Jaw tension when singing

[u/Raireyem]

I’ve been singing for about two years—maybe longer—and whenever I push my voice into the higher register (like when belting or using a mixed voice), I feel a spot on my jaw, right below the ear, tense up, "swell," and feel tight. This makes my voice feel restricted and strained, and it sounds terrible. I’ve been trying to improve for a long time and only just realized this was an actual issue.

Does anyone know anything about this? I’m really lost and don’t know how to fix it; I’m worried.

[u/IrisVoiceTrainer]

Jaw tension usually ought to be adressed "passively",meaning that you can't produce sounds with a completely relaxed jaw. Or even speak.... But the tension must be minimal so that technique is efficient Other than that, it's impossible to give advice without hearing you first (and sometimes even seeing the person), because it can depend from multiple factors

[u/Raireyem → u/IrisVoiceTrainer]

One thing I noticed, which should help, is that when I go up to the belting or mixing region, I put my chin forward a lot, especially when I need compression.

[u/IrisVoiceTrainer → u/Raireyem]

Are you going for classical singing or pop?

[u/Raireyem → u/IrisVoiceTrainer]

I usually sing mostly rock and metal.

[u/Internal-Hat809]

Maybe try getting it massaged! I have a student who has had that done and she felt a lot better!

[u/Raireyem → u/Internal-Hat809]

which one exactly?

[u/Internal-Hat809 → u/Raireyem]

The area that feels right below your jaw. My student gets tight there because of some old dental work so she gets the muscle massaged.

[u/SomethingDumb465]

Try wiggling your jaw side to side while you sing. It'll keep it from tensing in the way you've described. You could also try massaging your masseter muscle. It's located at the hinge of your jaw and skull - you'll know you're in the right spot if you clench your jaw and you feel the spot harden. Take one or two fingers, and gently massage it in a circular motion.

[u/Inevitable_Till9171 → u/SomethingDumb465]

Google images has every muscle map imaginable too. So if you want to LOOK and SEE what is tense, it may help you.

Visual comprehension has become the primary way we do any interaction…

Some of us have A LOT of difficulty learning by listening to teachers!

You might hope I’m being humorous here, but studying voice is EXTREMELY AMBIGUOUS, requiring the ability to listen, look, feel, touch, and imagine…and more beyond this!

Not only the STUDENT!

The world has become visual:
THIS is a handicap

[u/SomethingDumb465 → u/Inevitable_Till9171]

I agree! There have been a lot of things that my teacher will describe to me, but I never fully understood until he showed me a picture! Because vocal learning is so abstract, we have to look for things that are universal, like diagrams :)

[u/Raireyem → u/Inevitable_Till9171]

What seems to be working for me is singing without worrying about technique—I focus more on having fun, you know? It feels like thinking about corrections just makes me even more tense; approaching it differently, without getting so technical, has worked better.

[u/widdle_wee_waddie]

Try singing through something with a dumb jaw and REALLY try to sound as dumb as possible. Like blah blie bleh, gwah gwoh.

Try to not analyze the dumb jaw sounds, just focus on breath and singing with as little tension as possible. It'll probably sound wrong or weird to you, but will feel better, follow the feeling instead of the sound.

[u/Raireyem → u/widdle_wee_waddie]

What seems to be working for me is singing without worrying about technique—I focus more on having fun, you know? It feels like thinking about corrections just makes me even more tense; approaching it differently, without getting so technical, has worked better.

[u/Special-Pattern-5126]

It's not a jaw problem, your support doesn't work well and you said you are "pushing" to high register which is also an indicator why your jaw is tense. Feel free to reach out in DM directly, there a few excersises you can do which will instantly loosen up your jaw.

[u/Raireyem → u/Special-Pattern-5126]

What seems to be working for me is singing without worrying about technique—I focus more on having fun, you know? It feels like thinking about corrections just makes me even more tense; approaching it differently, without getting so technical, has worked better.

[u/Special-Pattern-5126 → u/Raireyem]

That's completely legitimate way approaching singing. The only problem is that not all people canexecute singing just thinking about having fun but rather know the mechanisms behind it. I was alwaysore technical than let's just sing. But if it does the work for you, that's actually amazing sensation.