To: VOCALIST <vocalist>
From: Peter Louis van Dijk
Subject: The Gargle
Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>

>>Do you find that your larynx lifts during this exercise? How do you keep=
it
>level? Have you tried to "gargle" using your vocal cords? ( You drown if
>you use water and the cords don't close properly!)
>
>
Diane replied:
I do not worry about my larynx. It naturally does what it should, which i=
s
>the benefit of the exercise. The whole point is to gargle using the voca=
l
>cords. If a little water gets down the wrong way, your body takes care o=
f
>that by coughing. The protection from drowning is built in. :)
>

Maybe I should have written "drown" and not just drown. (Oh the power of
the written word!)

But that is my point exactly. It is possible to gargle by blocking off the
back of the throat with the back of the tongue and then the water doesn't
touch the cords at all , the larynx lifts, and the exercise is probably no=
t
much use.
The gargle that uses the vocal cords is probably an extension of the
"Ger=E4usch=FCbungen" (growl) that I keep writing about.It is actually a v=
ery
good way of determining whether the vocal cords are closing properly (whil=
e
vibrating to produce sound, as opposed to total closure when you are
holding your breath), because then they won't let water into the windpipe.

May I ask where you got this exercise from, or did you make it up
spontaneuosly, as we often do when confronted with a special problem.?
(That's why we have so much fun!)
Regards
Susi
C T RSA