Mona Lisa and 'The Rainbow of Power'

Huh?

Your Vocal Coaching Expert will explain:

Weird title, right?

But it’s such a helpful image for singers working to improve their intonation (tuning / pitching).

If you’re struggling to get your notes right in the middle of a note or your singing has been called ‘pitchy’ in the past, listen up (or read on!).

One way to begin to support your sound is the ‘Mona Lisa’. Have a look at her picture:

Everett-Art via Encyclopedia Britannica

Doesn’t she look like she’s got a little secret in her subtle smile? Or like she’s flirting with you?

That slight lift of her facial muscles (zygomaticus major and minor), if you mirror her, can help you find the middle of a note so that your tuning improves.

via Avis Patrick, Muscles of Facial Expression SlidePlayer, slide 76

Add to that secret smile ‘The Rainbow of Power’, and you’ll definitely win.

Before you book your Solo Vocal Lesson, try out some of these techniques:

Let’s find it step by step:

1) Start to get a yawn going, just the beginning of it.

Can you feel a tightening at the back of your mouth, along the upper arch of the soft palate (the soft bit behind the hard palate where your tongue makes the letter K with the back of the tongue)? This is called the palatoglossal arch.

Via Studyblue

2) Next, completely relax your face (deadpan, ‘gormless’ as the Brits say). Now, start the yawn again and lift your eyebrows.

Did you feel your ears pull back and the internal arch tighten again?

Release the yawn element (dropped jaw, lowered larynx), but keep the ears back (using the auricular muscles)…

The Auricular Muscles

Auricularis…

Posterior (back) and Superior (top) pull the ears up and back.

Anterior (front) and Superior (top) tighten and move the scalp.

via Avis Patrick, Muscles of Facial Expression SlidePlayer, slides 21 & 22

…and keep the tightened palatoglossal arch sensation going (like when you suppress a yawn).

Now, you’ve found your ‘Rainbow of Power’!

If you have a secret Mona Lisa smile, with just a little lift to make your cheekbones stand out, PLUS ‘The Rainbow of Power’, you can significantly improve your intonation.

The shape and location of the tongue and jaw also make a difference. More on those later, but see the blog post on Tongue Root Tension to start to relax any excess tongue tension…

These techniques work well in Solo or in Ensemble Vocal Lessons. We can help with choirs and small groups.

Click the button, below, to get in touch with our Vocal Coaching Expert Dr Anikó Tóth!

Speaking of Rainbows, Koko Vocals is proud to support Pride Month and the LGBTQIA+ community.