Jaw tension is the enemy of singing with freedom. But how do you let go when working on the computer tightens the jaw, and driving a car and dealing with everyday stress enters the jaw muscles and grips them hard? In my last blog I shared a technique to use when going to sleep at night. Say to yourself, ‘breathing in I release my jaw, breathing out I release my jaw.’

The Sing Like You Speak™ vocal technique which I developed begins each practice session, each voice lesson, with a meditative breathing exercise. This is a guided meditation, meaning you hear me asking you to drop the jaw to inhale. The exercise is done with just breathing so that you can focus completely on how you are using the breath without making sound. It’s a wonderful time to discover bad breathing habits and make some changes to good habits.

Many of my students say that they find themselves practicing their breathing all through the day – making a released jaw part of their daily thoughts. Then when they get to their singing, the habit of a relaxed jaw is much simpler to incorporate into their singing.

Give yourself a trigger, say every time your phone rings, or every time someone says your name. Then every time someone says your name, you release the jaw before you answer. You can also make every inhale a trigger. The first thought of your inhale to sing can be to unhinge the jaw.

I haven’t mentioned a whole lot about singing yet, have I? Well, the habits you use in life are the habits you will bring into your singing. It’s much easier to make these good habits a part of everyday life, instead of trying to change them only when you are singing. Give it a try!

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About the author

Sally Morgan is a professional vocal trainer with over 30 years of experience. Sally is also the creator and author of SingLikeYouSpeak(TM)!

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