Correct Breathing for Singing
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People who have never taken a voice lesson before have heard that there is a correct way for singers to breathe, although they may not know what that way is. They may have even been told that diaphragmatic breathing is essential to good singing, but they may not understand why.
The difference between how we breathe for singing and how we breathe for normal activities lies not in the mechanism but in how we regulate our airflow, because the demands that our bodies have for air changes with different activities. During normal demands, such as speaking or resting, we tend to inhale and exhale more shallowly and evenly because our bodies don’t require as much oxygen. During singing, however, we need to inhale quickly and deeply, then exhale slowly and steadily, in a long breath, as we sing our notes.
Singing requires a higher rate of breath energy than speaking does, as well as the elongation of the breath cycle. This higher need for energy and stamina requires more muscle control and coordination in supporting the work of the diaphragm and the function of the larynx, and this is the part of breathing that needs to be developed through training.
The way in which a singer thinks about the breathing mechanism of the body makes a difference in how effectively he or she learns to tap into the power of his or her breath.
Essentially, the breath fuels the voice. Without the diaphragm and the surrounding muscles that support its work - there are thirty-six muscles that are used in breathing for singing - air can neither enter nor leave the lungs. Without the expelling of air from the lungs that moves its way upward and out of the body via the system of tubes in our chest, neck and head, the vocal folds can’t vibrate. (It is the air passing between the closed vocal folds that causes them to oscillate and buzz.) Without the vibration of the vocal folds, sound isn’t produced by the voice. Singing and speaking are little more than breathing out the noise made in our “voice boxes”, or larynx. (To learn more about the physiological mechanism of breathing, read Anatomy of the Voice.)
Understanding how the breath fuels the voice may help to make diaphragmatic breathing come more naturally or automatically. At first, most vocal students view diaphragmatic breathing as a difficult, unnatural activity that they must somehow attempt to do while trying to sing, as though the two are separate tasks that they must train themselves to do simultaneously, (like rubbing their stomachs while patting their heads), rather than the very activity that enables them to produce sound and thus sing. For these students, it requires a great deal of concentration to breathe correctly and effectively while vocalizing, and they don’t tend to understand the important connection between the air that they use and the sound that they make. This successful connection between the musculature of the lower body and our tone production is generally referred to as “support”, “breath support” or “supporting the tone”.
The results of proper breathing technique may include better control over the breath and thus the voice’s tone, a natural (unforced) increase in volume, more efficient use of the breath, (such as less breathiness in the tone and the ability to sustain notes for considerably longer), increased lung capacity, improved stamina or endurance, minimized tension in the chest, shoulders, neck and face, and better oxygenation of the entire body.
A special note about Breathing and Singing While Pregnant: Depending on how a woman is carrying, pregnancy may affect how a female singer supports her voice, both in speech and in singing. In fact, pregnancy may present the only legitimate 'excuse' for reverting to thoracic (chest) breathing because the size of the womb and unborn baby may make it difficult, if not impossible, to allow for free movement of the diaphragm and abdomen, especially if the woman is 'carrying high' and the top of her womb is placing pressure on the diaphragm and stomach. (A woman who is 'carrying low' may find that she is able to continue employing diaphragmatic breathing throughout her pregnancy.) For more information about the unique challenges that pregnant singers face, please read Singing While Pregnant.
Why "Diaphragmatic Breathing" Is the Body’s Right Way
Many people tend to think of diaphragmatic breathing as something unique to singing; as a special skill that must be taught to them, rather than the body’s natural way of working. However, the fact of the matter is that we are born knowing how to breathe diaphragmatically, and no one has to teach us how to do it when we come out of the womb. The tummies of sleeping babies rise and fall effortlessly, without any tension or movement in their chests and shoulders. Even the breathing of adults is correct when they are relaxed or asleep and not actively trying to control it. The body naturally knows what to do and how to do it. Diaphragmatic breathing is not just a trick or a specialized skill that singers must learn. It is a product of the natural functioning of the human body. In other words, it is how our bodies have been designed to take in and expel air.
The fact that diaphragmatic breathing is both natural and ideal is why so much emphasis is placed on “breathing from the diaphragm” while singing. Diaphragmatic breathing enables us to regulate our airflow, and is correct whether we are singing, exercising, speaking or watching television.
Breathing is an action that is regulated by the autonomic nervous system, which works to maintain homeostasis in the body. (In the case of breathing, it helps to regulate the proper input of oxygen and balance of carbon dioxide.)
The diaphragm - a shelf of muscle and tendon that extends across the bottom of the ribcage – responds to various signals from the nervous system. When we inhale, the diaphragmatic muscles contract - they shorten and tighten - and the diaphragm moves downward in the body. As the diaphragm depresses, it creates a vacuum in the lungs and air rushes in to fill that vacuum. During exhalation, the diaphragm relaxes and rises, and lung volume decreases, creating a positive pressure difference, and air rushes out. The air expelled from the lungs rises up through the trachea (wind pipe) and filters out through either the nose of the mouth. (When air meets resistance at the laryngeal level – that is, when the vocal folds are closed – sound is produced.)
Most of the actions of the autonomic nervous system, such as respiration rate, heart rate, digestion, salivation, perspiration, dilation of the pupils, urination and sexual arousal, are involuntary – performed without conscious control – but some, including breathing, work in tandem with the conscious mind. In other words, we can actively control our breathing, stopping it and starting at will, choosing how much air we will inhale or exhale in a given breath or deciding how rapidly or slowly we will perform each phase of the breath cycle. This makes it both possible and crucial for us to actively develop our breathing skills.
Take note, however, that the diaphragm is actually passive during singing – which occurs during the exhalation phase of breathing – and that we don’t exert active control over its movements, making the term “diaphragmatic breathing” a little bit misleading, or at the very least, a misnomer. Also, the diaphragm is involved in all breathing, whether correct, efficient and effectively regulated or not, again making the expression almost irrelevant. The term “diaphragmatic breathing” may allow too much emphasis or importance to be placed on the diaphragm, an organ that we cannot consciously control, when it is really the muscles of the back and abdomen that we must learn to control during singing. However, if we were to use the term “muscular breathing” instead, we would probably find many singers attempting to push their voices out of their bodies with too much muscular force. For these reasons, singers and teachers might be better served by using the term “appoggio” instead, which is a technique whereby singers actively control and slow the rise of the diaphragm by using the back and abdominal muscles that act upon the diaphragm. (I have written about this technique in more detail below.)
In any case, the diaphragm, in cooperation with the intercostals (back) and abdominal muscles, is generally considered to be the chief organ of breathing. The movement of the diaphragm sets off a chain of reactions that occur in the lungs, larynx and mouth or nose. Again, it is really the muscles that support the diaphragm’s work - the intercostals being involved primarily in inhalation and the abdominal muscles in exhalation - that are the focus of a singer’s training in effective breath management.
The reason why diaphragmatic breathing is sometimes, though inaccurately, called “breathing from the belly” is because the bulk of the movement that should be seen while someone is breathing correctly occurs in the abdominal and lower rib area. Understand that the belly doesn’t actually breathe, as the lungs are located above the diaphragm and lower torso. It merely moves in response to the diaphragm’s movement. (Diaphragmatic breathing, therefore, should not be confused with belly breathing, in which singers are taught to expand all areas of the torso, right down to the pelvis. I have written more about this incorrect technique below.) When the diaphragm moves downward, it creates a little less room in the abdomen for the internal organs, which forces them to move outwards a little and the belly to distend or “swell”. This movement is so noticeable because of the absence of ribs in this area, which would otherwise hold the belly in like a girdle of bone, restricting the diaphragm’s movement and thus our lung capacity. The diaphragm is strategically located below the ribcage, where no bone can restrict its movement.
Allowing the movement of our bodies during breathing to be focused in the soft, fleshy area below the diaphragm encourages the more efficient and complete filling of the lungs. Because our abdomens are “stretchy”, the downward movement of the diaphragm into the body allows for greater movement of the diaphragm and expansion of the lungs, and thus greater intake of air.
Before going any further in this article, I would like to offer a warning for those singers who are trying to understand how to properly support their voices during singing: Not all teachers understand it themselves, and not all singing instructors teach correct methods.
There is one particular self-professed “vocal release method” expert who criticizes the diaphragmatic breathing technique, telling those who read his website and purchase his course that diaphragmatic breathing was created by a failed opera singer who later became a teacher and passed on his dangerous breathing technique to others. He explains that this teaching has infiltrated the entire classical singing world, and has caused a great deal of damage to singers, utterly destroying their vocal health and careers.
Unfortunately, this vocal coach has had some bad teachers of his own in the past – he openly writes about his experiences with unsuccessful vocal training on his website - and was never given any solid instruction in what diaphragmatic breathing really is. He has confused it with pushing, which involves excessive muscular involvement deep and too low in the body during the exhalation phase of breathing. This pushing technique forces too much air pressure to blow past the vocal folds at once, which can indeed injure the vocal instrument.
The technique that is widely referred to as diaphragmatic breathing is not the same as “belly breathing”. It involves no pushing or forceful expulsion of air, and is the natural, correct, safe, gentle, internationally accepted method of supporting the tone. In diaphragmatic breathing, the tone rides on a minimal and steady stream of air, which brings stability and consistency to the tone.
There is the tendency of many singers to breathe “too low” into their abdomens, unnecessarily expanding the entire area below the ribs. The diaphragm itself does not extend very low – during inhalation, its descent is often less than two inches - and air does not occupy spaces below the lungs. The breath process cannot be controlled by the belly, yet because of what it connotes, using the subjective expression “breathing from the belly” may produce flawed thinking and thus faulty technique in vocal students who lack correct scientific information. Therefore “belly breathing” may be an inaccurate, inefficient and unhealthy way to approach breathing for singing.
This faulty technique may be reinforced by teachers who instruct their students to expand their entire abdominal area through to the hypogastric (pelvic and lower abdominal) region rather than just the epigastric area – the area between the bottom of the sternum and the navel and extending outward to the lower part of the ribs on each side. (Some teachers will have their students place their hands below their navel when practicing their breathing exercises. However, it is the area above, not below, the navel that should be seen to expand and contract during inhalation and exhalation.) This particular technique, called Bauchaussenstütz, has its origins in the German school of singing. It forces the rib cage to move inward and the sternum to fall, which is in direct opposition to the principles of the more widely accepted appoggio technique of breathing. Stretching or thrusting the lower stomach outward causes laryngeal tension and rising subglottic pressure by inducing excessive resistance to the exiting air, and may result in pressed phonation (forcing). Furthermore, lung volume will be diminished.
There are also many singers who allow their shoulder girdles to rise as they breathe. This is the kind of breathing that we tend to resort to when we are sighing or when we are winded and wish to rapidly fill our lungs with more air. However, because the ribcage has limited flexibility for movement and expansion, restricting movement during breathing to the chest alone actually decreases airflow and lung capacity because the inflation of the lungs is somewhat constricted by the ribs. The rib cage’s job is to protect the delicate organs of the thorax (chest), not to support the lungs during breathing, which is the job of the diaphragm.
Furthermore, allowing the ribs to expand and the lungs to remain high as they inflate, rather than allowing the diaphragm to move downwards pulling the lungs along with it, as it would naturally, makes it more difficult for the muscles that support breathing to do their jobs. The muscles that help pull the diaphragm downward during inhalation and those that help push it move upwards during exhalation need to work in conjunction with the diaphragm to promote optimal intake and expiration of air. These muscles are not as efficient on their own. The diaphragm is designed to initiate and control breathing – after it is set in motion by the brain, of course - and we would be wise to let it do its job.
Appoggio
Appoggio – from the Italian verb appoggiare, meaning “to lean on”, “to be in contact with” or “to support” - is a learned breathing technique that involves slowing down the ascent of the diaphragm for better breath management, resulting in the elongation of the breath cycle during singing. It involves a concerted action on diaphragmatic movement by the muscles of the thorax (chest) and the abdominal wall (the transverse abdominis, the internal oblique, the external oblique and the rectus abdominis, although to a lesser extent), and involves gaining better control over the breathing mechanism through training the muscles.
It’s important to note that appoggio, while requiring a great deal more control than is needed during normal activities and requiring some additional coordination and training, is an extension of the natural breath process, not a substitute for it. It is considered to be the main route for breath management within the international classical singing community.
During normal speaking, the rib cage collapses upon exhalation. Appoggio attempts to avoid this collapse by retaining the elevated inspiratory posture of the sternum – the long flat bone located in the center of the thorax (chest), which connects to the rib bones via cartilage, forming the rib cage with them – and the ribcage. It slows down the rising of the diaphragm, which aids in breath management. Learning to gain control over the muscles of the side abdominal wall offers true breath support.
Appoggio involves rasising the sternum before inhalation, making all conscious breathing efforts with the internal and external obliques and transverse abdominis, then keeping the sternum up and not allowing the chest to recoil when replenishing your air supply. (This is sometimes called “sideways inhalation”.)
In singing, (as well as in the Italian language itself), the term appoggio has both a passive component and an active connotation and may vary with different technical approaches. For some singers, breath flow pressure becomes a self-sustaining system whereby the singer feels the breath pressure in the body as an influence of stability. The diaphragm remains relaxed and is acted upon rather than being active. Others, however, might say that they consciously push down against the pressure of the breath. In that way, they are actively trying to find something to “lean on”, to use as a support. (I find that many of my students initially experience the latter sensation, in which they are more aware of the sense of pressure and feel the lack of strength and development in their abdominal, side and back muscles, and then gradually begin to find the technique easier, more natural and more beneficial over time as their muscles become stronger and better coordinated with what is happening in their larynxes.)
One method of achieving a raised sternum involves raising your arms above your head - the sternum naturally rises when your arms are in this position - holding your breath with the inspiration muscle system, then lowering your arms while exhaling slowing without lowering your sternum.
Inhalation should be accompanied by a sense of expansion or fullness in the epigastric area, as well as a sense of expansion of the lower ribs. This rib expansion is caused by the contraction of the external intercostal muscles, and should be felt during any substantial inhales. In addition to expansion at the base of the ribs, it can be felt at the front and sides of the torso, between the tenth rib and the crest of the iliac (upper surface of the hipbone) and in the back at the eleventh and twelfth ribs. The wider the rib opening and the longer this expansion can be maintained, the greater the downward hydrostatic pressure and the greater the pull against the elevation of the diaphragm. Lateral abdominal expansion will eventually equal or even exceed the expansion of the front part of the abdomen when the appoggio system is developed and applied. Consequently, this rib expansion is the effect that is typically most noticeable to the singer.
At the height of inhalation, when you are breathing deeply and the lower torso is expanded laterally, dorsally and frontally, you will likely also feel a sense of “suspension”, in which it feels as though the voice is sitting or resting on something, or a feeling of “buoyancy”. When you begin to sing, this same feeling should be maintained as long as is comfortable, with the sternum still elevated, the epigastric area still comfortably “full” and the lower ribs expanded. (It is this position that prevents the diaphragm from collapsing upward too quickly.) The abdominal muscles should be relaxed, and you will find the necessary exhalation will occur without your having to be overly concerned about the action of the muscles in the abdominal area. As you arrive at about the last third of your exhaling breath the epigastric area will naturally move slightly inward, but you should attempt to keep the lower ribs in as outward a position as you can. This is a learned response to help you retard the ascent of the diaphragm or avoid its early rise. This lower rib expansion and the epigastric “fullness” which, in turn creates the feeling of inspiration suspension, is "appoggio".
At first, it may seem as though you are not getting enough air, but you will soon find out that your air supply is indeed sufficient to complete your singing tasks, even long phrases, because the diaphragm is rising so slowly and pacing the exit of the air to make it last for the duration of the task. You will get stronger and more adept at controlling and maintaining this lower rib action. Acquiring the appoggio breathing technique gives the singer a longer, more reliable air supply (because the exiting air is pragmatically paced in order to meet the requirements of extended phrases, regardless of tessitura or dynamic level), greater stability of tone (because tone is affected enormously by the steadiness of a singer’s breath stream), easier execution of large intervals, improved agility, including greater clarity, accuracy and speed while singing technically challenging passages, and better breath management when singing very softly or quietly. Appoggio ensures that there is neither excessive airflow, (because most of the exiting breath is turned into tone by the efficiently vibrating larynx), nor too much resistance by the vocal folds to the exiting air (la lotta vocale).
