In any language, the tongue is a mighty muscle - and I’m sure if a cat (big or small) could talk, he or she would be truly proficient in its use.

Can’t you just picture that? 

Photo by Isabella Jusková on Unsplash

A while back, according to Facebook, this topic was most popular - lots of likes. Everyone loved the picture of the big cat. What’s not to love? But hey! What about the content?

I’m known for talking a lot about vocal technique basics. So essential, and yet in the scheme of things often very overlooked, with students wanting to rush on to the more complicated and glossy stuff.

Singers too need to know their way around the ins and outs of nifty tongue use. Not only for clarity of diction and language but also to have a firm understanding of likely causes of vocal fatigue and related problems to do with limited vocal range and more.

How much tension do you think you hold in your jaw? I know I’ve said this before, but it translates to many vocal frustrations: lack of ran...

Back to rehearsals soon? Voice feeling a bit rusty?

Here's a little extra guidance beyond the tips I shared in the video above:

Tip #5: Your vocal folds (or cords) are the only pair you'll ever have. You can't go and choose new ones when the old ones start to wear out.

Imagine those little vocal folds, pristine and perfect at birth. Functioning with ease and as usual in babies and young children, with the best and most perfect vocal connection, there can be. What causes things to go wrong when all was perfect at the onset?

True vocal folds are no bigger than your little fingernail. They deserve careful use if they are to serve us well all our lives. Sometimes things go wrong, usually as a result of a poorly mixed cocktail of factors.

For example, if we think of gaining greater volume when we sing, there’s a psychological trigger that suggests to us that we must push more air to make it happen. But a greater volume achieved by pushing more air simply puts more stress on tho...