Self – Massage for Singers

Massage is not a luxury for the professional vocalist and can often make the difference between a great performance and an okay one! However, since not all of us can afford a weekly massage we have come up with some “self-massage” techniques you can apply yourself! Self-massage can loosen your voice, restore your vocal health and maintain your voice on the road!
Free your instrument and keep it healthy!

Tip: Along with Self-massage and occasional visits to a masseuse or body worker, you can keep the muscles of your voice loose and agile by practicing Yoga and Feldenkrais 3-4 times a week!

I put these self-massage instructions in the order that I do them with my singers and on my own voice and muscles!

1. Neck Muscles
The best way to release the neck muscles on your own is to lie on the floor. Grab your neck muscles from behind your head with your thumb and forefinger. Start at the top of the front neck muscles. Find the front of the muscles under the ear, apply pressure with your thumb and work across the muscle applying pressure. Use your intuition and gauge how hard to press by how it feels. There is a definite right feel that may be painful but is a good pain and a definite wrong feel that creates pain. Work the muscle down to the collarbone slowly and surely across the muscle on each side of the neck. This can restore a hoarse or tired voice if administered correctly.

2. Cheek
Pretend you are cleaning your teeth with the tip of your tongue. All the way around from top to bottom and then reverse the direction.
Put your finger where the gum and the cheek meet. Follow the gum line all the way around. Reverse the direction pulling the cheek away from the gum. Go slowly around the sensitive or painful spots, working them out.

3. The Tongue
Stick your tongue all the way out and reach for the floor with the tip. Look up at the ceiling and take a deep breath. As you exhale reach further down with your tongue and look further up and back with your eyes. Then release. This is called ‘The Lion’s Pose’ in yoga and releases the tongue and jaw.

4. Tongue Pull
Take a piece of gauze or paper towel and grab the tip of the tongue back about an inch. Pull it straight out and say “Gah” a few times. Don’t move the jaw at all when you say Gah. Try it again without moving the jaw by letting the tongue pull back a little and reach way up in the back. Now do it again and lift the back of the tongue before you say ‘Gah’. Repeat 5 times. This releases the base of the tongue a little!

5. Base of the Tongue & Hyoid
To release the tongue more, hook your thumb under the jawbone in the groove between the bone and the base of the tongue. Start back by the ear and slowly work you’re way to the chin and around to the other ear. Stop and work the points that feel sore. Try an up and out motion with the thumb all along the jawbone.

6. The Magic Pressure Point under the ear lobe…
This point releases the jaw, neck and throat muscles and the base of the tongue. It is a major point to release tension. Press with one thumb under the ear lobe and search for a little knob under the ear that is sensitive. Press into it with your thumb and let your head fall into your thumb. Go across the knob (knot) and try to penetrate it and break it up a bit slowly but firmly. This point is the first vertebrae position in the front. Some say that releasing the first vertebrae releases the entire spine!

7. Larynx & Front Throat Massage
Find the hyoid bone, which is a floating bone at the top of the thyroid cartilage. If you press on one side it pokes out the other. Gently move it back and forth. Continue to loosen. Then open the jaw behind closed lips. Maintain the same position at the hyoid bone, (it will stiffen temporarily as you open the jaw). Move the hyoid bone back and forth until it loosens keeping the jaw parted and the lips closed.  This massage opens the throat muscles and larynx / hyoid.

8. Jaw Tendons
Press one index finger at a time into the mouth on the outside of your teeth. Press your finger back inside the jaw tendon and close your teeth. Your finger should be in between the hard tendon and your teeth.  Press back into the tendon. Moderate to strong pain and discomfort is normal. This tendon is extremely tight on most people. Keep the finger pressed into the tendon for as long as 3-4 minutes at a time. Doing it 2-3 times on each side will help to significantly open the jaw tendon and is especially effective with TMJ (Temporal Mandibular Joint problem).

9. Jaw
1. Press fingers at the temples, open and close the jaw slowly while keeping pressure at the temples. Press index fingers on both sides of the face where the top of the ear meets the face. Press into the groove as you open and close the jaw very slowly applying pressure. Press index fingers on both sides of the face where the ear opening meets the face. Press into the groove as you open and close the jaw very slowly applying pressure. Press index fingers on both sides of the face where the ear lobe meets the face. Press into the groove as you open and close the jaw very slowly applying pressure.

2. Take the knuckles of both hands and press into the jaw joint. Take a deep breath and press more firmly and then pull your knuckles down the jaw muscle as you let the jaw open against the pressure. Repeat 5 times pressing strong into the muscles of the jaw.

3. With the fingers of both hands, hold your chin. While you hold your chin steady, lift up your upper jaw toward the ceiling while you look toward the ceiling. Reach up with your upper jaw as far as you can (your head will tilt back) and then slowly close. Repeat 5 times moving slowly opening and lifting the upper hinge of the jaw while keeping the lower jaw steady. This is one of my personal favorites because it opens the jaw in a different way than we usually do and relieves tension with very little discomfort!

4. Take the palm of your hand and press on one side of the jaw to the opposite side while slowly opening the jaw. Slowly close applying a gentle pressure. Switch sides.

10. Sphenoid (Roof of the mouth)
Press your thumb up on hard palate and move it along the ridge between the hard and soft palate moving away from the center. Press up and out all the way back working the ridge the most.

11. Ribs
Put your hands firmly on the lower ribcage. Slowly inhale sucking the air in through the lips expanding the ribs to the side as far as you can. Exhale and press the ribs in with the hands. As you inhale again, apply pressure from your hands so your ribs have to push against your hands to open. Continue 5 more times.

12. Epigastria & Upper Stomach / Diaphragm Release
Lean forward and press your fingers underneath your ribs where they meet in the front of the upper stomach. Try to hook your fingers under the ribcage. Take a deep breath. As you exhale release and press up under the ribs. Moderate pain is normal as this area is often tight and not very released. In a singer, this area needs to move freely out with the inhale in order for the diaphragm to move downward easily. Massaging over time will help to open up this area. If this is very painful you may have stomach problems and be in need of a doctor’s advice.

In closing, I highly recommend the practice of Hatha Yoga (Vinyasa preferred) and Feldenkrais movement series. Both of these practices soften and open the body creating less tension in your instrument. Less tension results in a freer, more resilient and stronger voice. Both methodologies are great for singers because they also incorporate breathing which is key to releasing tension and improving the sound of the voice.

Best of luck with your self-massage practice!
Yours in vocal health!,

Cari Cole