This month’s blog post is a continuation of May’s blog about Tongue Awareness. If you have not read and tried out the exercises in Part 1, I suggest you read the blog and try the exercises before reading Tongue Awareness, Part 2.
In Part 2, we explore the tongue as the articulator and learn how to release the tongue while sounding.
The art of singing and speaking is, first and foremost, a communicative art. The tongue has a most dynamic function in this singing instrument: an articulator, timbre controller, shaper and modifier of vowels, the placer of tone, and adjuster of overtones.
Learning how the tongue should adequately participate in the development and production of sound is vital in establishing a healthy singing and speaking voice to communicate and express as needed freely.
Let’s begin by feeling the tongue and its movements. Movements of the tongue are happening every time we speak or sing, whether we are aware of them or not.
Please refer to the recording below for verbal direction.
I invite you to place your finger about halfway back on the tongue and find the neutral tongue position described below.
Tongue Positions
Neutral Tongue - Tip touching back of the bottom teeth - flat at the back - not pushing against teeth.
For a neutral position, allow the jaw to hang loosely in the shape of an ah sound. The tongue should lie weightlessly on the floor of the mouth. Depending on the length of the tongue, the tip should rest comfortably behind the bottom front teeth.
Once you have found this neutral position, we will begin to work through the vowel sounds below.
Vowels and tongue position - Vowels are the primary colour in sound-making; they are primal and emotive in their quality. I always start with teaching the pure Italian vowel sounds.
Place your finger on your tongue and say each of these sounds, keeping the tip of the tongue touching the gum line of the bottom teeth.
Ah - Car
Tongue flat touching the bottom teeth near the gum line, very similar to a neutral position. You may feel a slight movement in the tongue when going from neutral to ah. Ah is an open vowel.
Now say Ah - Ae, what do you feel?
Ae (Eh) - Pear
The blade (which is at the front of the tongue) begins to rise; Ae is an open vowel.
Now say Ah, Ae, Ee, what do you feel?
Ee (I) - See
The middle of the tongue rises very high. Therefore there is not much space between the tongue and the soft palate; Ee is a closed vowel.
Now say Ah, Ae, Ee, Oh, what do you feel?
Oh - Hot
The tongue drops back down, similar to an Ah. Now say Oh, Ah to feel the difference, what do you feel? Do you feel a slight dropping in the middle centre of the tongue when moving from Oh to Ah? Oh is an open vowel.
Now say Ah, Ae, Ee, Oh, Oo, what do you feel?
Oo (U) - Moo
The back of the tongue rises high. Now say Ee, then Oo to feel the difference between the two. Can you feel the Oo is pronounced more by the back tongue muscles and the Ee more by the front tongue muscles? You may feel the Oo drop back a little.
Consonants - Are the colours we add to the vowels to give them that extra flair. You can add any constant to any vowel.
B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y, Z
Talk through the consonants with any vowel above and feel the tongue movement.
Three note vowel exercise - ah, eh, ee, oh, oo
Five note vowel exercise - ah, eh, ee, oh, oo, oo, oo, oo, oo
In Love and Song,
The Sound Weaver