Five exercises that enhance resonance by relaxing the soft palate

Before reading this post, I recommend that you read the page "Introduction and Exercises".

In the course of my practice, I observe the effects of the different exercises that I recommend and choose to practice some of them intensively, as they seem to specially help in creating a sense of inner calm and bettering voice production.

Practicing peripheral vision, something that I have discovered only recently, in August 2020, is a must. I shall go back on it in a new post on singing and vision. The freedom it brings to the soft palate and the easiness that ensues are just miraculous. You might be interested by this video.

Here are my other four favourites of the moment. They strengthen in particular four muscles, or part of muscles, which are very instrumental in good posture and breathing, two elements which in turn play an essential role in balancing the autonomous nervous system. As a result of its stimulation, they also have an effect on the soft palate, opening the space at the back of the nose and throat and therefore enhancing resonance.

These muscles are the latissimus dorsi, the pectoralis major, the upper part of the rectus abdominis and the transversus abdominis.

And now the exercises, done in a standing position:

- While leaving the arms hanging relaxed, with an open chest, bring the right shoulder forward and the left shoulder backward; then the left forward and the right backward; repeat ca. 10 times. You shall start to develop a consciousness of the upper part of the latissimus dorsi muscle, the part that attaches itself to the upper arms. It is a very important place to feel when your are breathing in.

- Lift up your ribcage, ca. 10 times, while pausing in your breathing. There, by developing the pectoralis major muscles, your shall enhance the mobility of the upper part of the ribcage (the shoulders should stay down, they are not concerned by this exercise).

- Bring your stomach in, well above the navel, ca. 10 times, also in a breathing pause. Training the upper part of the rectus abdominis muscle is very beneficial for your diaphragm. You can associate this movement with a sideways expansion of your ribcage.

- Lift your right hip, keeping the leg straight at the knee, then the left hip; ca. 10 times each side. With that exercise, you train the transversus abdominis muscle which helps to support the lower part of the ribcage.

I usually end this series with a short moment of body consciousness where I close my eyes and relax them, while breathing in through the nose and concentrating on the relaxation of the pelvic floor, more specifically the levator ani muscle.

Deux muscles importants du voile du palais

Avant la lecture de cet article, je recommande celle de la page "Introduction et exercices".

La dépendance du chant au système nerveux parasympathique signifie que chanter n'est pas, pour sa plus grande part, le résultat de notre volonté consciente. Un exemple: nous ne pouvons pas activer nos cordes vocales comme les pianistes peuvent bouger leurs doigts.

La souplesse du voile du palais et de la langue joue un grand rôle dans le chant lyrique, car elle optimise la résonance sur toute la voix, ainsi que la production des notes aiguës.

Mais, justement, pour parler de volonté consciente, il y a deux muscles importants du voile du palais (ou palais mou) que nous ne pouvons pas contrôler directement: le muscle palato-glosse et le muscle élévateur du voile du palais. En effet, ces deux muscles sont innervés par le nerf vague et sont donc dépendants de l'état de notre système nerveux parasympathique et de l'équilibre général de notre système nerveux autonome. Si nous sommes trop stressés, ces muscles ne fonctionneront pas de manière optimale et le beau chant et les notes aiguës seront difficiles à obtenir.

Comment pouvons-nous aider ces deux muscles à fonctionner au mieux? Eh bien, en développant un état de relaxation, de toutes les façons saines que nous connaissons (l'alcool peut aider, mais pas sur le long terme ;-))

Je vous donne ici mes 4 exercices favoris pour atteindre cet état. Ils vous conduiront normalement à produire de la salive fluide, un signe sûr de détente:

- Inspirez 4 ou 5 fois en écartant les côtes, tout en rentrant l'estomac, en soulevant le buste et en étirant le haut du grand dorsal sous les aisselles. Vous pouvez aussi faire cet exercice indépendamment de la respiration

- Contractez 4 ou 5 fois les mollets

- Fermez les yeux et imaginez qu'ils se "séparent" en direction des oreilles. Vous les sentirez se détendre et un léger sourire accompagnera cette détente

- Concentrez-vous à plusieurs moments de la journée, quand vous inspirez par le nez, sur la sensation d'un espace "frais" à l'arrière du nez, ainsi que sur des sensations de détente au niveau des yeux et dans le bas du ventre et le périnée

Vous pouvez aussi cultiver une intense perception de la langue, du palais, des lèvres, du menton et des mâchoires, de manière à pouvoir les détendre.

Nous pouvons aussi stimuler un autre muscle du palais, le muscle tenseur du voile. Ce muscle, contrairement au muscle palatoglosse et au muscle élévateur du voile, est dépendant de notre volonté, car il est innervé par une branche du nerf trijumeau, le nerf mandibulaire, qui n'est pas un nerf du système nerveux parasympathique. Un nerf d'ailleurs très important dans le chant, responsable notamment des mouvements de la mâchoire et de certains mouvements à l'intérieur de la bouche.

Pour stimuler ce muscle, vous pouvez essayer un exercice connu, produire un R palatal à l'inspiration et à l'expiration, en laissant la bouche ouverte et la langue détendue.

Une dernière info pour finir, qui montre à nouveau à quel point le chant est dépendant du système nerveux parasympathique: le muscle tenseur du voile, même s'il est innervé par le nerf mandibulaire, a tout de même des contacts avec le système nerveux parasympathique, car des ganglions parasympathiques "l'accompagnent", comme vous pouvez le voir ici.

Another nerve

Before reading this post, I recommend that you read the page "Introduction and Exercises".

I have been interested for some time on how much concentrating on the body parts innervated by the ilio-inguinal nerve has a positive effect on singing.

First, some details about this nerve:

- It belongs to a web of nerves arising from the spinal cord in the lumbar region of the body.

- It is a mixed nerve, which means that it works both ways: from the brain to parts of the body for muscle function, and from body parts to the brain for sensory information. To put it differently: "Mixed nerves function to transmit both sensory and motor information. Sensory information includes the sensations of heat, cold, and pain. Motor information causes the muscles of the body to contract and move". (from the site study.com)

- "The ilioinguinal nerve provides cutaneous innervation to the superior medial thigh. In men it also supplies the skin over the anterior one-third of the scrotum and the root of the penis. In women it also supplies the skin over the anterior one-third of the labium majus and the root of the clitoris. The ilioinguinal nerve also gives off motor branches to muscle fibers in the internal oblique and transversus abdominis muscles". (from the site radiopaedia.org)

In clearer language, it means that this nerve helps you feel the skin of your upper thighs and part of your sexual organs. It also takes part in muscle function in the muscles of the lower abdomen.

Now back to the exercise I and my pupils practice, with enormous benefits for voice production:

- Sitting or lying down, we simply concentrate for a while on sensations in the lower abdomen, the upper and inner part of the thighs, the groin, the labia for women and the scrotum for men (I know this sounds very sexual, but it is actually very simple to concentrate on these body parts without getting aroused).

- Before we go back to singing, we can usually observe some interesting effects: mainly, a production of fluid saliva and a sense of space at the back of the tongue and nose.

- When we start singing, breathing has become wonderfully supple and easy, there is a feeling of an extra resonance space in the region of the soft palate, the sound of the voice has become warmer and high notes are easier to produce.

- And it is possible to go on feeling these lower body parts while singing, with more added benefits.

Why is that?

Well, I can only emit a theory, in relation with the parasympathetic nerves of the lower body: the concentration on these body parts permits a state of relaxation of the muscles of the lower abdomen and the pelvis, which in turn allows the pelvic splanchnic nerve, the cavernous nerve, and the lower part of the vagus nerve (see my other articles for more information) to function at their best.

Comment j'ai été amenée à m'intéresser au nerf vague

Avant la lecture de cet article, je recommande celle de la page "Introduction et exercices".

Il y a quelques années, faisant des recherches sur le système digestif parce que je souffrais de reflux gastro-œsophagien, j'ai commencé à réaliser l'importance du nerf vague dans le fonctionnement correct de l'être humain. Et j'ai aussi appris par la même occasion que plusieurs nerfs importants du chant sont en fait des branches du nerf vague, en particulier le nerf récurrent, dont les chanteurs ont normalement entendu parler, car il est mentionné dans la plupart des livres sur le chant.

J'ai alors effectué une recherche sur internet avec les mots-clés "voix" et "nerf vague" et j'ai trouvé des articles mentionnant les étranges effets sur la voix produit pas la stimulation neuro-vagale, une forme de thérapie pour des maladies comme l'épilepsie, la dépression et la migraine, où un appareil est implanté à la base du cou, du côté gauche, et relié au nerf vague dans le cou. Les patients mettent en marche l'appareil plusieurs fois par jour.

Cela me fit penser aux fluctuations dont tout chanteur fait l'expérience. Certains jours, la voix "est là", et le lendemain, même avec de la pratique, le chant ne sera pas aussi facile, etc. Continuant mes recherches, je commençai à réaliser à quel point la production vocale dépend de l'état de notre système nerveux. Un système nerveux autonome en équilibre, où les activités sympathiques et parasympathiques fonctionnent en harmonie, signifie une production vocale optimale.

Au contraire, quand nous sommes stressés, c'est-à-dire quand le système nerveux sympathique est dominant, la production vocale est gênée, avec une salive plus épaisse, des mucosités, une gorge serrée, une langue peu mobile, une respiration superficielle, etc.

J'ai aussi commencé à comprendre que le but des pratiques de relaxation, même si le fait est pratiquement ignoré, est d'équilibrer le système nerveux autonome. Cela peut expliquer pourquoi une bonne séance de yoga peut vous amener à bien chanter. Cela peut aussi expliquer le phénomène des "voix naturelles": pourquoi certaines personnes, qui n'ont parfois pas eu le moindre contact dans leur jeunesse avec le bel canto, découvrent une belle voix d'opéra à l'âge adulte. Ces personnes sont probablement douées d'un système nerveux autonome naturellement équilibré, et le fonctionnement de leur nerf vague est optimal.

J'ai alors cherché des exercices qui pourraient stimuler le système nerveux parasympathique, tout au long de la journée, pour permettre à une personne de garder un état de calme intérieur qui permet au chant de devenir une activité "naturelle", c'est-à-dire, "ouvrir la bouche et chanter". Ce sont ces exercices que je partage sur ce blog.

Reflexions on breathing and posture and their relation to the vagus nerve

Before reading this post, I recommend that you read the page "Introduction and Exercises".

In my first article I evoked the serious bout of reflux which led to my interest for the vagus nerve and the parasympathetic nervous system. I got cured overnight with the help of a Swiss body researcher, Benita Cantieni, who advised a breathing technique where the diaphragm expands mostly sideways, thus limiting the effect of its movements around the entrance to the stomach. You can find here a good description of this breathing technique.

But I was then faced with a problem: what about the belly breathing that I had been using for myself and teaching to my pupils for so many years? I was afraid that my new breathing technique would have negative effects on singing.

I was encouraged by the discovery that some trumpet players who also had to quit belly breathing because of reflux were actually very pleased with their new breathing technique. And I could at last understand Caruso's description of his breathing (1909): "To take a full breath properly, the chest must be raised at the same moment the abdomen sinks in". As well as the earlier description given by Manuel Garcia (1847): "Raise the chest in a slow and regular movement, and bring the pit of the stomach in".

I noticed that the practice of this breathing technique besides singing, or just the practice of the posture shoulders back/breast out/pit of the stomach in, always bring with them fluidity of the saliva, which means that they have a stimulating effect on the parasympathetic nervous system. Why would it be so?

I emit three theories:

1 - The expanding chest which results from this type of breathing means that the vagus nerve, present everywhere in the chest, has room to function properly (we all know how much pressure on nerves can impair their function).

2 - The fact that the diaphragm expands also sideways means that it is not pushed very much down the body, as it can happen in belly breathing if it is exaggerated. The consequence is that it can very quickly go up again after breathing out, reaching easily its relaxed position. Again, that means a lot for the vagus nerve, which crosses the diaphragm together with the oesophagus.

3- Upper costal breathing means that one does not need to contract the muscles of the lower abdomen during breathing out. The lower abdomen stays relaxed, which could mean that the vagus nerve, present in two-thirds of the abdomen, and the pelvic splanchnic nerves, present in the resting one-third, enjoy a relaxed environment allowing their proper function.

Two important muscles of the soft palate

Before reading this post, I recommend that you read the page "Introduction and Exercises".

The dependence of singing on the vagus nerve means that voice production is, for most of its part, not under our direct volition. As an example: we cannot activate our vocal chords like a pianist shall move her/his fingers.

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).

How I got interested in the vagus nerve and its relation to singing

Before reading this post, I recommend that you read the page "Introduction and Exercises".

Some years ago, researching on the digestive system because I suffered from reflux, I started realising the importance of the vagus nerve in the proper functioning of the body. And I also realised that several nerves related to singing are in fact branches of the vagus nerve, notably the recurrent nerve, about which singers normally hear about, as it is mentioned in most books on singing.

I then did a research on the internet with the key words "voice" and "vagus nerve" and came upon articles mentioning the strange effects on the voice produced by Vagal Nerve Stimulation, a form of therapy for conditions such as epilepsy, depression and migraine, where a device is implanted at the base of the neck, on the left side, and linked to the vagus nerve in the neck. Patients activate the device several times during the day.

It made me think about the fluctuations we all experience in singing. One day the voice is "there", the next day, even with thorough practice, singing will not be as easy, and so on. Researching further, I started realising how much voice production depends on the state of our nervous system. A balanced autonomic nervous system, when sympathetic and parasympathetic activities go hand in hand, means free voice production.

On the contrary, when we are stressed, i.e. the sympathetic nervous system has the upper hand, voice production is impaired, with thicker saliva and mucous, a tight throat, shallow breathing, etc. I also started to understand that the aim of relaxation practices, even if the fact is mostly ignored, is to balance the autonomic nervous system. That explains why a good yoga class can make you sing better, even if you have not been practicing singing. It also sheds a light on "natural voices", why some people, who sometimes have had no contact with belcanto singing in their youth, discover a beautiful operatic voice as adults: these people are probably gifted with a balanced autonomic nervous system and the function of their vagus nerve is optimal.

I started to research exercises which could stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system and could be used before or, for some of them, during singing practice, or in the course of the day to keep up a relaxed state, allowing singing to become a "natural" activity, i.e. simply "open your mouth and sing". This is what I am sharing here on this blog.