A wonderful discovery, isn't it? When I started studying voice, I used to be a jaw-clenching chin-jutter - not excessively, but enough that it made it impossible for my vocal production to be free and easy. My teacher did two things with me that helped a lot - the first was the chin thing you described. The second was to essentially hang my tongue limply out of my mouth and over my lower lip, and to "hold" it there very lightly with the tip of my finger as I vocalised. I'm not sure if your teacher has tried this with you, but you may want to give it a try. In the same way that the new chin position you discovered frees the tension in the jaw, this tongue exercise frees the tension in the back of the tongue (jaw and back-of-tongue tension virtually always go together).
One caveat - as you work in your new "chin" position, just be careful not to overdo it - you'll lose the good effect if you try dropping the chin too far down or pulling it too far back. That "dropped" position should come from a feeling of opening and "unhinging" of the jaw, and not from a muscular effort to push the chin down and back.
Good luck!
Karen Mercedes http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html *************************************** The ones I love are incapable of ill will, and return love for hatred.... [They] who serve both friend and foe with equal love....Such as these are dear to me. [Bhagavad Gita, Chap. 12]
Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. [Matt. 5:44-48]
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