Introducing myself

Hello everyone,

I just started with 30-day singer today, and even though I have some singing experience I decided to go through the beginning 30-day lesson series.  I also have a voice instructor, but thought it would be a valuable adjunct to my lessons.  

I do have an issue with a condition called oromandibular dystonia, which is a movement disorder of the mouth and jaw.  My jaw has a tendency to open by itself, and also it is extremely difficult to relax the lower jaw.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Welcome, Cary! I don't have experience with that condition, but I'll reach out to some voice teaching colleagues and share with you if I learn anything helpful!

Thank you Camille!  It is not a common condition, but any suggestions would be much appreciated.  I am finding that inwardly smiiing tends to relax me a little bit.

By the way, I watched your instructional video on classical singing and found it very interesting and helpful.  I'm just sorry I couldn't stick around for the entire class.

I posted on a forum with some fellow voice teachers and didn't have luck finding someone with relevant experience! I do trust these two folks on YouTube, and they both have videos on jaw tension + singing:

SingWise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQVakrZAfFQ

Dr. Dan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGRyfyWwCes

Those are very helpful, Camille.  Thanks for taking the time to point them out.  I will probably always need to give special attention to relaxing the jaw as much a possible during warmups.  Also, I have found that Johathan's advice on "smiling through the eyes and cheeks" seems to help.

My pleasure, Cary! Yes, that's good advice. I also like to think about the upper part of my mouth lifting up (although it's not technically possible) as I let my jaw gently relax down, instead of just thinking about bottom of my mouth lowering. Whatever cues work for you: use them!