Mid-Pharynx, Twang and Tongue Position Part 1

     This week in Vocal Ped we covered quite a bit. Tuesday we went over Mid-Pharynx and the concept of Twang. As someone who grew up in the rural Midwest, hearing twang was almost an everyday occurrence. I grew up listening to country music, listening to a lot of musical theatre in my high school years and watching older movies with my father so I had a good mental picture of what it takes to produce twang sound without really knowing the anatomical reasoning behind it. I don't believe I will ever expect a student to attempt twang without first explain the mechanics behind it. This is because while anyone can make the sound, an explanation of what muscles are being engaged goes along way in refining and properly utilizing this tool and when and where to use it along with avoiding bad habits.

The tongue on the other hand, is something that I have had a decent amount of trouble with in my singing. For the longest time, I never knew how much the tongue affected singing until it was pointed out in lessons that my tongue either got in the way, or it pulled back too much and would warp my vowel sounds. This weeks video and today's lesson really gave me insight on how to combat these issues along with doing tongue yoga. Every vocalist should know the importance of their tongue and have a good awareness and control over their tongue so it doesn't get in the way of the sound being produced like I have had.


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