One very important concept for any singer to remember is that your body is your instrument, not your vocal cords. Anything that negatively impacts the open flow of energy and sound through your body will negatively effect the quality of your singing. Chief among these is physical tension. Tension is the enemy of the singer because it blocks the free flow of energy, breath, and sound throughout the body, necessary for communication.
When a new singer comes to work with me, one of the very first things I do is to help them become aware of any physical tensions they have that are getting in the way of their most efficient production of sound. Mother Nature gave humans an incredibly efficient mechanism for producing sound, but singers often do not trust it. Instead, they develop habits which they believe help control their sound, but which really just create all sorts of tensions that negatively impact the sound they are trying to improve.
The most common tensions I see singers dealing with are jaw tension, neck tension and tongue tension. In my next three articles, I will explore each of these tensions, how and why they creep in, and I’ll give you some simple tips and exercises you can do to release them.
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