--- title: "The vocal gesture explained by Jean-Marie Legé, osteopath" description: "Voice specialist osteopath Jean-Marie Legé explains breathing, the abdominals, the neck, posture and stage fright in Anatomie du Chant and La Bonne Voix." url: https://jeanmarielege.com/en/explanations/ lang: en updated: 2026-10-18 --- # The vocal gesture explained by Jean-Marie Legé When Adeline Toniutti wrote her book *Anatomie du Chant* (The Anatomy of Singing), published in France and Russia, Jean-Marie Legé contributed to it. An osteopath to elite athletes, singers and opera musicians, he brought his scientific perspective to the vocal gesture as a whole. The *Anatomie du Chant* method is corroborated by 26 specialists in the body and the voice. Here are his contributions. Mobile, calls and texts: +33 6 68 80 57 39. Practice: +33 1 42 57 31 59. 73 ter rue Lamarck, 75018 Paris. [Breath](https://jeanmarielege.com/en/explanations/#souffle) · [Abdominals](https://jeanmarielege.com/en/explanations/#abdominaux) · [Psoas](https://jeanmarielege.com/en/explanations/#psoas) · [Neck and jaw](https://jeanmarielege.com/en/explanations/#cou) · [Posture](https://jeanmarielege.com/en/explanations/#posture) · [Tone and conversation](https://jeanmarielege.com/en/explanations/#parole) · [Stage fright](https://jeanmarielege.com/en/explanations/#trac) · [Nerves](https://jeanmarielege.com/en/explanations/#nerfs) · [Drinking ahead of exertion](https://jeanmarielege.com/en/explanations/#eau) · [Manipulation](https://jeanmarielege.com/en/explanations/#manipulation) · [The books](https://jeanmarielege.com/en/explanations/#livres) ## The breath, from the nose to the alveoli ### Breathing in through the nose, out through the mouth > In singing, we will favour an inhalation through the nose and an exhalation through the mouth. […] When you breathe in through the nose, the stream of air arrives inside the body filtered and tempered. It has time to pass through all the upper airways, the nostrils, the choanae and the start of the trachea, without disturbance. > > Jean-Marie Legé, in Adeline Toniutti’s *Anatomie du Chant* (Marabout, 2024), p. 64 (Translated from the French.) _Inhalation, front view of the head and thorax. *Anatomie du Chant*, p. 63, drawing by Emma Blanc-Tailleur._ ### The route of the air to the pulmonary alveolus > Between the surrounding air and the pulmonary alveolus, the route through the airways is shared by the in-breath and the out-breath. The oxygen brought in by inhalation and the carbon dioxide released by exhalation create a buffer mixture in the airways. A series of successive breathing cycles is needed before the inhaled air reaches the pulmonary alveolus. > > Jean-Marie Legé, in Adeline Toniutti’s *Anatomie du Chant* (Marabout, 2024), p. 11 (Translated from the French.) _Front view of the thorax: the path of the air. *Anatomie du Chant*, p. 12, drawing by Emma Blanc-Tailleur._ ### The intercostal muscles and the movement of the ribs > The intercostal muscles lie in two muscular planes; their fibres are crossed. When one plane contracts, it draws the ribs together; when the other contracts, it opens the ribs out. On the in-breath, the ribs spread apart and lie more horizontal. On the out-breath, the ribs draw together and lie more vertical. > > Jean-Marie Legé, in Adeline Toniutti’s *Anatomie du Chant* (Marabout, 2024), p. 16 (Translated from the French.) _Inhalation, left lateral view of the rib cage. *Anatomie du Chant*, p. 16, drawing by Emma Blanc-Tailleur._ ## No obliques, no abdominals ### The two layers of the abdominal muscles > […] It is the obliques that give cohesion between the horizontal fibres of the transversus and the vertical fibres of the rectus abdominis. No obliques, no abdominals. > > Jean-Marie Legé, in Adeline Toniutti’s *Anatomie du Chant* (Marabout, 2024), p. 22 (Translated from the French.) _The transverse abdominal muscle. *Anatomie du Chant*, p. 21, drawing by Emma Blanc-Tailleur._ ### The obliques, engines of active exhalation > […] The bracing of the oblique muscles therefore compresses the visceral mass and lets the diaphragm rise, forming a column of air. Without obliques, no active exhalation […] > > Jean-Marie Legé, in Adeline Toniutti’s *Anatomie du Chant* (Marabout, 2024), p. 67 (Translated from the French.) _The external oblique muscle of the abdomen. *Anatomie du Chant*, p. 21, drawing by Emma Blanc-Tailleur._ ### An abdominal muscle on its own has no strength > The active exhalation is achieved thanks to all the muscles of the abdominal wall, which contract, but which are held and tightened still further by the transverse muscle. […] It is the synergistic coordination of the obliques, the recti and the transverse muscle that creates the forces for the active exhalation. The support shifts from one muscle group to another. An abdominal muscle engaged on its own has no efficiency or strength. > > Jean-Marie Legé, in Adeline Toniutti’s *Anatomie du Chant* (Marabout, 2024), p. 69 (Translated from the French.) ### Singing without pushing the belly out > Singing while pushing the belly out can cause a hernia, a bulge that escapes on one side or another. When breathing in, it is better to think of the expansion at the back, at the dorsal region of the floating ribs. If you think of filling here first, the rest happens naturally. The perineum is the counter-support of our inhalation […]. You have to remember to relax it: people who sing with the perineum clenched can lose efficiency. […] > > Jean-Marie Legé, in Adeline Toniutti’s *Anatomie du Chant* (Marabout, 2024), p. 70 (Translated from the French.) _Sung exhalation, front view of the head and thorax. *Anatomie du Chant*, p. 68, drawing by Emma Blanc-Tailleur._ ## The psoas, interlocked with the diaphragm > The psoas is interlocked with the diaphragm, in the very fleshy, very powerful part of the diaphragm. When I turn the leg, it relaxes at that level: the dome descends, the mediastinum is relaxed, and so the heart and the large respiratory and digestive ducts, and with them the throat, all relax. > > Jean-Marie Legé, in Adeline Toniutti’s *Anatomie du Chant* (Marabout, 2024), p. 72 (Translated from the French.) _Front view of the pelvis: the psoas and the crura of the diaphragm. *Anatomie du Chant*, p. 71, drawing by Emma Blanc-Tailleur._ ## The neck, the tongue and the jaw ### The atlas and a “veiled” voice, a link seen in practice > The second cervical vertebra, the axis, has a tendon-and-muscle action on the tongue. I have observed that when the first cervical vertebra, the atlas, slips sideways, the patient’s voice becomes ‘veiled’ and tires easily. And yet there is no established relationship in the anatomical or physiological map. > > Jean-Marie Legé, in Adeline Toniutti’s *Anatomie du Chant* (Marabout, 2024), p. 47 (Translated from the French.) A veiled voice, or one that tires quickly, should first be examined by an ENT specialist or a phoniatrician. _Side view of the head and neck, with the nerve connection between the tongue and the second cervical vertebra. A plate from the series drawn by Emma Blanc-Tailleur for *Anatomie du Chant*._ ### Keeping the condyle “pinched” to guide the jaw > To build an optimal jaw movement when speaking or singing, you have to imagine the condyle moving closer in, ‘staying pinched’, as the osteopath Jean-Marie Legé puts it. You think of keeping it slightly under pressure to guide the jaw through its movements. > > Adeline Toniutti, *Anatomie du Chant* (Marabout, 2024), p. 81 (Translated from the French.) _A well-placed mandible, side view. *Anatomie du Chant*, p. 80, drawing by Emma Blanc-Tailleur._ ## Singing with scoliosis For singers with scoliosis, which calls for medical follow-up, Adeline Toniutti quotes his phrase: > look for a dynamic balance within the imbalance. > > Jean-Marie Legé, quoted by Adeline Toniutti in *Anatomie du Chant* (Marabout, 2024), p. 44 (Translated from the French.) _Lengthening of the back of the neck and retroversion of the pelvis, side view. A plate from the series drawn by Emma Blanc-Tailleur for *Anatomie du Chant*._ ## Tone and conversation In *La Bonne Voix* (The Right Voice), her book on the speaking voice and the art of public speaking, Adeline Toniutti devotes a section to her conversation with Jean-Marie Legé. ### Tone reveals our emotional state > It’s the tone we adopt that says which emotion we’re in, and therefore the effect we want to produce. […] > > Jean-Marie Legé, in Adeline Toniutti’s *La Bonne Voix* (Leduc, 2025), p. 135-136 (Translated from the French.) ### Benevolence can be heard in the tone > If you’re benevolent, it’ll be felt; someone who’s happy, you can feel it. […] Whether you’re going to be benevolent or malevolent, in your intention, it’ll be perceived in the tone you’re going to use. > > Jean-Marie Legé, in Adeline Toniutti’s *La Bonne Voix* (Leduc, 2025), p. 148 (Translated from the French.) ### Receiving as much as you send out, to avoid exhaustion > Conversation is like a quantity, a volume of flow: what you send out has to be roughly equal to what you receive, so that you don’t wear yourself out. […] > > Jean-Marie Legé, in Adeline Toniutti’s *La Bonne Voix* (Leduc, 2025), p. 85-86 (Translated from the French.) ## A silent diaphragm exercise for stage fright Adeline Toniutti asked him how to regain control of the diaphragm when fear dries the mouth, before speaking in public. > […] what I advise is to breathe out fully, then to relax the abdomen before taking another gentle breath in through the nose, that’s always better and it’s more gradual too. And then, once the rib cage is inflated, breath held, to push on the belly, to make a big belly without breathing. Then you have to pull the belly in, still without breathing: that makes the diaphragm go up and down, the membrane of the diaphragm, and it lets us regulate, exercise control. […] > > Jean-Marie Legé, in Adeline Toniutti’s *La Bonne Voix* (Leduc, 2025), p. 107-108 (Translated from the French.) Do this exercise without straining, and stop if you feel dizzy. In the event of a hernia, pregnancy, high blood pressure, heart disease, glaucoma or recent surgery, ask your doctor for advice first. _The movement of the diaphragm during breathing, front view. A plate from the series drawn by Emma Blanc-Tailleur for *Anatomie du Chant*._ ## The three roles of the nerve He distinguishes three roles of the nerve: sensing, motor control and the trophic function, that is, the response to the body’s nutritional needs. For the trophic function, he takes the example of running: > When we run, for example, the foot needs a far greater rush of blood than when we are sitting at a desk. It is the nerves that allow an organ to quantify its needs. It is a network that runs autonomously. > > Jean-Marie Legé, in Adeline Toniutti’s *Anatomie du Chant* (Marabout, 2024), p. 42 (Translated from the French.) _The distribution of nerve fibres in the body. *Anatomie du Chant*, p. 82, drawing by Emma Blanc-Tailleur._ ## Drinking ahead of exertion and long flights According to Jean-Marie Legé, food makes up for an effort, whereas drinking has to come ahead of it. The very dry air of an aircraft cabin also makes the body lose a lot of water, through sweat and through the moisture in the breath. For a long flight, he advises drinking a litre and a half of water on top of what you usually drink, in the six to two hours before departure, then continuing to drink during the flight. This advice does not apply if your doctor has prescribed a fluid restriction. _Taking care of yourself before a performance: sport, hydration, sleep, stretching, diet. *Anatomie du Chant*, p. 177, drawing by Emma Blanc-Tailleur._ ## Manipulating a joint is not the same as cracking it > Treating a joint by making it crack amounts to producing a release, rather like peeling off a suction cup. But a manipulation is a change in the axis of one part of the joint, and it is only rarely accompanied by a crack. When you make something crack inside a closed joint cavity, you produce the transformation of a small amount of liquid into gas, and it is this physical transformation that you hear. The after-effects of treatment are far more stable when there has been no cracking, but a true manipulation. […] > > Jean-Marie Legé, in Adeline Toniutti’s *Anatomie du Chant* (Marabout, 2024), p. 178 (Translated from the French.) ## Jean-Marie Legé in *Anatomie du Chant* and *La Bonne Voix* *Anatomie du Chant*, Adeline Toniutti’s book (Marabout, 2024), includes eleven “La voix des experts” (The experts’ voice) boxes signed by Jean-Marie Legé. Emma Blanc-Tailleur drew its plates, and Jean-Marie Legé fine-tuned them with Adeline Toniutti and the book’s doctors, through to the final version of July 2024. The book also quotes his remark on the sight of the horizon during convalescence (p. 188). The Russian translation, *Анатомия пения* (Bombora, 2026), includes his boxed texts. *La Bonne Voix* (Leduc, 2025), Adeline Toniutti’s book on the speaking voice and the art of public speaking, quotes his advice on speaking and tone. - *Anatomie du Chant*, Adeline Toniutti, Marabout, 2024, 192 pages, ISBN 9782501190251. Adeline Toniutti’s method in five pivot points, with eleven boxed texts by Jean-Marie Legé and diagrams developed with him. [Marabout](https://www.marabout.com/livre/anatomie-du-chant-9782501190251/) · [Amazon](https://www.amazon.fr/dp/2501190254) - *Анатомия пения*, Аделин Тоньютти, Бомбора (Эксмо), 2026, 192 pages, ISBN 9785042201264. The Russian edition of Anatomie du Chant. [Eksmo](https://eksmo.ru/book/anatomiya-peniya-5-osnov-vokalnoy-tekhniki-ITD1438384/) - *La Bonne Voix*, Adeline Toniutti, Leduc, 2025, 288 pages, ISBN 9791028534516. Adeline Toniutti’s book on the speaking voice and the art of public speaking, which quotes Jean-Marie Legé’s advice. [Leduc](https://www.editionsleduc.com/produit/4037/9791028535100/la-bonne-voix) · [Amazon](https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0F4MKK4BL) --- - Mobile, calls and texts: +33 6 68 80 57 39 - Practice: +33 1 42 57 31 59 - 73 ter rue Lamarck, 75018 Paris (48.890148, 2.336795) - By appointment, every day except during his seminars; no online booking. - 45-minute session: 90 euros, by cheque or in cash (no card payments). - Consultations in French; Jean-Marie Legé also sees English-speaking patients. - Access possible for people with reduced mobility - Jean-Marie Legé on calyp.fr: https://www.calyp.fr/en/team/jean-marie-lege/ - Site languages: [Français](https://jeanmarielege.com/explications/) · [English](https://jeanmarielege.com/en/explanations/) · [Русский](https://jeanmarielege.com/ru/explanations/) · [Español](https://jeanmarielege.com/es/explanations/) · [Italiano](https://jeanmarielege.com/it/explanations/) · [Português](https://jeanmarielege.com/pt/explanations/) · [Deutsch](https://jeanmarielege.com/de/explanations/) · [العربية](https://jeanmarielege.com/ar/explanations/) · [中文](https://jeanmarielege.com/zh/explanations/) · [한국어](https://jeanmarielege.com/ko/explanations/) - Sitemap: https://jeanmarielege.com/sitemap.xml · llms.txt: https://jeanmarielege.com/llms.txt Website created by the volunteers of the CALYP association to pay tribute to the unique and invaluable work of Mr Jean-Marie Legé. A website in the [CALYP association](https://www.calyp.fr/en/about/) network.