Is your head pulled back (not tilted up)? Upper chest forward? Back upper shoulder blades closed? Front and upper chest lifted upwards?
Archive for the ‘parts of the body’ Category
Head position
September 28, 2010More on the chest
July 24, 2010A different philosophy:
In good singing, the sound is an expression of the entire body’s emotions. In learning how to sing, it may be useful to keep certain parts of the body still in order to learn how to gain control, as moving body parts are difficult to learn how to control. However, after learning some control (through posture alignments), the entire body should become emotionally expressive. This means that the chest should move according to the desired emotional expression.
Sad singing–drop the chest to express sorrow.
Angry sing–raise and tense the chest.
Happy singing– raise and elate the chest.
Without the proper body posture, the emotion is very difficult to express properly because the muscles are in conflict. If the emotions drive the body posture, the singing will be emotionally expressive.
Similar idea as in most sports. In these, there is usually a starting neutral position that enables one to be able to quickly go into other positions. But the other positions are where the execution take place most of the time. Chest, same way. Begin with a neutral position, but execute (change) according to the emotion desired.
Tan Tien, floating chest, thorax, and abdomen
January 7, 2010Proper tan tien means proper hip and lower spine alignment. This affects the entire posture. 3D dynamic movement, so not just 2D. This part is critical, because it is a 3D dynamic and in several free motions.
After tan tien, the abdomen needs to be strengthened.
Subsequently, it is the concept that I call “free floating chest”. This is freer intracoastal (sp) muscles–expanding chest outward, and uplifting upper chest, and the entire chest being uplifted higher.
So, the entire chest is expanded. Hence, this is also the basis for the Eastern meditation methods’ focus on breathing methods.
Gravity and the jaw
July 28, 2009The jaw is a muscle that actually wants to drop automatically. And if one is relaxed, it would do so. This relaxation of the jaw should be used in singing. Let the jaw drop and pull it up. Most of the time, the jaw should not be pulled down strongly using the side of the throat muscles.
In singing, there are no pull-down muscles of the jaw. When opening the jaw, it is a pull backward. Gravity pulls down.
So, to sing well, must use gravity together with pulling backward, so as to maximize relaxation. This is the same as Alan Greene’s concept of a backward jaw.
Stretch principle and throat
July 13, 2009The principle of stretching to straighten the posture also applies to the throat and mouth, except here now, it is not necessarily to straighten. It is to additionally expand and sometimes to lengthen.
In practicing singing here, constantly strive to open your back of the throat muscles wider and lengthen the back of the throat. Overtime, these muscles will regain their tone and the more capable sounds created will be available when you are singing.
These efforts also enable for new types of sounds.
Remember that the support structure for the throat and neck will affect these muscles, which will then facilitate for the inner throat muscles to lengthen and expand.
Many people have trouble with the support structure for the throat and neck, and these top of chest, shoulders, and upper back muscles and spinal alignment issues can be difficult to get rid of.
Additionally, these are locked in placed by the excessive tension in the throat.
advanced posture-effect concepts
July 11, 2009Nose–less strain on nasal muscles (e.g. effort, strain, disgust). In addition to singing better, this will make breathing easier.
Eyes–less intense around eye muscles. Result will be better 3D perception and more color intensity. Audience perceive singer as less strained and more relaxed. Also ties into nasal muscles
Principles here are the same–more relaxed the muscles, better physiological results and better singing.
The strained efforts seen frequently on singers can have emotional stage impact, but for better range still, more relaxed face and nose can create higher range sounds.
anger, sorrow and side of throat muscles
June 18, 2009These side of throat muscles frequently express anger and sorrow; subjects that pop songs frequently deal with. When overly taut, these muscles can be sublimated to sing anger and sorrow well, however, these are the opposite muscles (constrictor muscles in Alan Greene’s terms) when singing happy and many smooth sounds.
When detensing, losing the excessive tension of these side of throat muscles can throw off prior acquired singing skills built up around these. In this way, Alan Greene’s assessment of silence while learning how to sing–otherwise, reinforcing the constrictor muscles, is correct. However, the length of time it takes to detense these constrictor muscles can be months to years; so VocalPosture.com believes it is better to utilize their sublimation while tensed.
In detensing these side of throat muscles, one imagery technique is to think of the chin pulling down, instead of the side throat muscles near the chin pulling down.
The side of throat muscles tension are particularly difficult to rid. A trigger point therapy bood mentions that throat trigger points are particularly difficult to rid, if impossible. VocalPosture.com suggests using yoga cobra with also another (don’t know name), which looks like a cobra in reverse, with the front toward the ceiling and upper arm with elbow base supporting the upper chest.
Chen Sun
Mouth and voice
May 18, 2009The idea here, in the mouth region, is again, to release the tension, but after it is released, the objective is rapidly moving, freer mouth structure, not a great resonanting vocal structure (as suggested by Alan Greene). This will sound more natural.
Feet
May 16, 2009Fixing your posture starts at your feet. Very few people are completely symetrical, so the first question is is one side of your body taller than the other? If so, you may want to wear lifts on one side to balance. The new type of gel shoe lifts can be purchased economically, and simply inserted into the shoes.
Sandals are difficult to handle–Croc sandles work well here, because they have an edge that will help hold the gel insert.
The upper front chest
May 12, 2009In addition to straightening the spine from the back, the upper front chest has to be pulled up. This also pulls up the rib cage. The result is better lows and the head also better balanced–for better highs. The side of throat muscles need to be released of tension as well.
Singing and posture--see Categories, About, Launch 4-2014 