Strain in my neck while singing?!
Question: Strain in my neck while singing!?
I'm pretty much a beginner at singing, being that it's been about a year or so since I have been interested in singing!. After seeing many videos about how to release the tension in the throat, jaw, and larynx box using proper breathing techniques and postures, I still can't stop putting strength into my throat!. As I get to higher and higher notes, two linear-shaped muscles come up on the sides of my adam's apple, even if I do the "yawn-shaped" mouth!. Sometimes it doesn't feel at all like I'm putting strength into my throat or jaw, but those two muscles always show up!. Are there any solutions to this problem!?Www@Enter-QA@Com
Answers:
Sounds like you might be singing through your nose a little bit!. Try holding your nose while you sing (maybe just vocalizing the notes on a vowel instead of singing the lyrics, as N's and M's are difficult while plugging your nose)!. See if you can tell a difference when you do this, and try and make the sound come from your mouth and not your nose!.
also, make sure your neck is straight in the back and you're not pushing your neck forward or up to get to the higher notes!. I had this problem for a while--my voice teacher was always on my case about it! Make sure to keep a long line all the way up your back into your neck and head!.
Thirdly, just make sure your warm up properly before you attempt really high notes!. Warm up your middle range;then slowly work your way up until the higher notes come with ease!
also, as a side note, some of the tension in your neck can actually come from tension in your shoulders!. I tend to tense up when I sing really high notes, and an idea my voice teacher gave me was to carry two heavy books down at my sides while I sing!. This makes it harder to pull upwards on your shoulder and neck muscles, and it really makes you aware of when you're tensing up!. So hopefully it'll help to keep your muscles from tensing, and it will free up the sound in the higher notes!.
Oh, and one more thing!. Blow up a balloon every day!. This helps you learn to breathe better, to keep your soft palette up, and your tongue down to create that big, open, tall space!
Hope that helped a bit!Www@Enter-QA@Com
also, make sure your neck is straight in the back and you're not pushing your neck forward or up to get to the higher notes!. I had this problem for a while--my voice teacher was always on my case about it! Make sure to keep a long line all the way up your back into your neck and head!.
Thirdly, just make sure your warm up properly before you attempt really high notes!. Warm up your middle range;then slowly work your way up until the higher notes come with ease!
also, as a side note, some of the tension in your neck can actually come from tension in your shoulders!. I tend to tense up when I sing really high notes, and an idea my voice teacher gave me was to carry two heavy books down at my sides while I sing!. This makes it harder to pull upwards on your shoulder and neck muscles, and it really makes you aware of when you're tensing up!. So hopefully it'll help to keep your muscles from tensing, and it will free up the sound in the higher notes!.
Oh, and one more thing!. Blow up a balloon every day!. This helps you learn to breathe better, to keep your soft palette up, and your tongue down to create that big, open, tall space!
Hope that helped a bit!Www@Enter-QA@Com
Have you learned about the different "registers" of the voice - ie!. the chest voice, middle voice and head voice!? It sounds like if you're breathing with proper support and have minimal tension in your tongue and jaw, and you're problem only occurs as you get to the higher notes, then you're probably "pulling up" your chest voice and straining!. you're larynx is being pulled up way too high because you're not transitioning into the lighter mechanisms - like the middle and head voice!. accessing the head voice can be tricky - a way to kind of get there is to imitate mickey mouse (who had a really high voice - kind of hooty and shrill) and then sing a few notes in mickey's voice!. if you do it right, you will feel alot of vibration in your head, particularly in the nose and behind the cheekbones!. and don't mistake head voice for falsetto!. In head voice your voice will sound clear and hooty, as your have vocal chord closure!. with falsetto, it will sound light and airy as the vocal chords aren't touching and a lot of air is going through!. anyway, i recommend you take some voice lessons to get the fundamentals down for healthy singing!. this is VERY hard to learn on your own!. you need someone who can watch you and provide feedback - because even if you sound okay, you could very well be singing in a way that might cause damage (potentially permanent damage) to your voice, particularly if you constantly are pulling up your chest voice!. sorry for the rambling!.!.!. good luck!Www@Enter-QA@Com