Taming the Larynx

Dear Readers,

It’s been an interesting few weeks since the publishing of the digital DMS lessons. People from different parts of the world have been contacting me, some are new acquaintances, and some are from the past. So it’s been wonderful “meeting” the new people and a pleasure catching up with those of you whom I already know.

Some of you know that I studied trombone, but lately I’ve been studying the didgeridoo as well. One of the techniques I’ve learned from this is the ability to willingly move my larynx (voice box) up and down. Moving it up quickly and suddenly causes a pressure increase and disruption in the airflow so there can be a kind of articulation. At the same time you can have the tongue in different positions or even move the tongue independently, creating more complex articulations.

Some of you might be thinking, “yes, that’s nice, but what does that have to do with me, I’m a singer or wind player and I need to keep my throat as open as possible and certainly not move my larynx around.” I had a similar idea, figuring the technique would be unique to the didgeridoo. But to my surprise, after learning to do this, my articulations on the trombone became clearer and easier! Not only that, my high range improved.

Intrigued with the results, I wanted to find out why, and if this might be useful for others.

First the “why?”

The movements of the larynx are coupled with complex process like swallowing, yawning, breathing and speech. For all of these to happen, there needs to be a very sophisticated and reliable coordination of the processes. Much of this happens below our conscious thinking. While swallowing for example, the larynx closes to prevent food from entering the trachea (wind pipe). When breathing, the larynx is held in place so the air can flow easily. Most of us have found the optimal playing or singing position for the larynx through trial and error. Out of necessity, singers usually have more awareness than wind players do. Most wind players are told to have an open throat when playing, but what does that really mean?

I’ve found that by being able to consciously move my larynx, I’m also better able to have my throat open. And because the tongue is connected to the hyoid bone, which is also connected to the larynx, the tongue has a more reliable base of support. Another way of saying it is: the more differentiation and awareness I have in my throat (and this goes for our whole selves), the better my ability to control my muscles there. Of course there is more to be said about this because it’s much more complex than what I’ve written. I’m sure some of you out there have something to add to this, so if you send me your ideas, I’ll post them here. You can also refer to anatomy books for more information.

Could this be useful for others?

I began observing the throats of my students and colleagues. What I found that was when someone was having trouble with the beginning of a note, the larynx was still moving into place when the note started. This seems to make and unreliable basis for the tongue, and the airflow is also affected. I asked these people to swallow (which raises the larynx) and or yawn (lowers) before playing. Often, the attack improved immediately because swallowing and yawning begin to give a sense of what’s going on I’ve also had people use a mirror to see what happens and they see the movement before the articulation. When the student sees that the larynx is still moving when starting to play, they sometimes can get it into place before the attack. Some people responded well to the idea of feeling the note in the throat before playing because this helped to set the position before starting.

I’m planning on developing this idea further and will let you know about my findings. Once again, I enjoy hearing from readers out there so keep the e-mails coming.

Thanks for reading, John Tarr

Be sure to check out the DMS podcasts, Feldenkrais® mini lessons for musicians and speakers.

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If you have any specific questions or comments on The Feldenkrais Method® breathing and posture, send me an e-mail and I’ll try to respond in a future blog. Until then, breathe, sit, and stand well!

Comments

[john anderson]

Sometimes things come together all at the same time. I am a second year student in a Los Angeles Feldenkrais training.
I've been playing with my larynx all night and started to wonder whether I could do any damage.
So I looked up "rolfing larynx"on google to see whether they had anything to say about the larynx. And the first thing I run across is a Feldenkrais blog discussing the larynx and didgeridoo playing, which I recently became interested because there has been a study connecting it with benefits for sleep apnea sufferers, of which I am one.
Earlier in the day I had been considering swallowing and its' relationship to breathing as I had done a breathing lesson from Alexander Yanai lesson which involved using swallowing as a way to stimulate the breathing.
So sometimes there really is a sense of synchronicity.
I think it would be wonderful if you expand these ideas into an ATM. Perhaps using some of your observations of yawning and swallowing as a starting point for teaching people the kind of tongue/larynx differentiation which you mention. It would be a lesson with applications wider than the playing of an instrument. For it might connect to the heart of people's ability to express themselves, to the feeling of thought and emotion being translated into sound, to being given voice.

[Marlena Fuerstman]

What do you think about holding down the larynx with thumb and finger while doing vocal exercises?

[John Tarr]

Dear Marlena, sorry for taking so long to respond. I had not thought of what you suggest, "holding" down the larynx. I have used the thumb and finger to feel what is going on because our hands can add some sensitivity to our awareness and provide a different perspective. I would suggest doing it only to feel what is happening and not to force the larynx to stay down, but that's just my opinion. Have you tried it and if so, what have you found?

Thanks for commenting, John Tarr

[Oliver Schramm]

Dear John Tarr,
I´m very interested in a taming your larynx atm-lesson. Would it be possible to publish such a lesson on your podcast? I think it would be helpful for a lot of singers.
Thank you very much
Oliver Schramm