Read This Before You Try Vocal Self-Massage ⏱ 3 Mins

August 5, 2024

Vocal self-massage can be beneficial to a singer – but only if it’s performed safely. Here’s what you need to know before you get started.

Many elite performers, from rock legends to Broadway leads, visit a manual therapist for a vocal massage when their voices are fatigued or tense.

Some even use vocal massage (also called laryngeal manipulation) as a preventative tool to maintain good health.

But you don’t need to be a superstar with a manual therapist on speed dial to enjoy the benefits of vocal massage.

By learning vocal self-massage skills, you can work on your own neck and larynx whenever and wherever you need to.

However, there are some things you need to know before you lay hands on your larynx.

Robert Price, a clinical massage therapist who specialises in the voice and jaw, warns that some areas around the head and neck should not be massaged or manipulated.

Don’t let that put you off; self-massage can be a valuable tool to help free up your voice and address any niggles. But always be careful and kind to yourself.

“I don’t use vocal self-massage all the time, but I certainly did in the pandemic when I often found myself in hotels in various cities working with terrible jaw problems,” Robert says.

“I would do lots of self-massage, and it really helped me.”

Vocal self-massage tips

Here are eight vocal self-massage tips from Robert to help you stay safe and healthy. Once you’ve read them, watch Robert demonstrate some massage techniques on the Singing Teachers Talk YouTube channel.

If you’re doing something that feels uncomfortable or painful, stop. Self-massage is not supposed to be a form of self-punishment.

Never use a massage gun on your neck or larynx.

Approach self-massage with kindness and sensitivity – not aggression.

Leave the hyoid bone alone – it’s breakable! Never put strong medial pressure on the hyoid bone or the region of the hyoid bone.

If you feel a pulse while working on your neck, re-position your hands as you’re touching the carotid artery, which carries blood to the brain.

Never delve around in the area behind the ear close to the jaw, as this is where your temporal styloid process is located. Pressing hard on this region is unsafe.

Don’t get neurotic about self-massage or over-do things. If you feel in tip-top vocal shape, leave things be.

Do something completely different that you love to do. Distraction can be an effective way to deal with pain or stress, so do an activity that will bring you from a heightened state into a karmic one.