Refocus on Relaxing Your Jaw

For August, let us revisit our idea of relaxing the jaw. Due to my sudden acceptance of a part-time music teaching position, I fell behind on creating videos! I started editing the first video for September, and then the school year began like a whirlwind! Due to rapid change of pace and life adjustment I did not get to pick up from where I left off until now, and the month has passed! My apologies.

That being said, I am thrilled that I can get back to creating tutorials and talk about singing with a relaxed jaw all over again. I probably need the refresher as much as anyone. Since most of the music I am teaching is for preschool through grade five, I do not necessarily get the daily dose of vocal technique for myself. For that reason, I value returning to vocal technique so I can be the singer, worship leader, and music teacher that I and others need me to be. If I have healthy singing habits, I can go longer and do more in each of those musical roles I hold.

Benefits of Relaxation

When you achieve an open and relaxed jaw, it will feel like using little to no effort. The result is efficiency in the end. That means when you can simply open your mouth and sing, you have increased sound coming out. Of course, when we begin to shape that sound into words, that is where it becomes tricky. You might wonder, "how much should I open or close my mouth for each word?" That's what I want to help you learn in the upcoming tutorials.

Techniques When Singing

Since the goal is to relax the jaw and encourage effective engagement of jaw muscles, I have broken up some strategies into weekly subtopics to focus on in the upcoming tutorials: 1. find the relaxed and open position and return to it as much as possible, 2. isolate the movement of your lips and tongue from your jaw, 3. isolate core engagement from muscles around the voice including your jaw, 4. establish when it is necessary to move the jaw itself. Each video will be complete with a mini-performance from me with an exercise to bring into your practice time. I hope you sing along in each one to feel it out for yourself!

As always, to view my weekly tutorial videos you can visit Free Your Voice channel on YouTube and follow my IG account @letmefreeyourvoice for daily singing tips and music sharing, and you can like my Facebook page Hannah Fabean @letmefreeyourvoice to help promote me as a voice teacher. Like, subscribe and share the blogs and videos that help you!