Basics of Breath

The breathing that is required for singing is very different than the breath needed for everyday conversation. Talking does not require very much air, so we can (and usually do) breathe very shallowly, using only the top part of our lungs. Singing requires much more air than talking to get a good sound, so we have to change the way that we breathe to gain good vocal technique.

When I teach, I talk about the four stages of breathing described in the book Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults by James C. McKinney. They are:

1)     Inhalation: the intake of breath

2)     Suspension: a quick moment when the body engages to begin singing. The suspension phase does not occur during normal speech – it is a function of singing.

3)     Phonation: the production of sound which requires air. The quality depends a great deal on the quality of the inhalation.

4)     Recovery: a very quick moment when the body prepares to inhale again.

The sound made during inhalation can give us clues about the quality of the breath. There are three basic kinds of breath that can be taken from this audible standpoint. I use the following terms:

1)     The Gasp: A high, hissy sort of breath. Will usually be accompanied by shoulder movements. An audible gasp indicates that the breath is shallow and only reaching the top of the lungs. The hissing also means there is likely throat tension.

2)     Darth Vader: A low breath that sounds like the Star Wars villain. Better than the Gasp, it means that the lungs are at least being filled, but the noisy inhalation still implies throat tension.

3)     Silent and Deep: Opening the throat and the breath going to the bottom of the lungs makes for an almost silent breath.

Two images are incredibly helpful in producing the silent breath. The first is to picture how a water balloon is filled. The water hits the bottom of the balloon and fills down and outward before it goes up. This is how our lungs should work when taking a good breath. The second thing that helps is to think of drinking the air rather than breathing it. This tends to release the throat, and allow the air to come in at a faster rate.

To focus on getting the breath low it is helpful to do three different exercises – each focused on a different part of the abdomen. Focusing on the front first is easiest because the expansion is much more apparent in that area. To do the exercise make a diamond with the hands, the tips of the thumbs and index fingers touching each other. Place this diamond over the belly button and breathe into the center of it. The goal is to expand the stomach, causing a slight separation of the fingertips. Continue this for a few breaths, paying close attention to the feeling of the breath in the abdomen.

To feel the breath in the sides, break the diamond apart but keep the hands in the same shape. Place the thumbs on the sides of the abdomen, just under the rib cage. Breathe, focusing on expanding and moving the thumbs outward. Leaving the hands in the same half diamond shape also allows you to continue feeling the expansion of the stomach by placing the index fingers toward the belly button.

To focus the breath on the back, bend over to touch the toes. Place the hands on the lower back and breathe, feeling the expansion that occurs. There will often be a movement of the upper body as the whole torso expands. This is perfectly fine, and is actually ideal. Straighten back up and focus on getting the same feeling going. This exercise is also good to do sitting in a chair. Ideally the breath should expand all the way around. Doing these isolated exercises can make it easier to see and feel how the breath should work.

The best breath is one that has a full expansion all the way around. It can be difficult for some people to feel all of them working at once. In that case an excellent exercise I use to great effect is this.. Take a breath and empty the lungs. Once the lungs are emptied wait to inhale until the body naturally takes the air in. It will do so in the most efficient way due to the slight oxygen deprivation. It’s a good way to bring the body’s natural survival mechanisms into our technique work. So much of singing is learning to strip away the bad habits we’ve learned. Exercises like this one allow us to bypass these habits and let the body do things the right way.

Another way to do this is to pay close attention to the breath as we prepare to go to sleep. During sleep the body naturally breathes deeply. If we lie down and allow the body to breathe we can feel the right kind of breath. It is almost impossible to take a bad breath while lying on one’s back. The trick is to get that same sort of breath while standing.

Breath is the most important aspect of singing. All the technique in the world is practically useless if not fueled by a good breath. We must consistently focus on our breath if we are to be the best vocalists we can be.

End Notes

In addition to the terms borrowed from Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults, I must also acknowledge a few people whose ideas are either directly referenced or provided a seed of an idea I developed in my own teaching. These people include my former teachers Linda Mack Berven, Andrew Homburg, and Rebecca Copley, as well as Lindsay Clark of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and Kerry Ginger of Fort Lewis College.