Today’s scale exercise on La Ya decouples the movement of the tongue and jaw so the Ah vowel can stay tall and clear.
Last week I showed you how to make a tall, spacious Ah vowel by pressing the thumb against the palate of the mouth.
Now, we’re going to practice maintaining that tall shape while moving the voice.
For the very best sound, the top half of the mouth needs to be firm, lifted, and active, and the bottom half needs to be released and soft. We will maintain the vertical inner space of the thumb-lifted Ah while we move the tongue around t to create L and Y sounds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fkVVa3LzXQ
How to do the La Ya
1. Start by creating independent L and Y sounds. Watching yourself in the mirror, touch just the tip of the tongue to the very front of the hard palate – right behind the top teeth. That makes L. Now, lift the back of the tongue to the palate with the tip behind the bottom teeth. That makes Y.
2. Now, go back and forth, watching the jaw to keep it loose and steady. La Ya La Ya La Ya. The tongue is rocking backward and forward without coarticulated action in the jaw.
3. Now, find that tall Ah vowel by pressing the thumb against the highest part of the hard palate.
4. Sing the pattern of a nine note scale with a consonant every four notes. Something like, “La-a-a-a-Ya-a-a-a-La-a-a-a-Ya-a-a-a” etc.
As you sing, feel the uncompromised tall space of the ah and the independent action of the tongue. The challenge here is to avoid “chewing” the consonants with the jaw, so work on that independence of the various moving parts and you’ll be good to go.
Thanks for practicing!
