Elizabeth T Malde Ch. 5 part 2

 The muscle of the lips extends all the way up to the __nose____ and all the way down to the ____indentation above the chin________.  

Describe the buccinators: include location, attachments, and function and resonance effect. 

They form the muscles inside the cheeks.  They connect the lips in the front and they connect to the upper pharyngeal constrictor in the back.  Contraction of the buccinators have a chain reaction to constrict the oropharynx, pull up the base of the tongue, and pull up the larynx, and pull down on the soft palate.  The resulting resonance is called spread, and should be avoided in classical singing.

What is the tongue’s survival function? To move food around and start the push down the stomach. 

What is the function of the tongue for singing? Form vowels and consonants.

How many intrinsic tongue muscles are there?  What is their function? 4 intrinsic muscles that are responsible for fine motor movement.

How many extrinsic tongue muscles are there?  What is their function? 5 extrinsic muscles are for moving the tongue forward, up, back, or down.

Where does the tongue have attachements? To the hyoid bone and to the mandible at the back of the chin. 

What is the septum of the tongue?  What is its function?  a thin fibrous thing that extends vertically from the center of the hyoid bone to serve as an attachment for the intrinsic muscles.

What are ways that singers use their tongues inappropriately? Singers recruit the tongue to do the work of other muscles.

- pushing down on the larynx with the back of the tongue

- pull it back in an attempt to increase pharyngeal resonance.

What is the only healthy way to lower the larynx?  To use the muscles that connect to it from below.

Which four muscles in the neck are the only muscles that can play a positive role in vocal resonance?  Sternohyoid, omohyoid, sternothyroid, and stylopharyngeus.

What is the function of the rest of the next muscles?  Important tasks such as such as turning the head, and lifting the arms. 

What are the strongest muscles that pull up on the larynx?  Hyoglossus muscles

Describe the aryepiglottic sphincter (location and function)  Right above the vocal folds, defined by the muscles surrounding the epiglottis.  Helps belters gain the singers formant without lowering the larynx.

What causes the Singer’s Formant?  an extra resonance in the overtone series that is independent of the pitch and the volume of the tone.

What is vowel modification? Opening the jaw more as you ascend in pitch.

How can we be singing the correct pitch and still be off in terms of intonation?  If high overtones are emphasized by resonance, the pitch may sound sharp, and vice versa.  This is especially true if the resonance is not consistent.