Before reading this post, I recommend that you read the page "Introduction and Exercises".
The suppleness of the soft palate and the tongue plays a great role in belcanto singing, as it enhances resonance and an easy production of high notes. But, talking of volition, there are two muscles of the soft palate which we cannot control directly: the palatoglossus muscle and the levator veli palatini muscle. They are innervated by the vagus nerve and are therefore dependent on the state of our neurovegetative nervous system. If we are too stressed, they will not function at their best and beautiful singing and high notes shall be difficult.
How can we help these muscles to function at their best? Well, by ensuring a relaxed state, in whatever healthy ways you know and prefer.
I give you here my 4 favourite exercises to attain this state. They will normally produce fluid saliva, a sure sign of relaxation:
- Breathe in 4 or 5 times while opening the chest, pulling your stomach in and expanding your back muscle sideways, specially under the armpits. You can also do this exercise independently from breathing
- Contract your calves 4 or 5 times
- Close your eyes and imagine that they "separate" in direction of the ears. You shall feel them relax and a light smile shall accompany this feeling of relaxation
- Concentrate several times during the day, while breathing in through the nose, on the feeling of a cool space at the back of the nose, and feelings of relaxation in your lower tummy and in your pelvis
You can also cultivate an intense awareness of the tongue, the soft palate, the eyes, the lips, the chin and the jaws, in order to be able to relax them.
In short, you should aim at staying as much as possible in a "rest and digest" mode.
But we can also stimulate another muscle of the soft palate, the tensor veli palatini muscle. This muscle, unlike the palatoglossus and the levator veli palatini muscles, is accessible to our will. It is innervated by a branch of the trigeminal nerve, the mandibular nerve. This nerve is in any case very important for singing, as it is responsible for the movements of the jaws and some movements inside the mouth.
To stimulate the tensor muscle, we can use the well-known exercise of producing the palatal R while inhaling and exhaling, tongue relaxed, mouth opened.
To finish off on this subject, a last information, which concurs again to show how much singing depends on the parasympathetic nervous system: the tensor veli palatini muscle, although innervated by the mandibular nerve, which is not, like the vagus nerve, a nerve of the parasympathetic nervous system, has some contact with that system, as parasympathetic ganglions "accompany" it (you can read further on the subject here).
- Concentrate several times during the day, while breathing in through the nose, on the feeling of a cool space at the back of the nose, and feelings of relaxation in your lower tummy and in your pelvis
You can also cultivate an intense awareness of the tongue, the soft palate, the eyes, the lips, the chin and the jaws, in order to be able to relax them.
In short, you should aim at staying as much as possible in a "rest and digest" mode.
But we can also stimulate another muscle of the soft palate, the tensor veli palatini muscle. This muscle, unlike the palatoglossus and the levator veli palatini muscles, is accessible to our will. It is innervated by a branch of the trigeminal nerve, the mandibular nerve. This nerve is in any case very important for singing, as it is responsible for the movements of the jaws and some movements inside the mouth.
To stimulate the tensor muscle, we can use the well-known exercise of producing the palatal R while inhaling and exhaling, tongue relaxed, mouth opened.
To finish off on this subject, a last information, which concurs again to show how much singing depends on the parasympathetic nervous system: the tensor veli palatini muscle, although innervated by the mandibular nerve, which is not, like the vagus nerve, a nerve of the parasympathetic nervous system, has some contact with that system, as parasympathetic ganglions "accompany" it (you can read further on the subject here).
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