hanging the jaw may exacerbate the to which the temporalis muscle is very problems such advice is in- tached just in front of the condyle, a tended to alleviate. knob-like projection located on each ‘The mandible is part of acompos- side of the mandible, The condyle ite structure that includes the articulates with a socket in the skull, tongue, the hyoid bone, and the lar- The jaw can be opened by relaxing ynx. What a singer does with the jaw the temporals without dropping the directly affects the other members of condyles from their sockets. It can this compound mechanism, and de- also be opened by an exaggerated termines the shape of the resonator action that forces the mandible to system. The resonator tube — the drop out of the socket-joints. vocal tract — extends from larynx to __-Vennard (1968) provides @ good lips, and alters its position in reac- description of possible jaw move- tion to postures of the jaw and ments: tongue. ‘The ramus (pl. rami) is the part of . « « The hinge of the jaw is not the jaw closest to the ear. At the top a simple pivot, and the jaw is of the ramus is the coronoid process, capable of sliding in several di- EXCLUSIVE De RESZKE TEACHING METHOD The only published lessons given by the legendary tenor and master teacher. TITLE: Jean de Reszke Teaches Singing ‘Richard Miller to Edith de Lys | rebnan ornare iene SECOND PRINTING: Lied etion of 2008 vo | Jaw tension s often a problem for INCLUDES: 41 lessons - 23 vocal exercises the singer, When there ls tension ia seers pecan ise eerntiey iy PLUS: Hitherto unpublished informal photos of Jean in the tongue muscles, which is sub- and Edward de Reszke. Costumed photos of sequently transferred to the level of Edith de Lys and biographical data of this star the larynx. Exercises to reduce jaw of the golden era of Grand Opera. She ap- Goren ee 8 pert ‘Of most vocal pe- peared with Battistini, Destinn, and Chaliapinin eo8ies. the great houses in Europe from 1906 to 1919, when she returned to America. Many jaw problems result directly from concepts the singer has about arranging ideal resonator “space.” ‘A singer must know how the jaw This edition in folio style has been prepared to permit libraries, tually functions most efficiently in conservatories, teachers, etc., to reproduce It on copiers for their phonadiog\ it, satisfactory” solutions) ‘ownorclass use. Every music library and collection should have to mandibular tension are to be scopy ofthis umaque pabdcaton found Unfortunately, there is a frequent and ‘logical pedogogical reaction Copyright ©1979, Catalog #7X561-890 - ISBN 0-686-28440-2. when jaw tension produces the Pub. L VOLAN. Price $15.00 per copy; Overseas, $18.00 in U.S. clenched mouth posture or the dis- Funds. Postpaid at Library Rate, For 1st class mailing add $1.00. tended or elevated chin: “Just drop Full payment required with order.$10% discount on orders of or the jaw, thereby freeing it” Such a more copies. California residents add sales tax. suggestion may appear on the sur- Tans 1 Be appoonrtaes A aumiber OF ORDER FROM: J.B. MUNS, BOOKSELLER, treatises on vocal technique could be SOLE DISTRIBUTOR cited which suggest that “the idiot 1162 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94707 jaw” (the dropped jaw) is necessary (415) 525-2420 to achieve relaxation and the avoid- ance of tension, On the contrary,rections for the act of mastica- tion. As long as it is opening simply by “relaxing” the tem- porals with the condyles in their sockets, it will not open far. The maximum opening re- quires the mandible to “slip ‘out of the joint.” This can be felt by placing a finger in front of each ear, near the bottom. Here one can feel the ramus, of upward projection of the jaw bone, on each side. When the mandible really drops, the rami are pulled forward by the lateral pterygoids, making it possible for the finger to sink into a pocket in front of each ear. ‘There are, clearly, two mechanical modes for “opening” the jaw. It could be questioned whether itis re- ally the case that the jaw cannot be well opened when the condyles re- ‘main in their sockets. The two ways to open the jaw, the extent of desir- able jaw opening, and the circum- stances appropriate to both actions need more careful examination than often takes place in the search for Quick solutions to jaw tensions. ‘When the jaw hangs in the “idiot” sosition, the mandible has its maxi- ‘imum excursion, dropping from the sockets, and the pharynx may actu- ally be constricted, not enlarged. ‘The buccal cavity then becomes en- Targed at the expense of the pharyn- geal cavity, so that “mouth reso- nance” is increased at the cost of “throat resonance.” As Caruso re~ minded us in an interview given 1919, it is foolish to assume that ‘opening the mouth widely by drop- ping the jaw produces more space in the pharynx: It must not be imagined that to ‘open the mouth wide will do the same for the throat. If one is well versed in the art, one can open the throat perfectly without a perceptible opening of the mouth, merely by the power of respiration (quoted by Marafioti 1922) Its not the increase in size of a sin- ale part of the vocal-tract resonator system that provides optimal space” for resonation, but rather she nature of the coupling of the chief resonators (mouth and phar- yx) as they respond to laryngeal configuration. In pedagogies that advocate the “hung” jaw, it is often overlooked that such postures would be impos- sible in speech because there could be little vowel or consonant defini tion. The acoustic theory of speech recognition stands in opposition to sustained low jaw positioning. Cer- tainly, clear articulation and intell- ibility are not compatible with the “idiot” or yawning jaw. Speech re- quires lateral and circular jaw move- ment as well as limited perpendicu- lar motion. Emil Froeschels, generally consid- ered the father of the science of pho- niatries, determined that the exter- “The University nal throat muscles involved in chewing are also active in the shift- ing patterns of speech, He discov- ered that by combining the circular motions of chewing with speech sounds, such as “hm, hm, hm, primitive freedom of jaw and laryn- geal movements could be recovered. Friedrich Brodnitz (1971) describes the relationship between chewing and phonation: + « Since voice is the result of a complicated interplay of structural and muscular fune- tion, all attempts at correcting of Michigan stages opera productions that rival those of professional companies.” — Newsweek Opera at Michigan Paul C. Boylan, Dean Gustav Meier, Musical Director Jay Lesenger, Stage Director “Martin Katz, Vocal Literature & ‘Accompanying. Mitchell Krieger, Diction’Coaching, Voice Faculty Saanley Cornett Leslie Guinn Lorna Haywood John McCollum ‘ills C, Paterson Rosemary Russell Martha Sheil Undergraduate and graduate degrees Inguites: Admissions Office, School of Music University of Michigan 1100 Bats Dr ‘Ann Arbor. Michigan 48109-2085 (313) 764.0593hyperfunction by focusing at- tention on functional detai disrupt easily the unity of thi function. For that reason, the conventional instructions, such as lower the jaw, flatten the tongue, open ‘the throat, do not do justice to the total phenomenon of vocal hyper- function. What is needed is an approach that corrects hyper- function by an attack on the hyperfunctional attitude rather than on the hyperfunc- tional detail. By using the motions of chew- ing for voice production, we transfer the undisturbed mus- cular teamwork of chewing to the motion of voiced speech by appealing to an inborn auto- matic function. In doing this, ‘we not only reduce hyperfunc- tional tension of the resonator but also improve, at the same time, vocal cord function Freedom to move the jaw loosely is evident in chewing. Were one to chew any substance with the up-and- down jaw action advocated by some vocal pedagogies, food would fall ut of the mouth, Were one to speak with the same perpendicular action required in some techniques of sing- ing, speech would become unintelli- gible. Lightly shifting the jaw from side to side, regardless of the degree of openness, while singing a pas- sage, can often produce distinct sen- sations of jaw freedom. At no time should there be stiffness in the mus- cles under the jaw (the chin area), as so frequently happens in yawning and in other devices for lowering the jaw. The jaw drops from the sockets during regurgitation, yawning, snor- ing, drunkenness, idiocy, and death. Regurgitation closes the throat so that the esophagus may provide an ‘exit for what the stomach is refus- ‘ing; the characteristic sounds of snoring are the result of enlarged ‘mouth space, with fallen velum and altered pharyngeal area; in drunken- ness and idiocy the clarity and tim- bre of phonation is diminished; in yawning the timbre of the voice is istorted; and in death, when there is no longer dynamic muscle bal- ance, the jaw hangs unless held closed by some mechanical means. To indulge in any of these conditions during singing is difficult to justify, To tell the singer to “drop the jaw” NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1986 ‘8S a corrective to jaw tension is sel- dom useful. Indeed, the mouth can be opened exceedingly wide without unhinging the jaw, that is, without having it “slip out of the joint.” In hilarious laughter, the jaw permits a great deal of buccal space, and the lift of the fleshy parts of the face that cover the zygomatic area (the cheeks) is ‘obvious. Such a feeling of upward lift in the area of the upper jaw con- tributes to a different perception of spatial arrangement of the mouth and pharynx than does the sagging jaw with its downward facial pull. (There is, however, no need to main- tain a lateral “smile” position in or- der to avoid dropping the muscles of the face.) ‘Tempero-mandibular joint (TMJ) syndrome seems to be on the in- crease among singers. It has been suggested that this may be due to some common orthodontic practices of recent decades. One has only to observe the exaggerated perpendicu- lar jaw actions dictated by some sys- tems of singing to find a more prob- able explanation: one simply cannot constantly hang the jaw in singing without developing functional com- plications. Many singers who have TRAINING T ‘rnceton New Jersey ‘ized soaches and a vos facshy ofa tnd sotosis The Opera Th ‘he comer Digraduate package Deatalogue Voice Faculty ‘Anne Ackley ‘Tracey Chebra Lindsey Christiansen ‘HE a COMPLETE 3esithcsie Siti Berarmene Manin Keone CHOIR COLLEGE (atte Bots rice Please send: 5 undergraduate application and college viewbook ancial aid information name phone Westminster Choir address college Princeton, NJ 08540 t aiy state__2ip 609-921-7144 complained of TMJ syndrome dis- ‘cover they no longer have that prob- Jem when they learn that they need ot hang the jaw in the hope of the throat. jung jaw” pedagogical tenet has been much popularized in recent years in manuals for choral conductors and in introductory methods for the novice singing teacher. (Of course, dropping the jaw, thereby increasing the dimen- sion of the forward part of the mouth resonator, will uniformly lower all formants and will serve as a quick antidote to the problem of voices that do not “blend”; but the solution is a compensatory ‘one that often produces long-lasting. problems for the solo voice.) The “hung jaw” theory stands in direct ‘opposition to a historical pedagogi ‘cal position which maintains that mobility of the jaw, not low fixation, avoids tension and allows for free- dom of articulation and proper reso- nance balancing. The hung jaw sim- ply is not a free jav Unless pathological problems are present, there is seldom any feeling of tension in the jaw when on state of repose or during speaking. (continued on page 32) Wiliam Riley ‘Sandra West Musical Director David Gately ‘Stage Director Vocal Coaching Datton Baldwin Glenn Parker Westminster's voice department offers outstanding career preparation forthe asp lng singer Graduate and undergraduate voce majors study with ntematonal recog. ‘Derformers who provide consatent po. {essionalinstrecton Students singin he renowned Westminster hos perormieg at ‘major concert has win eaaing symohony orchestras and cinguihed conductors Inthe volee. We systematiealybus ng. fe2ch student's masictanshinintelloct and pedagogeal shale Our strong course OF {erings in music and he eral ars prepare students to become excellant performers ‘and educators Our wevfounsed edvealonal proach: coupled with Denar ‘Sppertunties and superased prolessional trang, asures that Westminster Wa 9 "Vove asaprinerpalinstruments offered withinBachelorand Mastero!Music degree programs in Volo Performance, Music Education and Church Muse ‘Admissions Office 31‘Were the “hung” jaw the constant, relaxed posture required by nature, ‘we would all hang our mouths open when breathing and phonating. Both communication and physical attractiveness would thereby dimin- isht ‘One of the best ways to achieve jaw mobility is to permit the sounds ‘of language to be shaped according to their natural péstures as deter- mined by pitch and power. When we raise the pitch, we open the mouth more, but we retain the relative rela- tionships among the vowel shapes. ‘The notion that there is one ideal mouth (and therefore jaw) position for singing is inimical to the acoustic theory of vowel production, and cre- ates an artificiality of expression, at the same time obliterating diction. Attempts to move only the tongue while maintaining a hung jaw, under the assumption that one is thereby “relaxing” the jaw, will violate both nature and art. It is not here implied that singing and speaking are identi- ‘eal; indeed, one almost never opens the mouth as wide in speech as one does in upper-range singing. Desir- able relationships between mouth and pharynx, and the retention of articulatory accuracy in singing can only be accomplished by dynamic as opposed to static postures of the jaw, To assume that a habitually low- cred jaw posture, as a means of “re- laxing” the jaw, is appropriate for singing is to ignore both the struc- ture and the acoustics of the singing instrument. Emphasizing the lateral/circular loose movement of the jaw provides a far more efficient solution to jaw tension than does telling the student to hang the jaw. It should be kept in mind that there is no one ideal mouth position in sing ing: the vowel and the pitch deter- mine the shape of the mouth, and therefore the position of the jaw. REFERENCES, Brodaitz, Friedrich (1971). Vocal Rehabilito- lon: A Manual Prepared for the Use of Graduotes in Medicine, 4th ed. Rochester MN: American Academy of Ophthalmol- ogy and Otolaryngology. p. 97 Marafiot, Mario (1922). Caruso’s Method of Voice Production. New York: D. Appleton: reprint 1981, Dover, p. 157. \ennard, Wiliam (1968). Singing: the Mech- ‘anism and the Technic, Sth ed. New York: Cart Fischer, p. 118. KKK KKK KK Kk Just Published . FRI III RO OI III TOI IO IOI TO III tk tO VE SHORT ARIAS - A. Scarlatti - Voice and Plano TEN SONQS - Bizet - Voice and Plano Lungt dal mio bel nume G. F, Handel lization by Robert K. Evans HANDEL Solo Cantat ished separately) Cantata: Parti, Fidolo mio G. F. Handel Voice and Piano VOCALISES and SOLFEGES and from our catalogu @. ROSSINI SONG ALBUMS compiled and edited by... BERNARD TAYLOR Classic Songs Italian - French - English High Voice and. Low Voice Contemporary American Songs High Voice and Low Voice mm The Soldier tir’d of War's Alarms ‘Thomas Arne = 1710-1778 Soprano ‘This mapiicet show pice sence again avalabe, se being out of pit fersevera years... Tiras been ecrdaby both Beverly SU and ‘Dome Joan Suheriand and has appeared ches on hes etal pron. ‘Songs by LACHNER - Voice and Piano with opt. 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