Breathing Techniques for Singing

Now, the important thing to remember here is that breathing for singing is not actually so complex. However, undoing the bad habits that we've developed regarding our breath can make it seem more complex.

Understanding Natural Breathing

• If you've ever watched a baby breathe while it's sleeping, that is exactly how we're meant to breathe while we're singing.
• You should see a gentle rise and fall of the stomach without any shoulder or chest movement.

Common Breathing Habits

The problem that many singers encounter is that they often have bad habits that they've developed through their lives, leading to:

• Breathing from the chest and shoulders instead of the abdomen.
• Tension in the neck and shoulders as they prepare to sing.

Proper Breathing Technique

Instead, we want to focus on allowing our stomach to:

• Come out on the breath in.
• Come back in on the breath out.

This may sound simple for some people who have proper breathing technique already ingrained in their nervous system, but for many, retraining will be necessary.

Breathing Exercises

Exercise #1: Chest vs. Abdominal Breathing

1. Hand Placement: Place one hand on your chest and one hand on your stomach around the belly button area.
2. Chest Breathing: Breathe in using your chest and feel the tightness. Take note of how this feels in your body.
   • Try this now.
3. Abdominal Breathing: Now, reverse that. Allow the breath to come in from your abdomen, expanding the rib cage at the lower end.
   • Think of expanding all the way to your pelvic floor.
   • Having your hand against your stomach gives you something to resist and push against.

Exercise #2: Supine Breathing

1. Position: Lie down on the floor with both hands resting on your stomach, applying gentle pressure.
2. Breathing: Breathe in against that pressure and feel the expansion.
   • This position ensures that your chest does not rise, allowing your stomach to get a good workout.
   • Aim to release the abdominal muscles while filling with air; there's no need to "suck" in air.

The Breath Cycle in Singing

Arguably, the most important part of the breath cycle when it comes to singing is the breath out. That's when you're actually singing. Unless you like to sing while breathing in, most people don't do that!

Engaging Muscles for Exhalation

All the muscles that you released on your breath in are the ones that will contract on the breath out:

• Focus on the pelvic floor and lower abdominals for contraction.
• To get a feel for this contraction, try doing it now.

Reflexive Engagement

• You should feel your lower abdominals and pelvic floor engaging simultaneously.
• Now, let's connect this to sound.

Phonating with Proper Breath Support

1. Vowel Sound Practice: Start by making a vowel sound like "O" while engaging your lower abs.
   • Try saying: "Oh, oh."
2. Focus on Engagement: Feel the strong engagement in your lower abdominals.
3. Reflexive Movement: It's important that this happens reflexively as you phonate.

This is your support system, often referred to as breath support or diaphragmatic support. Embrace these techniques to enhance your singing!