Cannot do my Lup Trill the way Jonathan says to

Jonathan Estabrook tells me to relax my jaw for the lip trill. But: unless I clench my jaw, I cannot do the trill. the air just flows out just like that. Does the exercise even serve a purpose then?

Hi Ludwig,

This is a great question and we consulted one of our instructors, Camille van Niekerk. Here's what she had to say:

Your mouth needs to be closed for the lip trill, since your lips are vibrating together. What Jonathan is probably cautioning against is clenching your jaw so much that your teeth are touching, which results in a whole lot of muscle tension we don't need or want! See if you can still get the trill going, while leaving space between your teeth. It will take some getting used to! Some singers find it helpful to support their cheeks or the corners of their mouth with two fingers for some added help until your muscles become used to holding that position. Hope that helps!

Camille, thank you, it turns out that not touching the teeth works great! (I still have to put tension on my jaw muscles, but I'm on the right track now.)

Glad to hear that, Ludwig! Good work!