Singing breathing: types, exercises and development

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Inhaling air at the wrong time can ruin a song completely. But there is hope. In the same way that you can improve your high notes and vocal range, you can easily control your breathing in even the most difficult performances. In this article, you will learn how to breathe correctly, as well as 5 breathing exercises that every singer should do, as well as how proper singing breathing helps your singing.

Human voice box

To better understand how important this is, we need to look at the mechanics of the human voice.

The voice reproduction system can be divided into three main parts:

• lungs, which are a source of energy;
• larynx serves as a vibrator;
• throat, nose, mouth and sinuses, which all make up the resonator.

Looking at this list, one might wonder why there is no diaphragm, singers are constantly taught to breathe from it. Before the lungs even begin to work, the diaphragm is already in action. ita pump that pumps the lungs to breathe. It descends and expands the chest, drawing in air through the mouth and nostrils to fill the lungs with air. When the diaphragm rises, it compresses the chest and lungs, creating airflow through the trachea. It is this flow of air, or exhalation, that moves the vocal cords to create the voice.

To sing with speed and power while raising the pitch, the diaphragm must draw in enough air and use the full capacity of the lungs, not just the upper lobes. For deeper inhalation and greater vocal exposure, 70-80% of your breath should be from the diaphragm. Deep singing breathing has other he alth benefits, such as reducing pressure on chest muscles, which is important for a he althy heart.

Most dysfunctional breathing, including overbreathing, shallow breathing, and holding your breath, is the result of an inability to consciously control your breathing. In most cases, the muscles of the shoulder, neck and chest are used to draw in air. This only fills up the upper beats and won't add strength to your voice.

Why does it seem easier to breathe incorrectly? What habits should I avoid to breathe properly?

Type of breath

There are 3 types of breathing:

• clavicular;
• upper costal;
• lower costal.

The first two types of singing breathing - clavicular and upper costal - refer to irrational ways of breathing. Chest expansion and the amount of air needed to maintain optimal pressure are limited. More rational is the third type - lower costal breathing, which consumes much more air. Its delivery is even for singing with this type of breathing, but not enough, since the breathing movement is still quite limited due to the rigidity of the walls of the ribs.

More useful is a combination of abdominal and lower costal breathing, the so-called costal breathing, sometimes called diaphragmatic breathing. In addition to maintaining muscle strength, it helps to supply a significant amount of air, as well as develop the flexibility of breathing movements. Repeating singing breathing exercises will help change it.

Reasons why people can't breathe from the diaphragm

The main obstacles are:

1. Smoking causes chronic bronchitis - swelling of the bronchi, which reduces the amount of air entering the lungs. Smoking also causes emphysema, a condition in which the lungs lose their elasticity, making it almost impossible to breathe through the diaphragm.
2. Too much time sitting, making diaphragmatic breathing uncomfortable. Over time, the body loses its natural inclination to breathe from the belly (diaphragm).
3. In some cases, the diaphragm simply loses its strength, most likely due to lack of exercise or illness.

To correct your breathing, you must become aware of the central role that the diaphragm plays in your breathing.

Getting rid of bad breathing habits will take time and effort. But if you are a singer, thencareer may depend on them. The way you breathe directly affects the quality of your voice, its pitch, volume and tone.

When you breathe from your diaphragm, your belly expands outward as you inhale. This is otherwise known as horizontal breathing and is correct singing breathing.

Vertical breathing is reversed and wrong. It happens when your chest and shoulders rise up. This type of breathing is marked by short breaths that rob your voice of much needed support.

Most dysfunctional breathing is the result of bad habits that develop over time. Getting rid of them is just the beginning. The real work is training your entire respiratory system to stop relying on the less efficient neck, chest, and shoulder muscles and return to breathing from the diaphragm.

How to breathe from the diaphragm?

This is an important question, because you cannot directly control the diaphragm, which acts involuntarily. What you can control is the actual breathing in which the diaphragm muscles draw air in when we inhale and push it out when we exhale. Other breathing muscles around the diaphragm, such as the abdominal and intercostal muscles, can also be consciously controlled.

Singing breathing skills will help:

1. Breathe deeply using your lower lobes.
2. Inhale through the nose and exhale through the nose and mouth.
3. Keep your shoulders still and relaxed as you inhale.
4. Reducetension in the upper body. That is what prevents you from creating good vocals.

Exercises for setting up singing breathing

Many have probably felt touched at some point in their lives by an incredible singer or musician. This is the song you just can't get out of your head. Or maybe it's because of the special vibration coming from their vocal cords that strikes you inside.

Developing singing breathing increases the body's natural anti-inflammatory response, thereby reducing any lung problems. It boosts mood and energy to prolong periods of singing. The exercises below will seem unnatural, but the longer you do them, the better your singing breathing will become.

Exercise 1. Relax tense diaphragm muscles

Because you don't train your diaphragm, there is usually a lot of tension in the muscles around it. This exercise aims to bring the diaphragm back into shape.

Get down on your hands and knees so that your stomach hangs. The force of gravity will help you inhale from your belly while keeping your shoulders level. The extra strength needed to tighten the abdominal muscles and pull the abdomen in as you exhale is also an effective way to train the muscles with underutilization.

Pay attention to the fact that you need to inhale more slowly than you exhale. As inhalation slowly eases the abdominal muscles and fills the lungs, they give more control over the voice.

Exercise 2. Hissing sound foroptimal breath control

Shaping your singing breath will teach you how to slow it down so you can painlessly lower your voice when required. You can do this exercise sitting or standing. But it is more convenient to do it lying on your back. This way you will always be aware of what you are doing and will be able to focus on the exercise. A person tends to breathe slowly when lying on his back.

Lie down with your knees up. Now place your hands on your stomach and inhale slowly through your nostrils and fill your lower lungs with air. To exhale, clench your teeth and use your tongue to slowly release trapped air. There should be a long hissing sound. To see if the breath is really coming from the diaphragm, place a book on your stomach and watch it rise and fall.

This exercise causes the diaphragm and abdominal muscles to suppress the tension from fully inflated lungs and allow your voice to hold a note for as long as you like.

Do the task again and try to make a high hissing sound. You should feel your stomach muscles tighten as you try to push more air through the small hole between your clenched teeth and tongue.

Exercise 3. Sharp hissing sounds for a flexible diaphragm

Singing breathing becomes more difficult when one tries to reproduce the quiet parts of the song. The exercise should allow you to sing the trickiest notes without much effort.

Make the position from exercise 2. But instead ofa constant hissing sound with a low or high tone, make intermittent blows, squeezing the muscles of the throat to block the flow of air rushing up the windpipe. The beats should speed up as you exhale more air. The chest will begin to feel heavy, tension in the abdominal muscles will increase, and the voice will begin to tire.

The exercise teaches the voice to alternate low and high sounds, it will be easier for you to breathe diaphragmatically.

Exercise 4. Practice slow breathing

It's better for a person to breathe slowly because fast breaths use only the pectoral muscles, they tend to be shallow and require a lot of effort, tiring the voice. Slow breaths are deeper and allow the right amount of air to be directed through the vocal cords to produce the desired sounds. And because they engage the right muscles, slow breathing will feel more natural and less tiring.

Stand up straight with your legs slightly apart. But don't forget to stay calm. Close the right nostril with your index finger and slowly inhale and exhale from the open nostril. Do this several times and switch to the other nostril. We tend to engage the diaphragm when one of the nostrils is blocked.

Another way to practice slow breathing is to purse your lips and try to breathe using only your mouth. Exercise is like eating spaghetti or drinking from a straw. Try to inhale with force, enough to make a dull, windy sound. But when exhaling, you need to slow down to a quietsound.

Exercise 5. Body training for proper posture and stamina

An exercise that will help correct your posture and train your voice for greater stamina. It requires a lot of physical effort, but it is a great workout for the diaphragm and abdominal muscles.

Stand in the same upright position as in the previous exercise. Extend both arms into a T-shape, keeping your body relaxed. Take slow breaths keeping your arms parallel to your shoulders. Notice how it becomes harder to lift your chest and arms as you breathe. Complicate the exercise by lifting two objects of the same weight (for example, light chairs). Keep your back straight and keep going. Do it slow at first and then alternate with faster reps until the body can hold. This exercise will help tame the natural tendency to breathe in the muscles of the neck, chest and shoulders.

Breathing training for kids

Breathing is the most convenient tool for managing emotions that we can give a child, because the breath is always with you. Singing Breathwork for kids provides them with a simple yet effective strategy for slowing down activities, helping them to recognize their well-being and relax in the face of overwhelming emotions.

The simple exercises above are ideal not only for adults or singers, but also for children. They can be used as part of a plan to calm the child. Great for relaxing before bed or helping the brain to refocus and refresh.

Likemost bad habits, it will take a lot of effort to change dysfunctional breathing. Great news for singers - it will greatly improve the vocals and form the correct singing breath. Your voice will sound richer and lighter. Do exercises for just 5-10 minutes every day before vocal practice. Remember to breathe consciously so you don't fall back into old habits.