The vocal tract — the lips of the glottis to the lips of the mouth — is some pretty important real estate. Over the course of a career, a voice professional might spend enough on its tuning, care, health, and maintenance to purchase some more tangible real estate, say, a very large house… in Hawaii… on the beach. You can make that necessary investment in your vocal health, many do, and still wind up neglecting a part of the equation that conditions the function of the whole, namely, the way the head that houses the vocal tract is suspended on its fulcrum atop the spine, on the atlanto-occipital joint. It can have a profound effect on your singing or speaking voice. How? The atlanto-occipital joint sits higher than you might imagine. It sits just above and behind the oropharynx, that area of your throat — visible from the front of the mouth — where the throat begins its plunge toward the laryngopharynx beneath, and still deeper, the larynx itself where the vocal folds reside. The oropharynx is largely responsible for the formation and purity of your vowels, for the harmony of the vibrator — your vocal folds — with its primary resonator, the throat itself. The oropharynx is, according to the great master of singing, Manuel Garcia, the true mouth of the singer. It is precious real estate whose value is directly impacted by its near neighbor, the atlanto-occipital joint. A slight imbalance of the head upon the atlanto-occiptal joint —the head’s being pulled back and down for instance — can profoundly affect the shape of your oropharynx and adversely impact your sound, make your otherwise fine voice sound narrow, pinched, and resonance less.
Just as your teacher of singing is a connoisseur of sound, your teacher of the Alexander Technique is a connoisseur — an intuitive knower — of the state of your head-neck-back relationship, of your primary control, and the resultant motility of your atlanto-occiptal joint. Your teacher of the Alexander technique suggests with his hands the same shapes and co-ordinations that your voice teacher inculcates with her salient words, scales, and musical devices. A teacher of singing working in tandem with teacher of the Alexander Technique, together or separately, is the ultimate synergy that the voice professional — singer, actor, teacher, or businessperson — can enjoy.
Hi Alan,
I’m really enjoying your blog posts. This topic, in particular (how the balance of the head on the spine affects vocal function), is of such crucial importance. Thanks for presenting it in such a clear and simple way. At the performing arts college where I teach the Alexander Technique, I often find singers are trying too hard to manage the internal vocal mechanisms directly, at the expense of putting their heads out of balance (lots of holding on in order to “feel” the right thing). Your words are a great reminder of how head/neck balance support the good use of the “true mouth of the singer”.
Yes, Bill, it’s the milieu and metier of the Alexander Technique. We can be of so much help to these singer’s. Thanks so much for noticing and taking time to comment. It is much appreciated.