8/11/2019 Circle Jaw

1/4

hanging the jaw may exacerbate the

very problems such advice is in-

tended to alleviate

The mandible is part of a compos-

ite structure that includes the

tongue, the hyoid bone, and the lar-

ynx What a singer does with the jaw

directly affects the other members of

this compound mechanism, and de-

termines the shape of the resonator

system. The resonator tube - the

vocal tract - extends from larynx to

lips, and alters its position in reac-

tion to postures of the jaw and

tongue

The ramus p1. rami) is the part of

the jaw closest to the ear. At the top

of the ramus is the coronoid process,

to which the temporalis muscle is at-

tached just in front of the condyle, a

knob-like projection located on each

side of the mandible. The condyle

articulates with a socket in the skull.

The jaw can be opened by relaxing

the temporals without dropping the

condyles from their sockets. It can

also be opened by an exaggerated

action that forces the mandible to

drop out of the socket-joints.

Vennard (1968) provides a good

description of possible jaw move-

ments:

. The hinge of the jaw is not

a simple pivot, and the jaw is

capable of sliding in several di-

E X C L U S I V E

D e R E S Z K E T E A C H IN G M E T H O D

The o n ly pub l ished lessons g iven by

the legend ary tenor and ma ster teach er .

T ITLE : Jean de R eszke Teaches S ing ing

to Ed i th de Lys

SE CO ND PR INT ING: L i m i te d e d it io n 0 1 3 0 0 8 v o

fo l io sty le c opies

INCLU DE S: 41 l essons -23 voca l exe rc ises

230 notat ions

PLU S: H i ther to unpub l ished in fo rmal photos o f Jean

a n d E d wa r d d e R e s z k e . Co s tu m e d p h o to s o f

Ed i th de L ys and b iographica l data o f th is s tar

o f th e g o l d e n e r a o f G r a n d O p e r a . S h e a p -

p e a r e d w i th B a t t i s t in i D e s t in n a n d C h a l ia p i n in

the grea t houses in E urope f rom 1906 to 1919,

when she re turned to Am er ica.

T h i s e d i t io n i n f o l i o s t y le h a s b e e n p r e p a r e d t o p e r m i t li b r a r ie s ,

c o n s e r v a t o r i e s , t e a c h e r s , e t c . , t o r e p r o d u c e I t o n c o p i e r s f o r t h e i r

o w n o r c l a s s u s e . E v e r y m u s i c li b ra r y a n d c o l le c t io n s h o u l d h a v e

a c o p y o f t h i s u n i q u e p u b l i c a t io n .

C o p y r ig h t C 1 9 7 9 , C a t a lo g T X 5 6 1 - 8 3 0 -

ISB N 0 6 8 6 2 8 4 4 0 2 .

P u b . L V O L A N . P r i c e $ 1 5. 0 0 p e r c o p y ; O v e r s e a s , $ 1 8 . 0 0 i n U . S .

F u n d s . P o s t p a i d a t L i b r a r y R a t e . Fo r 1 s t c l a s s m a i l in g a d d $ 1 . 0 0 .

F u l l p a y m e n t r e q u i r e d w i t h o r d e r , $ 1 0 % d i s c o u n t o n o r d e r s o f 5 o r

m o r e c o p i e s .

California residents add sales tax.

ORDER FROM: J. B. MUNS, BOOKSELLER,

SOLE D ISTRIBUTOR

1162 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94707

(415) 525-2420

Richard iller

The Role of the aw in Singing

Jaw tension is often a problem for

the singer. When there is tension in

the mandible (the lower jaw) there

generally is a corresponding rigidity

in the tongue muscles, which is sub-

sequently transferred to the level of

the larynx. Exercises to reduce jaw

tension are a part of most vocal pe-

dogogies

Many jaw problems result directly

from concepts the singer has about

arranging ideal resonator space.

A singer must know how the jaw ac-

tually functions most efficiently in

phonation if satisfactory solutions

to mandibular tension are to be

found

Unfortunately, there is a frequent

and illogical pedogogical reaction

when jaw tension produces the

clenched mouth posture or the dis-

tended or elevated chin: Just drop

the jaw, thereby freeing it' Such a

suggestion may appear on the sur-

face to be appropriate; a number of

treatises on vocal technique could be

cited which suggest that the idiot

jaw (the dropped jaw) is necessary

to achieve relaxation and the avoid-

ance of tension. On the contrary,

NOVEMBER DECEMBER 1986

29

8/11/2019 Circle Jaw

2/4

Falstaff, 1985

thu \lcrrv \ (li ,ss I

rections for the act of mastica-

tion. As long as it is opening

simply by relaxing the tern-

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

rarnus

o r

upward projection of the jaw

bone, on each side. When the

mandible really drops, the

raini

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 it is 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

position, the mandible has its maxi-

mum excursion, dropping from the

sockets, and the pharynx may actu-

ally be constricted, not enlarged.

The buccal cavity then becomes en-

larged 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 in

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)

It is not the increase in size of a sin-

gle part of the vocal-tract resonator

system that provides optimal

space for resonation, but rather

the nature of the coupling of the

chief resonators (mouth and phar-

ynx) as they respond to laryngeal

configuration.

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 intelli-

gibility 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-

niatrics, determined that the exter-

O pera at

ichigan

Paul C. Boylan Dean

G utav Niejer, NI u k;i I I

11V t

Ja I .eengcr. Stage I ) rect r

Niart in Katz, Vocal l.iteraturc

\cc H fl1),IflVtfl

Nlitchc'II Kricgcr. I )ici i >n ( )acItIIlg

\OI Faculty

Stanley Cornett

IiIie ;uinn

Lorna I-Iav\v )t 5,

1 n NIcC )l In ii

il l is C. Pal terM

>

[t .cnian Ri i.'-.,cI I

NI;irth;i Sliril

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 func-

tion, all attempts at correcting

Th e U niversity of M ichigan stages

opera pro ductions that rival those

of professional com panies.

e w s w e e k

[ndt-rgradu-ak' and graduate dcgrc&-s

Inquiries: Admissions Office. School of Music

University of Michigan. 1100 Baits Drive

Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2085 (313) 761-0593

In pedagogies that advocate the

30

OVEMBER/DECEMBER 1986

8/11/2019 Circle Jaw

3/4

TRMNN

Voice

T

Anne

Faculty

Ackley

W illiam R iley

Sandra W est

Tracey Chebra

Opera

Lindsey Christiansen

Department

W M IL J I E

Judith Nicosia Civitano Glen n Parker

SING R

Thomas Faracco

Marvin Keenze

Musical D irector

David Gately

Lois Laverty

Kthrvn ()Isnn

Stage Director

V\/E1J\/l1N'TEft

ratt

ocal oaching

OLLEGE

Suzan Pratt

alton Baldwin

LHC')[ftLC)LLE(,L

Laura Brooks Rice

lenn Parker

Princeton. New Jersey

Westminster s voice department otters outstanding career p reparation for the asp ir-

ing singer. Graduate and undergraduate voice majors study with internationally recog-

nized coaches and a voice faculty of active perf ormers who provide consistent pro-

fessional instruction. Students sing in the renowned Westminster Choirs, performing at

ma jor concert halls with leading symp hony orchestras and distinguished conductors

and soloists, The

O

p

era Theatre presents a fully-staged p roduction each year.

At Westminster, a singer s training only

e g i n s

w i t h t h e v o ic e W e s y s t e m a t i c a ll y b u il d

each student s musicianship, intellect, and pedagog ical

skills

O ur strong course of-

ferings in music and the liberal arts prepa re students to becom e excellent performers

and educators. O ur well-rounded educational approach, coupled with p erformance

opp ortunities and supervised professional training, assures that Westm inster trains

the complete singer.

V oice asa principal instrument

s

offered within Bachelor and Masterof

usic

degree

programs in Voice Performance,

usic

Education, and Church

usic

Please send: undergraduate application and college viewbook

:

fl

graduate package

t . financial aid information

cata logue

Admissions Office

n a m e

phone

W estminster Choir

address

ollege

- - Princeton,

NJ 08540

t

y

tate

zip

09-921-7144

hyperfunction by focusing at-

tention on functional detail

disrupt easily the unity of this

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

out 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.

he 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

distorted; 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

as 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

complained of TMJ syndrome dis-

cover they no longer have that prob-

lem when they learn that they need

not hang the jaw in the hope of

opening the throat.

The hung 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 easily 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

o

the jaw, not low fixation,

avoids tension and allows for free-

dom of articulation and proper reso-

nance balancing. The hung jaw sim-

ply

i s not a f ree jaw.

Unless pathological problems are

present, there is seldom any feeling

of tension in the jaw when one is in a

state of repose or during speaking.

continued on page 32 )

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1986

1

8/11/2019 Circle Jaw

4/4

Were the hung jaw the constant,

*

relaxed posture required by nature,

would all hang our mouths open

e

Just Published

when breathing and phonating.

*

Both communication and physical

FIVE SHO RT AR IAS - A. Scariatti - Voice and Piano

attractiveness would thereby dimin-

*

ish

TEN SO NG S - Bizet - Voice and Piano

One of the best ways to achieve

*

jaw mobility is to permit the sounds

HANDEL Solo Cantatas

of language to be shaped according

..

published separately)

*

to their natural postures as deter-

Cantata:

antata:

mined by pitch and power. When we

Lungi dal mio bet nume

artS, I idolo

mb

raise the pitch, we open the mouth

G F

Handel

F. Handel

more, but we retain the relative rela-

tionships among the vowel shapes.

Realization by R obert K. Evans

The notion that there is one ideal

Voice and Piano

mouth (and therefore jaw) position

*

for singing is inimical to the acoustic

VOCALISES

and

SOLFEGES

theory of vowel production, and crc-

ates an artificiality of expression, at

..

0.

ROSSINI

*

the same time obliterating diction.

, ,

*

Attempts to move only the tongue

and from our catalogue

while maintaining a hung jaw, under

the assumption that one is thereby

SONG ALBUMS

complied and edited by

relaxing the jaw, will violate both

.. BERNARD TAYLOR

*

nature and art. It is

not

here implied

Classic Songs

that singing and speaking are identi-

Italian - French - English

*

cal; indeed, one almost never opens

High Voice

nd

ow Voice

the mouth as wide in speech as one

*

does in upper-range singing. Desir-

Contemporary American Songs

able relationships between

outh

High

oi e

nd

ow Voice

*

and pharynx, and the retention of

articulatory accuracy in singing can

The Soldier tir d of War s Alarms

only be accomplished by dynamic as

..

Thomas Am.

1710-1778

oprano

*

opposed to static postures of the

This magnificent show piece is once again available, after being out of print

jaw.

for several years ......This aria has bee n recorded by both

Bever l

Sills

and

their

*

To assume that a habitually low-

Dame Joan Suther land

and has appeared often on

ecital program s....

ered jaw posture, as a means of re- Songs by LACHNER -

Voice and Piano

*

laxing the jaw, is appropriate for

with opt. French Horn or

C e l l o

singing is to ignore both the struc-

ture and the acoustics of the singing

instrument.

mphasizing

he

ov

iSongs

lateral /circular loose movement of

the jaw provides a far more efficient

Soprano, Cello and Piano

*

solution to jaw tension than does

James Mulholland

telling the student to hang the jaw. It

*

should be kept in mind that there

is

THE BALLAD OF BABY DOE

no one ideal mouth position in sing-

ing: the vowel and the pitch deter-

SILVER SONG

UGUSTA S ARIA

mine the shape of the mouth, and

therefore the position of the jaw.

LETTER SONG

arm as the Autumn Light

*

Tabor s Love Song

Each Aria Is Published Separately

REFERENCES

in the original Vocal key)

Brodnitz, Friedrich (1971).

Vocal Reha bi l ita-

tion A Manual Prepared for the Use

of

9

Available at Outstanding Music Stores Nationwide

*

Gradua tes in Med ic ine ,

th ed. Rochester

MN: American Academy of Ophthalmol-

ogy and Otolaryngology,

p.

9 7.

rangipani

Marafioti, Mario (1922).

Caruso s Method

of

Press

.O. Box 669

oice Product ion.

New York: D. Appleton;

reprint 1981, Dover,

p.

157.

Bloomington, Indiana 47402

Vennard, William (1968),

Singing: the tsfech-

anism and the Technic .

5th ed. New York:

Carl Fischer, p.1l8.

32

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER

1986