Recently I was doing a vocal recording for an event. When I went back to listen to the final recording, I was surprised to hear that the first line or so of my vocals were slightly flat. Since I was on a time crunch and it was late at night, I sent the file anyway with the hopes that most people probably wouldn’t notice it (professional, huh?). But it got me thinking and kept bothering me because that is not something I usually have trouble with.

Now, several factors could have played into my intonation problem. (Let me define intonation. Basically it is a fancy word for pitch, and how accurate it is.) It was late at night, my kids were sleeping, and I probably was unconsciously holding back so as not to disturb them. I also ended up getting sick a couple of days later, so my vocal chords might have already been feeling the effect from that. But I also know that there are a variety of vocal factors that could have played into it. So I am going to just discuss one – tongue placement.

Tongue placement. Because we use our tongues so much, it is often overlooked in regard to proper technique. It’s just does what it does and we don’t necessarily have to think about it. When faced with an intonation problem, however, it is an important part of the setup that allows for airflow and resonance. Several improper tongue placements are common and can be easily fixed with the help of a mirror and some practice.

1. High or “humped” tongue. This occurs when your tongue is too far forward. It can happen when you are actually trying for better technique and open up space in your throat, but can be over-emphasized. Even though you get more space at the base of your tongue, it can hinder the air flow out of your mouth and end up with a choked throaty sounds that can affect intonation. Relax your tongue a bit and drop your jaw, especially if you are trying to get more space in the back.

2. Flat tongue. This usually happens with a certain type of vowel, such as “e” or “i” and results in your tongue being spread and flat close to the top of your mouth. This is most easily fixed by a change in vowel formation. Add a little of the formation of “ah” to the vowel that is causing a flat tone. Start by singing “ah” and move into the offending vowel sound being careful to keep the “ah” formation at the base of your tongue.

3. Tongue tension. Even though your tongue is probably your most flexible muscle, it can still carry tension, most often at the back. After all, it is a muscle and works out all the time. Even with the best technique, singing is hard work, and we are always making little changes to achieve the sound we want to make. Tension can inadvertently build up and start affecting intonation. Stretching it out slightly can help (maybe practiced in private!), by sticking it out of your mouth like you are saying “blah” and just keep going until you feel a little stretch at the back of your tongue.  If you know how it feels to yawn with your mouth closed (go ahead, try it!), try to hold on to that feeling. It is important to keep relaxing it at the back, and yawning can help get you in the proper position. If you feel the urge to raise your tongue, don’t! You can also practicing changing vowels on a short exercise going up and down without much movement in your tongue. Just let it rest on your bottom teeth.

Grab a mirror, look at your tongue and see what happens! Intonation is important, and not nearly as scary as it sounds. Excuse me while I go practice.