Buzzing and Balance

Greetings,

At the Keith Underwood/Anne Waxman Flute/Alexander Technique Workshop on September 28-30, frequent topics included:

body mapping of the atlas occipital joint versus the jaw
balanced use of the zygomatic major and triangularis muscles

Remember that your atlas occipital joint (where head rests on the spine) is located between your ears--behind your tongue and soft palate. Most of us were allowing either our jaw or our upper back to carry part of the weight of our heads while playing our flutes, rather than allowing the head to actually balance on the atlas occipital joint (despite how much Alexander training we have had).

Allowing the head to balance naturally frees up the masseter (jaw) muscle so that the zygomatic major muscle can have improved function, helping the lip to lift very slightly laterally from the upper edge, across the cheek bone to the jaw bone. I notice that both my buzzing and my flute tone become more resonant (my upper lip vibrates more) when my zygomatic major muscle is activated.

Allowing the head to balance naturally also helps the jaw to be relaxed but not hang open which can cause a somewhat unfocused tone. (This happens when the head pulls forward and down, straining the upper back. I call this condition "turtleneck.")

Balanced use of the zygomatic major and triangularis muscles in the embouchure: the triangularis muscles stabilize the corners of the lower lip and the zygomatic major muscles lift the lip laterally across the cheekbone to the jaw joint. Most of of us were using either the upper or lower pair of muscles more than the other pair. As we adjusted this balance, everyone's buzzing, flute tone, and articulation improved!

I found that when my head/jaw body map was clear, my head was balanced, and I used the zygomatic major muscle in balance with the triangularis, my tongue position was naturally ideal and my embouchure felt organized and very flexible.

Hope you enjoy experimenting with these thoughts!

Feel free to post questions. I will do my best to answer them or to find out the answer for you.

Best,
Catherine

Voice , Whispered Ah, and the Alexander Technique

Voice and the Alexander Technique

This is an excellent article on the "whispered ah."

Flutists, consider that your lips can serve the same function as vocal folds. If they remain relaxed, they vibrate, allowing for more expression and resonance.

Efficient air use improves as woodwind/brasswind players learn not to "overblow", meaning -- not blow too hard.

Practicing buzzing, even for non-brass players, discourages overblowing, and encourages increased focus, ease, and expression.

Try switching off between whispered ah's, playing and buzzing while practicing.

Let me know how this works for you.

Happy trials,
Catherine

"aaaaaaaaaaaaah"

At his recent masterclasses in Houston, Keith Underwood worked with several participants on his version of the Alexander Technique "whispered ah"procedure.

This usually began as a way of helping the participant learn to better direct and compress their air through good alignment of the upper back, neck and jaw.

After checking lower body alignment with the Alexander Technique procedure "monkey position", also called "position of mechanical advantage" which flexes all the major lower body joints (see Alexander Technique chair lesson video clip from 4/30 blog entry), Keith’s version of this procedure started with the participant raising the upper lip to expose all the upper teeth and making an "f" sound through the teeth. Then, with knees forward and thinking up the back. moving the jaw a bit forward (without any strain or discomfort), then allowing it to naturally drop open and, finally, whispering "ahhhhhh...."

The feeling I get when working on this is the sinking in of the upper back, head rising, as neck lengthens.

On a particularly easy attempt, it feels as if my head is the sun at dawn, rising above the horizon of my shoulders.

Keith also worked with participants to improve air speed by "buzzing the upper lip and surface area of the tongue together.

I have been experimenting with following a (Keith's version of the) "whispered ah," with touching the front edge of my tongue to the back of my lipline (inside lower lip) while lifting my upper lip into the "f" postion, then bringing the exposed underside of my lifted upper lip down to the surface of my tongue to create a buzz as I exhale. It feels a bit like I am squeezing the surface area of my tongue with my upper lip, while maintaining the relaxed position of my tongue in a downward sloping angle touching the back of my lower lip.

This action can be repeated multiple times in one breath, also adding a whispered "ehhhh" while positioning the upper lip. I call this the "eh-puh" exercise.

Give it a try!
Catherine