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A Humming Primer
Hmmm was inspired by Nova Scotia writer Sheree Fitch during a
workshop for Arts Health Antigonish (AHA! –
www.artshealthantigonish.org.) She invited us to write a poem or
a story around a letter of the alphabet. I chose the letter M.
My original idea was simply to shape a story in which M,
communicating only by humming, sought out the company of
Nature’s hummers—bees, hummingbirds, and dragonflies—to
become an advocate for children and grown-ups who were
different. I imagined M inviting them to commune with Nature —
to hum.
As a preamble to M’s story, here are some basic pointers for your
humming practice that will allow your vocal cords to resonate
freely.
With your mouth closed, move your tongue and jaw to change the
shape, and thus the resonance of your humming. Feel all those
vibrations bouncing around in your head. When you feel the most
vibrations in your face, your tongue and jaw are in the right
position. If you are humming to recover from a sore throat or cold,
you will want to feel the most vibrations in your forehead.
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