There aren’t many ‘shoulds’ and ‘musts’ in the arts but here’s one, singing should (and must) feel comfortable.
One of the causes for discomfort in singing can be excess tension.
Identifying and Resolving Tension
If you’re experiencing excess tension in your body or voice while singing, start by ensuring that all your vocal fundamentals are properly established. For example, breath support, posture, an open throat, resonance, and vocal health. If you’re unsure about these fundamentals, don’t hesitate to request my vocal fundamentals guide. This is ideally accompanied by a professional singing teacher or vocal coach who can help you assess your vocal technique. Once you’ve confirmed that your fundamentals are sound, take a moment to check in with the areas where you feel tension.
Tension is Common Among Singers
Tension, particularly in the jaw, tongue, and lips, is common for singers and can make singing difficult and affect tone. Here are some tips to help alleviate this; however, you are best off working with a vocal coach on these exercises.
Jaw Relaxation
Jaw tension is a common issue for many singers, but it’s important to reduce it for smoother, more comfortable singing.
Place your fingers gently in front of your ears to feel the hinge of your jaw. Keep this area soft and relaxed, avoiding any forward or jutting movement while you sing.
Try singing while resting your hands lightly on the sides of your face, encouraging the jaw to drop more naturally, especially for higher notes.
Using a mirror (or filming yourself) can help you quickly spot any tension or uneven jaw movement, giving you the opportunity to adjust and release tension as you sing.
Tongue Relaxation
Your tongue should remain relaxed, with the exception of movements required for articulation.
Negative Practice: To understand the impact of tongue tension, try dragging your tongue back into your throat while producing an ‘AH’ sound. Pay attention to how the tone changes and becomes less comfortable. If you notice tension or an altered sound, practice singing with your tongue gently extended outside your mouth to experience the contrast.
Tongue trills are a fantastic exercise to help promote tongue relaxation and increase vocal flexibility. Incorporating these into your vocal practice can help singers achieve smoother, more effortless vocal production and improve their overall technique.
Lip Flexibility
Like the jaw and tongue, the lips need to be flexible, not tight.
Lip bubbles are great for letting go of lip tension. This helps improve coordination between breath and sound production also.
Sustained Lip Vowels: Choose a vowel sound (like “oo” or “ee”) and sustain it while keeping the lips relaxed and flexible. Experiment with different pitches. This helps singers develop control over lip movements and encourages relaxation during sustained singing.
Vocal Exercises with ‘M’ and ‘B’: Practice vocalising on the sounds “m” and “b” while keeping your lips relaxed. You can say phrases like “ma, me, mi, mo, mu” and “ba, be, bi, bo, bu” while focusing on lip movement. These exercises promote clarity in enunciation and encourage the lips to stay loose while articulating sounds.
Tip for High Notes
If tension is associated only with high notes, it may well be that your perception of ‘high notes’ are that they are hard! It is perfectly normal for the vocal folds to stretch to go higher. You may need to gently work on re-connecting with the stretching mechanism through sirens and gentle, quiet slides. Using very gentle, quiet fricatives is great. Making use of the singing straws etc too. Working on ‘nose buzz’ go change your perception of ‘high notes’. Sometimes when we don’t believe in the voices ability to stretch we can start to add layers of tension around the mechanism for example in the jaw, this is pretty common. There are many exercises for this as this issue is exceptionally common.
The right singing teacher or vocal coach can significantly improve your singing experience by helping you identify and release tension, leading to more comfortable and effective vocal production.
If you’d like expert guidance from a London vocal coach who works with singers worldwide online, feel free to get in touch. I’d love to help you release tension and find more freedom in your voice.
