Is this a good progressive plan to eliminate tongue tension

[u/Cool_Engineering_115]

So I learned to first start by pulling the tongue out from the back to give it a stretch, but don’t make any noise, just stretch until the twitching and tension from the stretch stops. And then start to sing songs on singular vowels. And once that works then start singing songs with words with tongue pulled out.

Follow up question: when doing step 1 (stretches with no noise) should I do that for let’s say 30 minutes and then don’t sing or do anything else that day so I don’t retrain the bad muscle memory? For the singing on vowels and words I can do multiple songs but for the first step I’m not sure how to tackle it

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[u/gizzard-03]

30 minutes of stretching your tongue is overkill. If you want to eliminate tongue tension and improve dexterity, use it to articulate consonants and vowels in alternating patterns. Try singing repeated syllables like La, Na, Ta, Da and Ya on one not using just your tongue with minimal jaw movement. You can do the same with consonants involving the tongue. Your tongue doesn’t need to be relaxed while singing, it needs to be fast and nimble.

[u/Specialist_Kick_5281]

I've never really stretched my tongue, but a minute or two is probably plenty of time. Any time beyond that won't stretch it any better than the first minute did.

If you're trying to improve tongue dexterity, tongue twisters as a warmup. Even better, add a simple melody to a tongue twister and challenge yourself to sing quicker and quicker until you can't sing it any faster. That'll be plenty to warm your tongue up before singing.

I don't think you need to avoid singing or talking or anything afterwards. Tongue stretching isn't really about getting rid of bad muscle memory, it's more about getting your tongue to relax and improving dexterity/flexibility. Like how you warm up before playing soccer because it helps your muscles become more flexible and reduce strain. But you probably wouldn't hold the same stretch for thirty minutes before playing soccer because you just need to hold it for a minute or two before you've stretched enough.