3. Relax Your Throat and Tongue

With your head and neck in the right position, it’s time to check for neck and throat tension.

Here’s how you do it:

Sing a phrase of a song and watch yourself in the mirror.

If you see any tightness in your throat or face, you are probably adding tension to your voice.

The two most common areas of tension in singing are the larynx and the tongue.

So let’s check the larynx first.

In this exercise, you’ll be checking in with your larynx by feeling it between your fingers.

Never push or poke your larynx as you’re doing these exercises.

Instead, gently feel your larynx or voice box between your thumb and forefinger.

Now sing the phrase of a song and gently feel your larynx between your two fingers.

Does the larynx rise or feel tight as you sing?

If so, try this exercise.

Here’s how to keep the larynx relaxed:
With your fingers gently feeling your larynx, sing the phrase again and try to allow the larynx to stay relaxed.

In the next exercise, we’ll check for tongue tension by feeling the muscles underneath your chin.

Again, don’t push or poke the muscles underneath your chin.

Instead, gently take your thumb and feel the muscles between your voice box and your chin.

Sing a phrase and use your thumb to see if the muscles under your chin are tense or tightened.

If the tongue muscles underneath your chin feel tight, sing the phrase again and try to consciously relax them.

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