Should I tuck my pelvis or tilt my pelvis to get the right singing posture?
To answer that question in one word: neither. Our bodies are more complicated than a one stop, static postural directive!
I’ve read and heard a lot of advice offered from voice teachers saying to find proper posture for singing, we need to tuck the pelvis. I’ve even heard teachers say tuck the pelvis AND engage the glutes to really get support for the high notes.
Historically, many pedagogy texts have offered the same advice on tucking and some of them have been around for a long time, meaning their message has been spread wide and adopted by many.
When we tuck the pelvis it can make it appear to create a shape change in the body above. But, have you ever tried moving while keeping your pelvis tucked? If you haven’t, try it right now. You’ll look like you are walking like a penguin! It is not a very efficient way to get around on stage or move through life.
Have you ever wondered about the value of constantly having to reposition your body simply to get a better sound? I hope it is more commonly known now that there is no such thing as proper posture for singing. You can sing successfully when your body is in any number of different positions. Full stop.
However, when we identify issues in the voice that might be related to the pressure system, like range shortening, running out of air, difficulty resolving overly breathy or pressy sounds, muscle tension dysphonia, excessive jaw tension, tongue tension, an indication that singing requires a lot of effort, or reporting of issues like low back pain, sacro-iliac pain or even diastasis, it might be worth looking at the position of the pelvis as part of the puzzle.
It is also vital to remember that the body is more than just a collection of bones, muscles, cartilage, fascia, tendons and ligaments. Our bodies hold the stories of our lives; the memories and experiences that make us who we are as beings. When we encounter issues within the body we have to put them within the context of this living ecosystem and remember that we may have stored trauma that may be profoundly impacting how we feel.
What is the pelvis:
The pelvis is made up of two bones called the Ilium which are connected in the back at the scaro-iliac joint where the ilium meet the sacrum, the triangular bone at the base of the spine, both sides lined with cartilage. In the front the two halves of the ilium meet at the cartilaginous joint called the pubic symphysis, and that area is sometimes referred to as the pubic bone. The curved, cup-like places on both sides of the pelvis where the head of the femur (leg bone) meets the pelvis are called the acetabulum.
Within the pelvis, portions of the digestive system and reproductive organs are housed along with the urinary system. The base of the pelvis is called the pelvic floor and is made up of 3 layers of muscles, ligaments and connective tissues.
A healthy spine is not straight, it has two natural lordotic (inward) curves in the lumbar and cervical spine and two kyphotic (outward) curves in the thoracic and sacral spine.
The position of the pelvis:
The pelvis can move as a unit and each of the halves also have a level of independent movement. Collectively we can think of the pelvis as being anteriorly or posteriorly (forward and back) tilted. Most of us will tend toward one or the other of these as our default position.
Tuck is a posterior tilt of the pelvis – think lying on the floor with your knees bent, feet flat on the ground, and rolling the pelvis toward the nose so the low back is flat to the ground.
Duck is an anterior tilt of the pelvis – think rolling the pelvis toward the toes so there is not just a little space behind the low back, but a lot of space.
Another way to think about it is this: many bodies that present with a tilted pelvis are living in an extension pattern, where you might also see the lower ribs pushed forward. Other bodies live in a flexion pattern where the pelvis is tucked and you will see rounding forward in the thoracic spine – making the upper ribcage appear collapsed. The pelvis can also be pushed forward in space causing your center of mass to drift over your toes. Bodies can also have varying combinations of extension, flexion and forward placement. Our bodies are very smart and will find ways of positioning to facilitate us doing the things we want to do in the world!
We are ALL asymmetrical beings. Don’t think for one moment that there is a singer out there who has a perfectly balanced body with no issues. That person does not exist! We are looking at allowing our body to have greater movement options.. When I work with someone we are seeking to enable more dynamic possibilities, moving out into other positions and returning to a potentially resting position. Does that mean there is absolutely no tilt or tuck of the pelvis going on? NO! Does it mean we can move out of tilt and tuck and into other positions? YES!
The role of the pelvis in the singing voice:
The pelvis is the foundation of the pressure system that is our torso. In the middle we have the diaphragm. At the top we have the larynx. When we breathe to live, sing, or move, we’d like to have a supple rhythm of motion rippling through muscles and connective tissues from the neck, down the spine and ribcage, to the pelvis and back.
Due to the asymmetrical nature of the diaphragm we are pulled to the right (the right side is larger and more biased towards exhalation due to the placement of the liver) with each breath we take. That pull can translate to twists and turns within the body that can impact how the muscles of the voice work.
Tensions within the pelvic muscles are often reflected in the muscles of the jaw and throat. The position of the pelvis will also impact how well the deep core musculature in the abdomen can function.
How does your body stack up?
Static Assessment:
We can use boney markers and simple movement assessments to determine where we might have adaptations that are getting in the way of our voice. Please note, not all bodies can accomplish bony marker assessments. Lying down sometimes allows tissue to slide out of the way to facilitate touching boney markers, but it isn’t always possible, so in those cases we can zoom out and look at the body as a whole before proceeding. So, if this doesn’t work in your body, skip it!
In the pelvis the boney markers we use are the ASIS (anterior, superior iliac spine), the nobby points of the front of your hip bones, and the pubic bone, the place the two halves of the pelvis come together in the front of the pelvis. When doing this we are having to consider the layers of muscle, adipose (fat) tissue that we all have on our bodies – mostly you need to imagine they aren’t there and you are just dealing with bones in this assessment. These can be easier to do lying down.
If the ASIS sits in front of the pubic bone, your pelvis is tilted anteriorly. If the ASIS sits behind the pubic bone, the pelvis is tucked posteriorly. If the ASIS and pubic bone sit in the same plane (as in, we could drop a pane of glass in front of them and they would both touch the glass equally), then we have a pelvis that is neutral.
You can also place your thumbs on your lower, fused ribs and your pointer fingers on your ASIS points. If the ribs are not angled vertically over the ASIS, your lower ribs are flared forward – think like an open pair of scissors and or your pelvis is tilted forward. I demonstrate this in a reel here
You can take a picture of yourself from the side and assess whether your ears are in front of your shoulders and if they are, how far? That will tell you how your neck/larynx is stacked up over the elements below it. You can take a full body shot in fitted clothing and get a sense of whether you are in an extension pattern or a flexion pattern.
Movement assessment:
Begin lying on the ground with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor
- Locate your sacrum with your mind’s eye and feel it in contact with the ground (or not).
- Explore, can you tuck your pelvis and feel your low back flatten to the floor and then return to resting?
- Explore, can you tilt your pelvis, rolling it toward your toes and feel your low back raise off the ground.
Questions to consider:
How comfortable is it to tilt and tuck? Is one direction easier? Is one harder? What happens if you exhale while you tuck and inhale while you tilt? Does the movement change? Can you do these movements while keeping the rest of the torso relatively still or do the ribcage and head try to get in on the action?
Giving a blanket directive of tuck or tilt to solve the issue of position or pain might appear to make a short term shift. But in reality it is not a viable way to change anything about the body or voice. Solving the riddle of the issues requires individual assessment and a whole body approach because everything in the body impacts everything else in the body.
There are lots of ways of using breathing drills to address places of compression in the ribcage and moving that can facilitate activity in the upper hamstrings, release tensions in the pelvic floor and activate deep abdominals that will help improve pelvis position bringing greater ease into the body and voice. We get into these sorts of things in the Singer Synergy 9 week movement program, built to help singers bodies function with greater ease so you sing with greater ease.
