TIP SHEET
Steve Scott, Music Education Curriculum and Online Learning Manager sscott@barbershop.org
Better body alignment: why and how Many of the metaphors we use to address the position of the vocal tract directly contribute to active tongue tension. Subtle changes in body alignment will naturally lengthen and widen your vocal tract.
M
ost books on voice and vocal pedagogy have a chapter on posture or body alignment, and it is typically one of the opening chapters due to its fundamental impact on resonance. (I prefer the term body alignment over posture.) However ubiquitous this topic, there is a lot of confusion surrounding it. Ideal body alignment creates
two distinct physical conditions that help optimize resonance: • Longer vocal tract • Wider vocal tract Humans create sound when the vocal folds draw near and then are set into motion by air passing through them. Sound is then resonated in the vocal tract, the area
from your voice box to the roof of your mouth (back of the throat) to the lips (mouth). Changes to the size and shape of the vocal tract give us distinct colors of resonance, some of which are more optimal for our singing style. For barbershop, we generally prefer a long and wide vocal tract. Both can be difficult to achieve and thus hundreds of metaphors are used to address them, from “inside smile” and “lifted sound” to “open throat” and “hot potatoes inside.” Several instructions, in particular, directly contribute to active tongue tension: “raised soft palate,” “start of a yawn,” and most instructions regarding “placing” a tone (a physiological impossibility). Addressing points of a balanced body alignment will help you achieve a longer and wider vocal tract. When the body is out of bal-
Unadjusted alignment. Because the bulk of the torso is behind the center of the body, the head must jut to stay counterbalanced. This can cause tension in the head/neck and abdominals.
Unadjusted alignment
Self-adjusted alignment
14 | The Harmonizer | November/December 2019 | barbershop.org
More balanced alignment
More balanced alignment. Because the torso is more balanced over the hips, the head can be brought farther back. This can relieve tension in the abdominals, back, and head/neck.
JAMES HURLBURT
Self-adjusted alignment. The typical response to a request for better posture is to bring the shoulders and head back, but this does not take into account the position of the hips. This can cause tension in the back, abdominals, knees, and head/neck.
