to help you get a handle on the open throat feeling.  You use Very Little Air.  Don't force the notes.  Ease past your passagio.  If your voice breaks, lighten it up a little until it doesn't break any more.  Go ahead and go into head voice when you go through your bridge.  If you try to stay in chest voice, you will get that strained sound.  Don't do the strained sound, just concentrate on smoothly going through your bridge into head voice.  Relax on those higher notes.  Get some smooth tone. 

You are correct that you need to build more support.  As you get to the higher notes, you can push down on your innards to help support the high notes.  This will help to take the strain off your cords.

You need to deprogram yourself from all of your nay, nay, nay sounds and the vocal fry warmups. 

We don't speak nay, nay, nay or a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a in these here parts.

Welcome to KTVA!

Bob

 

whitleyblaine

Thanks!!! I had no idea, I thought I was supposed to be curling my tongue into a sort of ball. Will try again!