Please explain more about the pencil in the teeth?
Thanks,
Carol
>From: Clark_Diane <DCLARK@r...>
>Reply-To: vocalist-temporary@yahoogroups.com
>To: vocalist-temporary@yahoogroups.com
>CC: Clark_Diane <DCLARK@r...>
>Subject: [vocalist] that darned old jaw!
>Date: Wed, 05 Feb 2003 11:33:42 -0600
>
> Sharon and Peggy wrote:
>
> > Sharon Szymanski <szy@n...> wrote:
> > >Ed brings up a point that I have often wondered about. I have heard
>countless folks advocate the dropping of the jaw for various reasons in
>singing but have found personally, that this actually pulls me out of
>position and distorts the vowel and tone. Instead, I prefer a sense of
>moving the jaw more toward the back (creating a sense of "overbite")which
>seems to create more lift in the palate and a nicer sense of space where I
>seem to need it for higher notes. Any thoughts on this from the peanut
>gallery?
> >
> > I think this is an example of the sort of thing that's different for
>individual singers, and the feedback of a teacher is helpful as to whether
>the dropped jaw is working as hoped. In my case, a relaxed jaw-drop is
>helpful. But before I figured out how to do that, I'd hold my jaw open,
>which added tension, and didn't do any good. I now go for a "dog-face"
>feeling when I drop my jaw, which I think is similar to Sharon's "overbite"
>idea. (Before I studied voice, I thought singers were crazy, the way they
>talked!)
> >
>++++++++++
>
>I agree with Peggy that individual singers have different needs akong this
>line. I know some people (even professionals) that do what I call
>"crocodiling" -- i.e., they pull the jaw open so far that it distorts their
>resonance space and keeps their vowels from matching. Actually, in these
>cases the jaw is so far open in the front that it ends up being tight in
>the back and the throat is more closed. (This is the sort of thing that
>Sharon referred to.)
>
>Generally I teach students to do virtually nothing with the jaw and let the
>work be done inside the mouth and throat. I often use the "pencil in the
>teeth" tehnique to help them get the idea at first.
>
>Just this week, however, I had occasion to make the slightly unorthodox
>suggestion to a student that he let the lower jaw come slightly forward on
>his [i] vowels. This worked miracles! For the first time he was able to
>find enough resonance space for that vowel, and it happened because just
>letting the jaw do this new little thing unlocked it at the back and helped
>it be more relaxed! It worked so well for this student that I tried it
>with another, who had the same problem, and it helped him, too. So, one
>never knows what will work with whom. This is why it is hard, if not
>impossible, to learn to sing from books!
>
> > ---
> > Dr. Diane M. Clark, Assoc. Prof. of Music
> > Dept. of Music, Rhodes College
> > 2000 N. Parkway, Memphis, TN 38112
> > 901-843-3782; fax 843-3789
> > dclark@r... http://www.rhodes.edu
> >
> >
> >
> >
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