How can l lower my larynx using appoggio instead of my throat muscles, l know the second one can be damaging to the voice, but I don't quite get it.
The main thing I emphasize is not so much the lowering of the larynx as the stabilizing of the larynx. We want to make sure that the larynx does not rise when we start to phonate. This is a sign that there is a lack of stable resistance to the breath by the larynx. Although the larynx takes a lower position in good function, it is not helpful to try and lower it. The lower position needs to happen naturally through good function and not through deliberate placement. The way we accomplish this is by making sure that the larynx is active in the phonation and not passive. Signs of a passive larynx are breath flow, rising of the larynx, disconnected quality, lack of depth, sensation of placement in the mouth area. If the larynx is active we feel like we are pronouncing deeper, from the bottom of the throat. We actually can learn to sense the start of the vibration at the vocal cords. By thinking with the voice instead of with the breath we stimulate the nervous system to activate the muscles in and around the larynx. This activation is not a tensing or stiffening, but simply action that stabilizes the larynx so it does not rise and stays in balanced opposition with the breath in order to keep the vibration going. So it goes back to the descriptions of Manuel Garcia that the start of the vibration controls everything. He referred to this as the "Coup de Glotte", or the Perfect Attack.
