Imagine Nothing in Your Throat? | The “Gah” Exercise for Stronger Singing

Imagine Nothing in Your Throat?

In vocal training, I remember my teachers telling me to imagine that nothing was happening in my throat. Imagining nothingness in your throat is an effective visualization that helps singers reduce throat tension. We all know, however, there are muscles at work in your larynx when you make sound, and there comes a time when singers want to understand them. The muscle that is most active when you use chest register is the TA muscle. It runs along your vocal folds and it shortens and thickens them. You can actually feel your TA at work with a simple exercise.

Make a creaky door noise by saying “uuuuuhhh” for a few seconds. Another way to create this creaking sound is to try to sing lower than the lowest note you can sing. This gravelly sound you are producing is called vocal fry. You are engaging your chest voice muscles, without involving the head voice muscles. You are also engaging your breathing muscles, since every sound requires air flow. Try to make your face go lax and just do a vocal fry a few times over the course of a minute. 

Great job! You have just gotten to know your TA muscles a little better. Even though we associate the TA muscle with more powerful singing, they can be active even while other muscles in the face, jaw, tongue and neck are relaxed or neutral. This is a great reminder that even with powerful singing, we do not need to tense up those other muscle groups!

Kathy  Alexander
VP Curriculum, Singdaptive

The “Gah” Exercise for Stronger Singing

Our full-access subscribers have been enjoying Voice Teacher & Singer Mandy Bryant’s course on top vocal exercises for all singers – especially her Mixed Voice and Tension Release Exercise.

To learn more, upgrade to premium and check out Mandy’s Mixed Voice and Tension Release Exercise -the way to unleash high notes, smoother register transitions and more! 

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From breathing exercises to lip trills, singers share the vocal health tips that have been most effective for them. See Vocal Health – Can’t Get Enough of It!  Many thanks to Singdaptive’s Instagram followers who’ve shared their real-world experiences!

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