Worship Arts July August September 2022

Open throat

In tone quality, what senior singers begin to lose is a sense of echo (depth) in their sound. Have them sing a simple melody, e.g., G-F#-G-A-G-(down to) D-G on an “aw” vowel. Then have them sing it again, cupping their hands over their mouths, as if to shout at someone far away. They will sense that the result ing sound is echoey. Repeat it with the cupped hands four inches away from their mouths, but ask them to retain the echoey sound from before. Then repeat the phrase without using the hands at all, but still asking for that echoey sound. As a teaching summary, ask them to sing the phrase without echo; and then with echo. Remind them the importance of always using that sound. Note that singing with an open throat Ask your singers to feel with their tongues the dome above the tongue. Explain that this is called the hard palette and that they should aim their sound right up into that space, instead of just letting the sound feel like it is falling out of their mouths. This results in better projection, clearer pitch and enunciation. Using better tone placement will help cor rect flat singing, give better capacity for projecting sound, and result in better enunciation. Facial shape adjustments: • There is a helpful technique called “flaring the nos trils.” Have singers touch their fingertips to the place where the bottom of their nostrils and their cheeks come together. Right where they feel their fingers on their cheeks, have them slightly raise their cheeks. The result is similar to a clarinetist’s embouchure and

is not about opening the mouth wider ... but rather about opening unrestricted passage up and down the throat. Singing with a more open throat is the primary solution to sharp singing and scooping. Open throat analogy: • “Big throat.” Have the singers imagine that their throats are so big that, in their imaginations, they can reach down their own throats with a giant hand and pull out rich sounds from deep within their torsos. This makes the point of a physical connection between singing and the undergirding body, and also gives the image of an open throat. adds clarity to the voice by more complete use of the echo cavities in the facial structure. A side benefit is that your singers look so much more pleasant to the congregation. • Singers should use smaller, rounder lips when singing, almost as if blowing through a large straw. In effect they should feel that they are sing ing mostly in the top half of the mouth. Tone placement analogies: • Singers should sing as if the sound were coming up and in from the floor, rather than sending the sound down to the floor. • Certain snakes can unhinge the back of the jaw to consume something large. In your imagina tion, open your mouth, and then feel like you are opening even wider at the back, the same as lifting your soft palette.

Tone placement

___________________________________________________________________________________________________ 20 July-August-September 2022 • WorshipArts • umfellowship.org