The "Idina Tongue Singing" Thing

[Amneris]

Posted: 4/21/05 at 11:07pm

I've always noticed and wondered..when Idina sing's, her tongue sort of sticks out of her mouth or is VERY up in her mouth lol... does this help get those belty notes out stronger? Is it something a lot of people do?

[Aigoo]

Posted: 4/21/05 at 11:10pm

there was this one clip of The Wizard and I, and her tongue was doing this weird dance of its own. I thought it was sort of strange, but I tried it. I was probably doing it wrong, but I didn't find anything different. Maybe something to do with her soft palette or her larynx.

[Dreamcatcher]

Posted: 4/21/05 at 11:58pm

Well my singing teacher always tells me to keep my tongue foward and in the front of my mouth while singing warm ups and it works very well so maybe that's why.

[Amneris]

Posted: 4/22/05 at 12:01am

mine tells me to relax my tongue and do the same as you but, it just seems weird that hers is sticking out lol

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 4/22/05 at 12:01am

That is a warm up technique. She shouldn't do it in perfomance.

Updated On: 4/22/05 at 12:01 AM

[Trisky]

Posted: 4/22/05 at 12:30am

So not technically qualified to even respond to this... but I just happened to notice the last time I saw Altar Boyz that Tyler Maynard does the exact same tongue thing at the end of Ephiphany when he has to go really high on that last "beeeee". Apparently Idina isn't the only one using this technique.

[ElphieDefiesGravity]

Posted: 4/22/05 at 3:04pm

When my sister and I won the Wicked lottery this summer, we had prime seats to see Idina's tongue. At the end of "No Good Deed" on the last " Aaaaaagaaaaainnnn!" she stuck her tongue waaaaay out. It really freaked me out. She looked very evil, which was, I guess, appropriate for the character at the time.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 4/22/05 at 3:08pm

Rath is right...it's usually a warm-up technique. Two teachers I've had have had me do it while doing exercises because I have a habit or "swallowing" my tongue. I guess she got rid of the bad one and put another habit in its place...which is better for singing, but she probably shouldn't HAVE to do it at this point. It's probably just habitual now.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 4/22/05 at 3:15pm

Idina won't have the power she does twenty years from now, maybe even ten. She breathes very incorrectly and your tongue is supposed to be flat in your mouth not up. She forces a lot of her voice through her throat which is VERY damaging.

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 4/22/05 at 3:16pm

well I dunno, but my teacher says to keep your tounge relaxed but at your teeth..not out but in, but against your teeth

[Ourtime992]

Posted: 4/22/05 at 3:32pm

Idina is welcome to do whatever she wants and finds works, I just hope we don't get a whole generation of her fans doing it too.

[Adoannie925]

Posted: 4/22/05 at 4:45pm

No, it's just poor vocal technique.

When you sing, you never want to be bite and smile like she does where you see the teeth because it creates jaw tension and the sound becomes forced. Also, the tongue thing...tongue should always be relaxed and forward, but slightly arched in the back. She also releases so much air (that's why she has such a breathy sound) and her voice often gets lost in her air because her breathing seems shallow, and when you open your mouth that wide you can't support your voice with air because the voice is all over the place and lost in the air.

[keggss23]

Posted: 4/22/05 at 4:51pm

Her breathing technique is horrible. When I saw her on the Tony's I thought she was having an athsma attack. She wasn't using her diaphragm at all and she was gasping for air every few words.

Keeping your tongue down and relaxed is the only advice I have ever gotten from my vocal teachers.

Of course, everyone is different, but I really think she has terrible vocal technique and I will be suprised if she has any voice left in a few years.

[Elphabuff2]

Posted: 4/22/05 at 4:52pm

This is pretty weird. I thought I was the only one who noticed it. You can see Idina's technique, or lack thereof, in the Late Nite clip of the "Defying Gravity" performance, mainly on the last notes.

[Mattio98]

Posted: 4/22/05 at 4:52pm

Most voice teachers say that the tongue should be relaxed and gently resting against the tip of the bottom front teeth so that it doesn't obstruct the sound but it be easily moved to help with articulation. Idina sort of sticks it out which, from what I know, most teachers advise against.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 4/22/05 at 4:55pm

"She forces a lot of her voice through her throat which is VERY damaging."

No she doesn't. Her vocal resonance is at the roof of her mouth or at the crown of her head. If its in her throat, she's doing it wrong, and she will sound like she did at the Tonys..not like she normally does.



"When you sing, you never want to be bite and smile like she does where you see the teeth because it creates jaw tension and the sound becomes forced."

She is not placing forward, near the teeth, in the mask, or anywhere else like that, so however wide her mouth open will not affect the placement of her voice. As I said before, she places at the roof of her mouth of at the crown of her head, and opening her mouth wider can allow for that sound to be greater.


She could use some new breathing habits though. It has gotten horrendous with the gasping, so its caused her to be more inconsistent.

[keggss23]

Posted: 4/22/05 at 4:56pm

Wouldn't sticking your tongue out also hinder projection since her tongue would be in the way?

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 4/22/05 at 4:59pm

"Wouldn't sticking your tongue out also hinder projection since her tongue would be in the way? "

No...it gets it out of your throat if you have that habit of "swallowing" your tongue, which would result in a more choked sound and damage to the throat. And yes, your tongue should be relaxed and behind your teeth when you sing, but as I said, sometimes its something teacher do in order to help a student break a habit.
Updated On: 4/22/05 at 04:59 PM

[Al Dente]

Posted: 4/22/05 at 5:21pm

You've lost me with this thread but it does seem from some of the titles about Mentzel, the tongue, the heavy breathing, the "hands", that she's really neurotic. It sounds like a great many "tics".

[keggss23]

Posted: 4/22/05 at 5:32pm

I still think she has terrible technique and won't be able to sing in a few years.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 4/22/05 at 5:38pm

If her technique was nearly as bad as everyone says, her voice would be long gone by now...belting full voice in that high of a register every night.

[Mattio98]

Posted: 4/22/05 at 6:00pm

Well I think she bought herself a few years by NOT hitting the notes every night.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 4/22/05 at 6:09pm

Well..The problem is essentially her breathing lately. Before she ever did any of this gasping business, she was nailing the notes, and that problem was not in sight. Its the inconsistency. Some nights she would nail it, others, she'd be gasping and struggling a little bit. Its something I would hope she fixes by the next time she is in a show. She seemed to do fine with Rent, Aida, and The Wild Party...so I don't know what's causing the breathing problem.

At the same time, its one of those roles that'll vocally wear you out. Look at Tonya in Caroline or Change, she seemed to have similar problems after being in that show for a much shorter time. Why don't we all go talk about how horrible her technique is and how in a few years, she won't be able to sing.

[Mattio98]

Posted: 4/22/05 at 6:17pm

Because Tonya has the technique. She just did some very damaging things as a character choice. Idina, on the other hand, doesn't have the technique in the first place.

Plus, from a personal standpoint, I never took any issue with Tonya's cracking and vocal roughness in "Lot's Wife" because it totally and completely worked with the performance. Caroline was having a breakdown and I think I would've enjoyed it much less if she used perfect vocal technique.

[LittleFish8386]

Posted: 4/22/05 at 6:18pm

This one time, I saw Idina singing, and she like blinked her eyes every couple of seconds or so, and I tried it b/c I thought it might help me sing better, but it made me look like I had a tick.