For most people, singing (at first) tends to involve unnecessary tension. Sometimes this is extremely obvious, e.g. veins and tendons popping on their neck. Sometimes it’s moderately obvious, e.g. the vocal tone sounds strained. And sometimes it’s downright invisible.
Unnecessary tension
This typically occurs when *something* isn’t working quite right. This then means that other muscles that shouldn’t be involved in a particular function try to get involved and “assist” unnecessarily.
One of the most prevalent and frustrating sources of tension lies in tongue tension. Believe it or not, you’ve probably heard dozens of people sing with this kind of tension throughout the course of your life. The most extreme example is when you hear someone who sounds a bit like Kermit the frog when they sing, or they sound particularly dark and vocally-manipulated compared to how you’d expect them to sound.
Why does it occur?
Tongue tension can occur for a variety of reasons. The base of the tongue is connected to the hyoid bone, which in turn is connected to the larynx (and the epiglottis and pharynx). The tongue is intimately entwined with all the main functional components involved in singing, and is also a key component in articulating vowels and consonants as we sing. As such it’s little wonder that tongue tension occurs, and is quite a complex issue. Sometimes tongue tension is the root of an issue, and othertimes it’s a symptom of the real problem.
To address tongue tension, we’ve got to know the difference between the two through accurate diagnosis of where functional issues are stemming from.
Symptom?
For example, some singers who are singing with excessive muscular involvement (even at the vocal fold level) can find other muscles (like the tongue) try to get involved to curb the impact of the excessive muscularity, like a panic response.
But I’ve seen plenty of singers who are singing with insufficient muscular involvement (again, at the vocal fold level), and that leads to insufficient stability in the vocal instrument. The tongue then unconsciously engages and contracts to try and help stabilise what is missing in the vocal fold behaviour.
Just in case it’s not clear, the tongue should not be trying to correct for errors in the larynx or vocal fold co-ordination. This needs addressing.
Root?
In both of the above examples, tongue tension is a symptom of a deeper issue. In contrast, I’ve seen lighter AND heavier singers who both artifically involve their tongue to darken or thicken their sound. Often those trying to create a more classical sound will play around with the sound and end up unknowingly tensing their tongue to create a darker or to imitate a “more mature” classical sound. This is the most obvious time you’ll hear a “Kermit” sound coming from someone.
In reality that true thickness/darkness in classical singers comes from doing it correctly for decades. Certainly some classical singers can sound a little divergent from more mainstream pop sounds, but few great singers have the tongue tension we’re discussing above. Vocal tone just thickens with age, and good technique only leads to additional depth and thickness therein – you can’t cheat your way there just by contracting the base of your tongue.
Sick?
In still other examples, some singers find that when they have been ill or coughing heavily, trying to aggressively stifle coughs or swallow to prevent a cough, etc, this leads to unwanted tongue tension. The constant swallowing action (especially when done aggressively, i.e. with excessive muscularity) or even contraction and inflammation in the pharynx from excessive coughing can lead to overactivity in contraction at the base of the tongue.
Singing higher?
Different bridges and experiences can also lead to issues where the tongue tension is both the root of one issue, and the symptom of another.
As the larynx tilts to a greater degree to achieve progressively higher pitches, the sound becomes inherently thinner and brighter. This can be confusing or alien sensations to uninitiated singers. As such, when left to their own devices they can unnecessarily engage the tongue to take the edge off those sensations (especially true at male second bridge – around A4 – and I myself struggled with this). Panic responses can lead to a similar response.
This artificial darkening through involving the tongue can often progressively kicks in in a futile attempt to mask any changes… but it doesn’t work, and just makes it harder and sound worse.
How to treat
In cases where the root issue is not the tongue, I will often ignore/put a pin in the issue of tongue tension and focus on the deeper underlying issue. By focusing on what someone’s voice SHOULD be doing and SHOULD sound like, in an area where they ARE successful and can control the sound, they gain an obvious template for following that into areas where they were less succesful (e.g. areas with tongue tension). I.e. solve the root issue, the symptoms go away. If someone is too light with their chest voice, we seek a greater establishment thereof – in turn the tongue tension often diminishes or goes away entirely. Similarly if someone is being too heavy with their chest voice, by finding a more appropriate balance, the excess contraction diminishes or goes away.
In cases where the root issue IS the tongue tension (or perhaps is lingering from a primary issue, as above), there are a variety of exercises that help people to experience what it’s like to sing/vocalise WITHOUT the tongue being involved. These range from more overt exercises with them sticking their tongue out (only on compatible exercises) and thinned out or nasty sound that barely involve the tongue, mouth or pharynx muscular actions. The point is to help singers experience life without the tension, rather than instruct them NOT to do something. This tends to be more readily absorbed by singers’ minds and bodies, and is far more effective and unconscious in the long run, rather than adding to a list of do’s and don’ts that singers often have in their heads.
Learn More: Related Articles
If you’d like to learn more about what good vocal function involves, check out these related articles:
Pursue vocal function BEFORE sound, every time
My Vocal Warmup and Practice Routine
What makes a song “feel” high?
5 Reasons Sleep Helps Boost Your Singing
A Key to Great Singing: Hyper-function vs Relaxation