Brianna Skeen-Assignment #1 (jaw position)

 Roy Orbison:

With Ray I noticed that he was able to get his notes into a nice buzzy resonant place as if he was humming and was just lightly using his articulators while keeping his jaw in virtually the same position. I did notice however that his jaw position changed as he sang [a] especially if he was singing it starting high in a descending pattern. It reminded me of the "m---a" exercise. Whether or not he had his jaw open or closed didn't seem to matter for resonance. It was really neat to watch.

Judy Collins:

Judy looks like her jaw remains in a resting gently smiling position as she sings. She only lightly uses the articulators just enough make a distinction in the words. I also love her sighing quality in her voice and how she does that while keeping her jaw in a relaxed neutral position. It gets a really ringing floating kind of space and sound. 

Ivan Kozlovsky:

The way Ivan sings reminds me of a ventriloquist. How he can get an open [a] without opening his mouth very much  I don't understand. He really only opens his mouth and moves his jaw when his articulation requires it. He does this with the sounds [vo], [ma], [wa]. He doesn't rely on opening his mouth for resonance but rather on the shape of his mouth alone.

Piotr Beczala:

Piotr looks like he is chewing his words like a peanut butter sandwich. I feel like his extension of the jaw makes it difficult for some of his notes to find that ringing resonance that is present with the other three singers. I can tell that there is some tension while he sings. He is relying on his jaw to find a resonant space and it isn't necessary.

My conclusion is that jaw position is not a factor in resonance however jaw tension is.

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