Breathing Technique Basics

One of the essentials to learning how to sing is breathing technique. Breathing seems like such a autonomous thing--something you've been doing since birth--so why do you need to worry about it? Well, the way that most people breathe, and think about breathing, is not necessarily an efficient way for singing; and if you want to sing correctly--meaning get the most sound without physically hurting yourself--you need to have proper breath control.

Re-Learning Breathing

You read that right. Since you inhale and exhale air without thinking, we have to train you to get your body off autopilot and push yourself to actually be conscious of what your body is doing and how it reacts during this whole process. Normal breathing involves shallow inhalation and exhalation of air-- many people's shoulders and chest will rise up and down as a result. However, proper breathing technique is breathing that utilizes the diaphragm. Shoulders and chest remain steady while your stomach appears to move in and out (similar to the inflation of a balloon) throughout the process.

A common misconception is that singers use their "tummies" or "stomachs" to sing. This appears to be true from the outside, but on the inside of the body, it is the diaphragm. The diaphragm is a large muscle that stretches across the bottom of the rib cage, separating the organs in the lower abdomen from the heart and lungs. When you breathe, the diaphragm flattens and contracts, pushing air into and out of the lungs. When you sing, the diaphragm flattens deeper than in normal breathing and is maintained in this position to control the stream of air that is released across the vocal chords to create sound. Learning to preserve a small amount of air in the lungs used to support air released across the vocal chords to produce sound is known as breath control for singers.

Posture

Proper posture goes hand in hand with breathing technique. Good posture allows you to take deep, full breaths that allow you to hit high or low notes and flow through long phrases in a song. When practicing breathing technique (or any other type of vocal exercise), stand upright with your feet hip-width apart and arms at your sides. Your knees shouldn't be locked; this allows you to do what I call-- and what some of my other vocal instructors have referred to as--"rooting yourself", which refers to a sensation you get when you firmly press your feet into the floor, engaging your leg muscles and bringing all of your weight down to the lower half of your body so as to let the energy and sound flow out your top. All of music is energy and this is especially true when singing and practicing breathing technique. Your head should be upright with your chin parallel to the floor and make sure that your shoulders are slightly back to prevent slouching. Your stance should look similar to the picture below on the right ( labeled "Proper Posture"). The pictures below give examples of the differences between poor and proper posture for learning and practicing breathing technique, along with singing.

I recommend some light stretching before beginning so as to loosen up--any tension or slouching in the body will keep you from getting your full amount of air support for exercises.

Basic Exercises

There are some basic exercises to help you become more aware of your breath and practice breath control. It is normal to yawn a lot when first starting these exercises--your body is getting accustomed to the amount of air you are taking in. Just like with anything, these exercises, along with others you may come across, should be practiced on a daily basis in order to see improvement.

1. Breathing in for the count of 5 and breathing out for the count of 10. The goal of this exercise is to control the air that you take in and breath out for the duration of time without inhaling too quickly or running out of air while exhaling. You can do this exercise at least 5 times, but try to change the intervals. You should be able to comfortably progress to breathing in for the count of 8, holding your breath for the count of 5 and breathing out for the count of 12. Also, try to change the sound that you make while exhaling into a "shh" sound to challenge yourself further.

2. Trying to lift a book with your stomach. This simple exercise helps you to see how much (or how little) air you take in when you breath with your diaphragm. Lying on your back on the floor, place a small book on your stomach and begin to inhale and exhale. When you inhale, your abdomen should rise, looking slightly like a balloon, making the book rise. When you exhale, your abdomen should flatten, making the book come back down.

3. The "Ha-Ha" or "Shh" Exercise. This exercise is a variation of the first exercise. The goal of the exercise is, again, to control the air that you inhale and exhale for a certain duration of time without inhaling too quickly or running out of air while exhaling, except that at the end you must utilize the air your exhaling to make actual sounds. Breath in for the count of 5 and breath out for the count of 10, saying "ha-ha-ha" as if you were laughing, but on the last "ha", you sustain it, holding it for the remaining duration of time. You can also do this on a "shh" sound. This is another exercise that utilizes and forces you to become conscious of your diaphragm.

While doing these exercises, you can put one of your hands on your chest and another hand on your side. If the hand on your chest rises and falls, then you should try the exercise again. Your goal is to try to keep your chest steady while you breath. The more your chest moves, the more shallow breaths you are taking. The other hand on your side is an indicator for how your abdomen and back participate in breath control (yes, even part of your back expands and flattens when you breathe).

This post is just the start to many other posts about vocal technique, performance and breath technique. One can't master something as extensive as breath control over night--it takes years of study and even then there are techniques that you haven't heard of, different approaches or ways of thinking that you've yet to be exposed to. Hopefully, this helps some of you out there though that are willing to learn and/or want to improve their skills to be better able to sing more efficiently. If anyone out there has any other tips or exercises to improve breathing technique, please feel free to leave comment below!