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voice & speech: journey of the voice: articulation: facial muscles

Articulation: Facial Muscles

Facial Muscles:
facial mucsles - front view The Facial Muscles, and in particular those in the lips, help to shape the sound and air stream into recognizable speech. Visible in this image (click on it), these muscles move the face in response to our thoughts, feelings, emotions and impulses. Actors work very carefully to learn how to isolate each muscle. It is useful to learn to recognise the various muscles in order to better isolate them, so that any extraneous movement is eliminated and the muscles used are those desired. Also by recognising the muscles' shape, it is easier to understand how the face is moved by these muscles.

 

 

They are:


facial muscles - side viewThis image features a clear side view of the facial muscles. You can see the temporalis muscle, those on your temples under the hairline just above your ears, very clearly. These are very active in chewing. Also visible is the large strap of the buccinator muscle (latin for bugler), which pulls the side of the mouth wide.

 

 

 

 

platysmaThe platysma muscle covers the front of the neck, and is the muscle closest to the surface. This image shows the angle at which one feels the platysma best, by lifting the chin while turning the head to either side. This muscle often tries to "help" as we speak, and learning to relax it can be very difficult for some. It attaches to the jaw line and to the clavicle as it smoothes over the neck.

For speech, the most important facial muscles are those that move the lips. All other muscles we want to relax as much as possible, especially the jaw muscles. In fact, some models are now having "botox", a form of botulism toxin, injected into some of their facial muscles, like the corrugator and frontalis, so that the muscles won't work and won't create wrinkles.

 

 

Back to Articulation
Back to The Journey of the Voice

 

More on Articulation:

Master Muscle List
Loyola University has a great online learning area on anatomy. This link puts you in the Master Muscle List by Region, where you should select "head and neck". This will give you a huge long list of all the muscles in the head and neck which you can use to learn more about these structures. posted June 5, 98.