Elizabeth Tait Malde Ch. 5 Part 1

What is the key to success in resonance? Awareness

What are the 9 moveable structures that affect the shape of your resonator?

balance of the head over the spine

pharyngeal constrictors

velum

mandible

tongue

lips

buccinators muscles (inside of cheek)

larynx

arypiglottic sphincter

Describe the vocal tract at rest.

- lips slightly open or closed, but not pressed closed

- jaw slightly open

- tongue touches bottom teeth all the way around

- cheeks are free and long

- soft palate allows free breath out of nose or mouth

- pharyngeal rest easy on neck

- larynx is midway between highest and lowest point

Which movements of the vocal tract are essential to all styles of good singing?

- free jaw

- free tongue

- released pharyngeal muscles

- balanced AO joint

Which movements are specific to classical style?

- lips released and forward

- cheeks long and free

- lower larynx

- soft palate higher

Which movements do non-classical singers make?

- wider lateral opening of the mouth allowing the cheeks to pull back on the lips.

- larynx, jaw, and soft palate are closer to speech

- speech like vowels 

Keeping the head in balance does not mean keeping it ___immobile_______.

What are the two effects of resonance by the balance of the head?

It can move the larynx and change the curve of the throat.

What happens if you allow the back of the head to pull back and down (Chin up)?

The larynx will be pulled by it’s connection to the hyoid bone.

Describe the pharyngeal constrictors, as a whole.

These are three thin sheets of muscle that nestle against the front of the spine at the back of the throat and curve forward, sloping down at the sides.

Describe the location of the SPC. Connected to the base of the skull right behind the opening to the nose, just in front of the AO joint.  Its sides connect to the muscles of the inner cheek, which in turn connect to the lips.

Describe the location of the MPC. At the level of the corner of the jaw, the sides connect to the hyoid bone at the base of the tongue.

Describe the location of the IPC.  Continuous with the esophagus on the bottom and connects to the cricoid cartilage at the sides.

What is the survival function of the pharyngeal constrictors? Assists in swallowing and regurgitation.

What is the job of the pharyngeal muscles for singing? STAY OUT OF THE WAY!

What is the one muscles that can open the throat slightly? How does it do this? Where is it located? The stylopharyngeus can help stretch the middle of the pharynx

What should we avoid doing to try to get louder?  Why?   Some singers think that tensing the sides of the vocal tract will result in more volume because sound waves bounce off harder surfaces with more strength.  It is true that sound waves reflect better off of hard surfaces.  However, this is not desirable in singing as the function of the resonator is to emphasize some parts of the sound wave and deemphasize others. 

What are our choices if we want more volume?

1. faster air flow

2. change the shape of the resonator

3. a combination of both

Describe the velum (location and function) A valve that opens and closes the passages to the nose, located at the top of the throat above the opening of the pharynx into the mouth

Describe the movements of the soft palate.  When the soft palate is in neutral position, it allows air to flow freely through the mouth and nose.  When it is at its highest, it closes off the nasal cavity so that air can only move through the mouth.  When it is at its lowest, it closes off the mouth so that air can only move through the nose.

How many muscle pairs control the movement of the soft palate?  To what are they all attached? There are 4 muscle pairs that control the movement of the soft palate, two that lift and stretch it and two that pull it down.  All four muscle pairs attach to the uvular muscle, which forms the body of the soft palate.

What are the muscles called that lift the soft palate?  Describe their location. Levator veli palatini muscles, they are on the sides of the soft palate.

Which muscles stretch the soft palate from side to side?  Describe their location. Tensor veli palatini, same as above.

What is the secondary effect of tensing the two muscles listed above? Engaging these muscles will also increase the vertical space of the pharynx.

What are the muscles that lower the soft palate? What is the effect of engaging these muscles? palatopharyngeus and the palatoglossus muscles.  They make the tone nasal.

Describe the location of these muscles. Connect the sides of the uvular muscle to the lower pharyngeal constrictor.

Describe the mandible. a single horseshoe shaped bone, taller at the back than the front.  Each side has two rounded condyles which connect the jaw to the rest of the skull with joints just in front of the ears.

Describe the location of the temporal mandibular joint.  The joint where the jaw connects to the skull, which is a half inch in front of the ear holes.

What are the three most important muscles that move the jaw? What are their functions?

masseter – close the jaw, bringing the teeth together for chewing, they are not engaged in singing except for the formation of a few consonants. 

temporalis muscle – same as masseter

digastric muscle – opens the jaw,   

Describe the location of the masseter muscles. Originates on the underside of the cheekbones, and inserts into the sides of the jaw along the back

Describe the location of the temporalis muscles. originates in a fan shape from the sides of the skull above the ears, run obliquely inside the cheekbones, and insert into the coronoid processes of the jaw.

Describe the location and function of the muscles that open the jaw.  The muscles that open the jaw are below the jaw.  The digastric muscle runs from the mastoid process to the chin via the hyoid bone, so it’s on the side.  the geniohyoid and mylohyoid connect from chin to hyoid in the front.  The  mylohyoid form the floor of the mouth. 

How do these three pairs of muscles move the jaw? They lower the jaw by pulling the chin back and down toward the hyoid bone. 

Which are the consonants that require the masseter and temporalis to contract slightly?  [s] [z] [f] [v]

Do any consonants require the teeth to be closed? No!

What is the jaw position for most consonants? The natural elasticity of the master and temporalis muscles will close the jaw sufficiently so that most consonants may be formed.

Which muscles moves the jaw forward and from side to side? Describe their location & function.  Lateral and medial pterygoids, they arise on the base of the skull behind the nose, the lateral attaches to the condyles of the mandible, while the medial attaches to the inside of the mandible at the lower back corner.