Does Your Jaw Ache When Singing?

When you’re belting out your favourite song and really putting your all into it, there’s nothing more off-putting and limiting than jaw ache.

It’s a common problem amongst singers and it’s probably not surprising to learn that it’s usually down to jaw tension.

Don’t panic though! If jaw ache is becoming a regular part of your singing sessions, there are things you can do about it.

Practise Makes Perfect

The best way to reduce jaw ache while singing is to practise even more. Sounds counterintuitive, right?

But while you practise, do it in front of a mirror so you can watch for signs of tension while you sing. If you know exactly where the tension is coming from, you’ll have a better chance of reducing it.

You might notice your jaw clenching or sitting awkwardly while you sing. Or, especially if you are new to singing, you might just be nervous about performing in front of people.

There are exercises you can do to reduce chronic tension. And the more you practise, the more confident you will become. Eventually, those nerves will drop off naturally.

Loosen Your Jaw

One of the best exercises for loosening tension in your jaw is this: look in a mirror and smile at yourself. Keep it relaxed and let your jaw hang loose.

In this stance, sing “ya-ya-ya-ya-ya”, working your way down the pentatonic scale and back up again. Maintain the same pitch and make sure your tongue is doing all the work – not your jaw.

Then do the same thing, but this time, sing “la-la-la-la-la”. Practise this as many times as you like, choosing different pitches each time. The more you do it, the better you will become at loosening your jaw.

Another way to do this is to hold your finger to your jaw while you sing “ya-ya-ya-ya-ya”. Watch what happens to your jaw in the mirror as you sing.

Does your chin want to jut out? Use your finger to hold it gently in place (don’t push).

Jutting your chin out is a common sign of tension. Do this for ten seconds at a time and see if anything changes.

Loosen Your Neck Muscles

Your jaw tension might be coming from your neck, so it’s a good idea to try a few exercises that will loosen that up, too. You can try voicing your breath to fix this.

Voicing your breath means sitting or standing up straight in front of a mirror and taking a big breath in. As you breathe out, sing “aaaaahh” for as long a note as you can.

Do this a few times to isolate the neck muscle controlling your jaw and loosen it up, ready for a big performance.

Maintain Awareness Throughout The Day

All these exercises are great before a big performance, but if your jaw is clenched often throughout the day, it will ache whether you sing or not.

You need to notice when it is clenched throughout the day and try and relax it as often as possible.

You can even set reminders on your phone to check your jaw, so that you remember to reset in a more relaxed position.

As a rule, your teeth should always be slightly separated while your lips are together and the tip of your tongue should be resting lightly on the roof of the mouth, just behind your top teeth.

You might also need to cut back on certain activities such as excessive gum chewing, smoking, drugs and alcohol, as these all contribute to jaw tension.

Massage and Stress Relief

If your jaw problems are related to excessive stress, then you might want to look at ways of reducing your stress.

Yoga, meditation and mindfulness are all great for this, but if your stress is chronic, then you may also want to speak to a healthcare professional.

You can also reduce local tension by massaging the area at the top of your jaw regularly, but especially before you sing.

Conclusion

There are lots of things you can do to help reduce jaw tension – this article only covers a few of them.

If you need more help, you might want to book a one-on-one consultation with one of our friendly singing instructors. They can take a closer look at your singing technique and suggest personalised techniques that will help you.

Get in touch with us here at the London Singing Institute and we’ll soon have you singing without the jaw ache!