Vocalist.org archive


From:  "Robin L. Frye" <R.L.Frye@w...>
"Robin L. Frye" <R.L.Frye@w...>
Date:  Sun Dec 3, 2000  5:37 am
Subject:  Re: [vocalist-temporary] DEPRESSED ROOT OF THE TONGUE; WAS:Today's posts - miscellaneous


Caio wrote:

>Robin wrote:
>
>>The most frequent problem encountered in
>> teaching this concept is that many students try to
>> create a sensation of spaciousness by depressing the
>> root of the tongue, which is obviously counterproductive.
>
>My former teacher does it ( depresses the root of the tongue while lifting
>the soft palate ), I sometimes do it too ( I haven't been paying much
>attention to that anymore) and Alan Greene recommends that in his book, so
I
>don't think it's obviously counterproductive ( you just have to take care
>not to get choked by that imaginary hot potato stuck in your mouth ).


People do get away with it, but depressing the tongue puts unnecessary
muscular tension on the larynx, and also acts to limit the resonance in the
voice. The optimal position of the tongue, its "home base" to which it
should always "recover" after doing whatever articulating it needs to do, is
in a gentle forward arch, with the tip of the tongue behind the lower front
teeth. It should always be flat across its width, rather than bunched into
a more cylindrical shape. Tension in the tongue root can create a sound
that is richer in the singer's ear, but a listener will hear just the
opposite - fewer overtones. It also weighs the voice down and makes it more
difficult to move the voice rapidly.

Robin Lynne Frye
Mezzo-Soprano
Voice and Piano Teacher
New York, New York



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