Good breath support is the first and most important key to healthy singing. It allows you to develop the sound you want with the least amount of strain on your body. Have you ever watched a baby sleeping? Babies breathe right down into their bellies, what I call a "belly breath". Unfortunately, we learn some bad habits as we get older, and our breath becomes shallow. Shallow breathing is not strong enough to support a rich, full sound through our vocal range, and we end up with a weak voice that cannot stretch very high or very low. Before I explain how to achieve better breath support, I would like to start by dispelling a few common myths about breathing.
Some Common Myths About Breathing Technique
"Breathe from your diaphragm"
This has become quite a buzz-phrase and I'm sure many of the people who use it don't even really know what it means. A lot of elementary school teachers will tell the children in the choir this, and to be perfectly blunt it doesn't mean anything. Your diaphragm is a flat, horizontal muscle that lies underneath your lungs. Your lungs fill with air. Your diaphragm doesn't. When you breathe in, your lungs expand to the front, to the back, and downwards to reach their full capacity. Since the diaphragm is located directly underneath your lungs, it drops downward each time you take a breath. You cannot control your diaphragm's movement, you can't feel it moving, and you can't see it moving. When you sing properly, your abdominal muscles are really doing the work. (see below)
"Your shoulders should rise when you take a deep breath"
As I have already stated, your lungs expand sideways and downwards when you take a deep breath. When you raise your shoulders, you also suck in your stomach, which prevents your lungs from expanding downward and results in a shallow breath. Instead, relax your shoulders and allow your lungs to expand downwards (try the exercise below to find out how).
How to Develop Your Breathing Skills
Exercise #1: Proper Posture
Lie down on your back on the floor, with your arms legs relaxed and flat. If you feel behind you, you will feel a gap between the small of your back and the floor. With your hands on your hips, tilt your pelvis forward until the gap had disappeared. You now have good breathing posture while in this position. Practice this feeling until you can duplicate it while standing. If this all seems very comfusing, learn some basic pilates and you will see what I am talking about.
Exercise #2: Breathing Downward
Return to the position from exercise #1, and place a book or similar object on your abdomen, just below your belly button. While keeping your shoulders down and relaxed, breathe in slowly through your mouth and pull the air as deep into your lung cavity as you can. You can see the progress of the air as the book rises when you breathe in, and falls as you breathe out. Practice this exercise daily (remembering to breathe slowly) until it becomes comfortable and feels natural. You should not feel any tension when you perform this exercise.
Exercise #3: Try It Standing Up
Once you have mastered the "belly breaths" while lying down, try them standing up. The best way to practice is in front of a full length mirror so you can monitor yourself. Now that you are standing up, your rib cage will be able to expand to the back and to the side without interference. Place your hands at the sides of your rib cage and take a nice deep breath through your mouth. Feel your lungs expand as you do so, pushing your hands out to the sides. Now let the air out on a gentle hiss through your teeth but keep your rib cage elevated and expanded. Don't let it drop as you exhale (you will feel it with your hands if you are starting to relax). Instead, push with your stomach muscles to keep the breath steady. Only let your chest fall when you have run out of air.
Exercise #4: Vocalize
Repeat exercise 3, but instead of letting the air out on a hiss, use a gentle ah, or sigh. Then try 3 short "ha"s on one breath, using a burst of air for each by pushing with your abdomen. Repeat this funny kind of laughing for each vowel: ha, ho, hee, hay, hoo
>>> Lesson 4: Vocal Ranges >>>
