How to Sing Better: The Tongue is the Key!

RESONANCE AND THE TONGUE: VOWEL FORMATION

The shape of the oral cavity is largely determined by the position of the tongue in the mouth. The tongue is flexible, assuming different shapes for vowel and consonant production.

Many singers consider the tongue the “unruly member” of the vocal production team because it sometimes seems to have a mind of its own!  The relative relaxation or tenseness of the tongue, along with its position in the mouth, determines vocal quality and vowel definition.  A relaxed and flexible tongue is critical to optimal resonance and vocal quality.

When singing sustained pitches, the tip of the tongue should rest behind the lower front teeth, moving briefly to articulate consonants and returning quickly to the resting position behind the lower front teeth.

The back of the tongue should be relaxed; if it is tense, it will tend to draw the rest of the tongue backward and down the throat, making good tone quality impossible.

The middle of the tongue is flexible and assumes various positions, raising to an arch for vowels such as [i] (as in eat), and lowering for vowels such as [ɑ] (as in father). The middle, moldable section of the tongue is called the constriction.

As the constriction of the tongue moves higher and lower and more front or more back in the mouth, various shapes are created behind and in front of the tongue. When the tongue is flatter, there is more resonating space in the mouth. When the tongue is arched, there is less space in front of the tongue and more space behind the tongue, in the pharynx.

When the constriction or hump of the tongue is high, the vowels are called closed or close because the tongue is close to the hard palate. Notice in the [i] position how small the space in front of the tongue is; this smaller resonating area produces a more brilliant sound because higher frequencies resonate more effectively in a smaller container.

A larger container, such as the pharynx, boosts lower resonance frequencies more effectively and produces a deeper, darker sound known as oscuro.

The tongue is largely responsible for vowel formation on all vowels except the back rounded vowels; [u] (as in goo), [ʊ] (as in good), and [o] (as in go) require the lips to be in a rounded position. All the other vowels can be formed by merely positioning the tongue correctly.

There is no need to grimace in a lateral smile to create the [i] (as in eat) vowel, for example; this just creates tension. Instead, move the constriction of the tongue high and forward to form the [i] vowel. Less movement of the articulators results in greater stabilization; the more the lips move, the greater destabilization becomes, particularly in the passaggi.

In the image below, notice the difference in tongue position when the tongue forms the [i] vowel, assuming its highest position, and for the [æ] vowel where It is at its lowest position. Notice how much further back on the tongue vowels such as [ʌ] (uh) and [u] (oo) are formed.

Often singers employ muscular pressure, retracting and pressing on the base of the tongue, attempting to make the sound bigger or darker. Trying to create too much throat space by depressing the root of the tongue produces tension, preventing adjustments of the vocal tract for vowel formation.

A depressed and tense tongue often accompanies vibrato issues such as the wobble, an excessively slow oscillation rate, or the tremolo, a fast bleating sheep-like sound. Tongue tension prevents smooth register transitioning and produces breaks in the voice.

The syllable y[i] requires a higher and more forward tongue; y[i] is created with the midsection or constriction of the tongue raised, counteracting the tendency to retract the tongue. We use y[i] in the Step Three exercises of The Eight Steps of Vocal Development to encourage a high, forward tongue. In Step Four, we continue to use the [i] sound in the upper register to encourage a high and forward tongue.

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