BREATHE CONTROL FOR SINGERS

Breathing is the single most important element in singing. In order to control your voice
you have to put out exactly the amount of breath you need for the sound you want. That
breath needs to be as focused as a laser beam. How you exhale controls the quality of the
sound, the volume, the pitch and the tone. How you inhale governs how you exhale.

Most people, as they walk around in their daily lives, inhale into their upper lungs i.e.,
their shoulders go up as does their chest. When the air is in your upper lungs, you don't
have the kind of detailed control you need. A singer (or a swimmer or runner--anyone who
has to control their air) should fill their lower lungs. This means that instead of a breath
that is vertical, with your body expanding upwards, the breath should be horizontal,
expanding outwards.

Put one hand on your abdomen and the other hand on your back, both at about waist level.
Inhale by filling your lower lungs with air so that your stomach sticks out. Your hands
should move apart, the air filling the space between them. As you exhale let your stomach
go back in gently. Think of your stomach as a balloon that inflates and deflates. Your
chest shouldn't move, not even an eighth of an inch. As you get better at this, your back
will also move out when you inhale. Try putting your thumbs one on each side of your
spine, at about waist level. Relax your shoulders. Now inhale into your thumbs.

Once you put the air in the right place, you must learn to control it with your diaphragm.
The diaphragm is a muscle that sits below your lungs and causes them to fill and empty. If
you exhale out all of your air down to the absolutely last drop, you will feel your
diaphragm under your rib cage as it pushes up against your lungs. On the outside of your
ribs you will feel your abdominal wall pushing in; inside your ribs your diaphragm pushes
up. Not only does your diaphragm need to be strong enough to push hard when you want
lots of power, but it needs to have even more control and strength when you want to sing a
fast and accurate lick, or a big jump in pitch, or very, very quietly. Building the strength
and control of your diaphragm begins with proper breathing.

To strengthen the diaphragm, again put one hand on your abdomen and the other hand on
your back. Inhale into your abdomen and exhale forcibly so that your stomach muscles
push in and the air comes out rapidly. Repeat this--inhale, abdomen out, exhale forcibly,
abdomen in--thirty times picking up the tempo as you get comfortable with it. Breathe
through your mouth. As you go faster you may find that you've fallen back into the old
habit of breathing vertically again. In that case, stop and start over by breathing slowly and
gently into your lower lungs until you have the feeling again.

Initially you may feel that you can't get enough air, but that is because your lung capacity
is small from disuse. All infants breathe into their lower lungs, but as we age and our
stress levels increase, our breathing tends to move upwards. With practice you will find
that your lower lungs stretch out and that your ribs in the back will loosen up and make
room for the larger inhalation.

Be patient with yourself. After breathing vertically thousands of times a day all the years
of your life, a new way to breathe takes lots of concentration. Remember that your voice is
an instrument like any other. It takes time to learn to play it--time and patience and
practice.

Breathing Exercises

The following exercise may make you feel tired at first, do keep at it as you will begin to
notice that it takes less effort to breath, less energy is used when breathing plus it helps you
learn to co-ordinate the diaphragm and abdominal muscles when breathing.

To find out if you are breathing correctly, place a hand on your belly button. This area
should expand first when you breathe in and then spread upwards until your chest is
expanded (don't lift the shoulders or push the stomach out). If you feel you are not
breathing properly, practice the following exercise.

Lay flat on your back.

Place your hands on your waist, fingers pointing towards your belly button.

Focus on filling up your stomach from the bottom to the top taking a slow deep breath.
(The aim is not to fill yourself to bursting but to inhale enough air so that you can feel the
difference between a shallow breathe taken when breathing from the chest).

You should feel your stomach rise and your hands being raised gently up and outward until
you feel your chest expanding. The expansion is not only at the front of the body but also to
the sides and back as well.

Breath out slowly to a count of 5

Repeat the exercise 10 times

Practice daily before you rise in the morning and prior to sleeping at night for 5 - 10
minutes gradually increasing this to 3 or 4 times a day.

Once you get it right, practice as often as possible, sitting, standing and whilst at work until
you are breathing naturally from your abdomen.
Try the following exercise to help increase breath control - Count on one breath singing
each number out loud. Using one breath at any comfortable pitch. Start with a small
number like 5 or 10 and increase this gradually until you can manage 25 or more without
straining, tensing or running out of breath.

Breathing Techniques
by Dennis Anderson
The most important aspect of good singing technique is AIR. Singers must control their
breathing or they become fatigued quickly and their singing suffers. These exercises will
produce immediate results, and permanently improved performance if practiced on a
daily basis. I have never yet seen a singer--regardless of the style--who didn't make
instant improvement by doing these exercises.

Start by taking a deep breath, filling your lungs all the way down to the abdomen (not
just the top half of your lungs). Then let it out very slowly in a constant stream. Imagine
that you're exhaling through a very thin straw and the air is going out so slowly that you
don't appear to be breathing at all--like playing "possum." It may help to picture a candle
out in front of you, and your breath is moving so slowly that the flame doesn't flicker as
you exhale.

Do this ten times.

Now do five more. But on these next five breaths, pick a nice comfortable note and hold
it through the entire breath. Don't let it change in pitch or volume--make it seem like a
key being held down on an organ. Be sure that each note is a comfortable pitch--
somewhere in your normal speaking register. Low notes are good because they help the
throat relax. Use a different pitch for each breath. Don't try to belt out high notes. That
strains the vocal chords.

Now do five more of these, gradually CHANGING the volume for each note from zero
up to a medium volume and back to zero over the entire duration of the breath. Always
choose a different pitch for each breath and NEVER let the pitch go flat or sharp. In the
case of these last five breaths all that is changing is the volume, and that should be
changing at a rate that is undetectable.

For the last set of five breaths (this is now a total of 25 that you'll be doing) do
everything you just did in the previous five, but change the timbre of your voice at a
faster rate than the volume is changing. This is done by "sweeping" through the vowels:
a,e,i,o,u. Make the change gradual in any order you wish.

You may be asking yourself how this helps you and why results are immediate. The
answer is remarkably simple. By concentrating on keeping your pitch constant you focus
in on what your body needs to do to sing on pitch. Let's face it, pitch is the most
common and important concern of any singer. Another side benefit of doing this
exercise is that it pumps extra oxygen into your brain. The brain likes oxygen. In fact,
the brain can't function without it. So more oxygen makes you think better and focus
more clearly on the task you have at hand: SINGING.

When you're on the mic remember to keep the abdomen tight (imagine you're going to
lift a piano) and the throat relaxed (like yawning), allowing plenty of air to move. If you
need higher notes you get them with more air, not by squeezing off your neck muscles (a
common mistake make by singers who burn out before they're ready to quit). Test this
by imagining you see a friend across a busy street and you need to get his attention.
Holler out "hey". You'll notice that you do this in a very relaxed way with lots of air.
That's how to hit those notes that are right on the edge. RELAXED throat, pushing the
air out with the abdomen.

One last thought: believe it or not, TALKING is more of a strain on your voice than
SINGING (if you're doing it right). In fact, Broadway singers are under contract to not
utter a single word on the day of the show until after the performance ends. So . . . if you
want to be a successful singer you have to learn to breath, learn to focus, then shut up
and sing!

Vocal Singing Exercises & Scales

When you have mastered your breathing, the following free singing exercises will help
you on the path to improving and understanding your voice.

The key to a good rehearsal is to ensure that you achieve the following before starting:

Abdominal breathing
Good posture
Breath during natural pauses
Keep your chin level
Keep your knees loose
Keep your head up
Keep your shoulders sloping and relaxed
Keep your toes pointed forward with your weight on heels and soles
Keep the front of your neck loose - don't stretch it
Keep abdominal muscles relaxed
Keep your back muscles relaxed
Avoid holding your shoulders lifted and puffed out
Relax and SMILE.

NB: If you having a bad day or feel tense and stressed, this can affect your practices and
performance. To help achieve consistency do a few Relaxation Exercises before your
rehearsal. If it all starts going horribly wrong, take a break, relax or do something else
and try again later.

Stand with your shoulders relaxed, arms by your side.

Breathe in slowly.

Sing one note, holding the note for as long as you can without becoming short of breath.

Do NOT suck in your stomach!

Repeat the exercise with different notes using doh, ray, me, far, so, la, te, doh.

Use different mouth shapes and vowels like "ooh", "ee", "a" and "aah"

Try singing up and down a scale (called an arpeggio).

Sing short notes (known as Staccato) as well as long ones.

Sing phrases to improve diction: Examples:-

'I really love to sing' (going up the scale)

'Do,re,me,fa,so,la,te,do'
'La, Lo, Le, Lo'
'Ma, Mo, Me, Mo'
'Ta, To, Te, To'
'Hi, He, Ha, Ho, Hu'
'Qua, Quo, Que, Quo'
'Fluffy Floppy Puppy'
'Lolli, lolli, lolli, lolli pop'

To feel the difference between raised and normal positioning of the larynx, place your
fingers gently on your throat and try to talk as if you were a child or use 'baby talk'.

Record your efforts, notice the notes that do not sound right and concentrate on those
until they do! Listen to the difference in your recordings over the next few weeks practice
sessions to hear the improvement in your voice.

Practise, Practise, Practise

Why do I need to practise scales n stuff?

A singer is like an athlete who gradually trains their body until it reaches the peak of its
operating ability. Like any other muscle in body, the vocal chords need to be warmed up
with exercises before asking them to perform. Although you may have been singing since
you were small, it is important that you learn to sing in a healthy manner that builds up the
muscles slowly and prevents damage to the voice.

The vocal chords (also known as vocal folds) are small thin muscles that vibrate when air
passes through them. The vibration ranges from fast to slow and the more 'elastic' they
become, the easier it is for the notes to be produced. The singer learns how to control their
breathing and uses vocal exercises, scales and vocalise which help to develop flexibility in
the vocal chords.

How long should I practise for?

That depends on the level of experience and amount of training that the singer has. For a
complete beginner no more than 20 minutes a day including warm up, rests, vocalisation
and cool down. The amount of practise time should be gradually increased over a period of
months according to your singing teacher’s instructions.

Advanced singers can practise for a lot longer with practice sessions broken down into 15
- 20 minute slots of warm up, vocalisation, rest, repertoire, rest, advanced repertoire and
cool down.

I've heard you can practise for hours?

It is not advisable to sing for long periods of time without a lot of training! You would not
expect to run a marathon without training slowly and regularly over a long period of time.
The vocal mechanism is like any other group of muscles and requires the same type of
gradual development. It should also be noted that even professional singers use their
practice periods to do other types of training! As well as vocalising, a singer should use
their rehearsals to learn lyrics, learn music, study techniques, observe recorded
performances and utilise their time between singing rather than sing continuously for long
periods of time which may strain their precious voices!

Do you have any tips?

Never sing or vocalise if you are ill or suffering with a sore throat. If your voice starts to
feel hoarse or sore during your practise session STOP singing immediately and completely
rest the voice. When your voice has fully recuperated, review your vocal technique, start
with gentle humming and cut down the length of practise time until you can consult your
teacher. If the problem persists, do not sing - visit your doctor.

Vocal strain can be caused by speaking, whispering or yelling too much or by trying to
'over reach' the voice.

Eat a light meal at least 2 - 3 hours before you start, allow plenty of time for the food
to digest.

Avoid caffeine, alcohol or acidic drinks like orange before you sing as these can cause
drying or excess phlem in some people. Drink between 8 - 9 pints water a day and keep a
supply of water to hand during your practise period.

Limber up the body by using gentle exercises first.

Warm up the voice with a few scales or other vocal exercises throughout your range to
help slowly develop the muscles.
Take a break, drink some water and rest the voice completely.

Choose an easy song to start your repertoire practise and gradually increase the difficulty.
Take another break, more water & rest the voice before working on the most demanding
songs

Repeat the vocalisation exercises to cool down.

Repeat the relaxation exercises and spend five minutes relaxing completely to end the
practise session.

In all cases the practise sessions need to be modified if you have a performance and at
least one day a week should be spent resting the voice - NO Singing!

Physical Exercises for Singers

We are often asked questions relating to fitness and although we are not fitness instructors
or medically trained we have attempted to answer a few basic questions, provide pointers
and tips on ways to increase stamina that should help improve singing or performing on
stage.

Does height or weight matter?

NO! Although it is better for your health and stamina to be at the right weight for your
height and age, there are singers of all shapes and sizes. Lack of breath support and/or
range can be caused by dramatic weight gain or weight loss but is usually regained with
re-training & exercise.

How fit do I need to be to become a singer?

Singers can use quite a lot of energy on stage depending on the type of show they are
presenting. It is advisable to be reasonably fit. Take care of your health and do exercises in
moderation. You don't need to be a fitness freak, but you do need to have enough stamina
to last you through a whole performance. Anything that improves the body helps the voice.

How can I improve my stamina?

Swimming is excellent for helping to improve stamina, fitness and breathing control. Like
every type of physical exercise you can start slowly and increase the amount you do as
your fitness improves.

So what exercises are good for singers and why?

Any aerobic exercise including walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, tennis as these help
to develop heart, lung strength and endurance. Co-ordination exercises like Yoga,
Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais, Tai Chi etc., are good as they help to develop body
awareness and aid in relaxation.

I enjoy weight training - is this good for singing?

The main problem with muscle conditioning exercises (like sit ups, crunches) is the
possibility of tension in the neck and shoulders. If you are aware of this problem and don't
overdo the training, plus balance it out with a session of relaxation or co-ordination
exercises then you should be fine.

I can't do aerobics - any suggestions?

One of the exercise systems that help to improve your flexibility and muscle tone without
jumping around is Callanetics. It works on the principle of using very small movements
concentrating on various muscles and areas of the body. Some of the exercises are based
on stretching and relaxing. Similar techniques which have been suggested by associates
are Pilates and the Alexander Technique.
What exercises should I avoid?

Avoid any exercises that encourage or lead to shallow breathing, neck or shoulder tension.
Give yourself at least a couple of hours between exercising and singing. Avoid strenuous
exercise on the day of a performance unless you are fit and know what you are doing!

Posture Exercises

Posture and movement for singers are an integral part of any tutors teaching. Part of being
able to sing well includes the ability to be aware of your body, identify and correct
problems that arise due to incorrect posture. This is where a singing teacher becomes
essential as they can observe your movements during singing and provide you with
immediate corrective advice.

This does not mean that your posture needs to be perfect!

Standing naturally ensuring the head, neck and shoulders are relaxed is the correct posture
for singing.

Whilst most people do this automatically, there are others whose posture has become lazy,
or who have developed bad habits that can inhibit their singing which is why we've
provided some guidelines, do's and dont's and exercises to help improve your posture.

Please Note: - This does not mean that you will not be a singer if your posture is less than
perfect or that if you suffer with a disability that you cannot sing. Posture is not a
substitute for vocal talent, just a means of improving your control and providing your
voice with optimum conditions for reaching its potential.

Posture Do's and Dont's

DO’s

Be relaxed and natural

Keep your movements fluid
Keep your chin level
Keep your knees loose
Keep your head up
Keep your shoulders sloping and relaxed
Keep your toes pointed forward with your weight on heels and soles
Keep the front of your neck loose - don't stretch it
Keep abdominal muscles relaxed
Keep your back muscles relaxed
Smile!

DON'T

Drop or hunch your shoulders

Move stiffly or jerkily
Drop or tuck in your chin when trying to sing low notes
Stretch your head upward when trying to sing high notes
Strain or push your abdominal muscles

Exercises for Improving Posture

The exercises below are used by schools and deportment teachers to help models, actors
and singers achieve correct posture. This age old practice has been used for years and is
designed to help you become more aware of how your body works, therefore enabling you
to move fluidly and correct mistakes as you feel them happening. Take them at your own
pace. Master one exercise before moving on to the next. Don't rush or try to do too much
in one day.

Please Note: Whilst the following exercises are easy and safe to do people with
disabilities, back pain or any physical disorders should consult a physician before
attempting any form of exercise.

For these exercises you will need:

A long mirror (preferably full length)

A largish book of medium weight
Wear comfy loose clothing
Wear flat shoes, trainers or bare feet.
A flat long surface i.e., hallway or enough room to walk several paces.
A friend who can observe and make constructive comments & notes.
Patience & a good sense of humour!

All movements should be fluid and breathing natural.

Place the mirror in a position at the end of the hallway or room where you can see the
whole of (or at the least the top half) of your body.

Stand facing the mirror. Study how you stand and compare with the Do's and Dont's
above and make adjustments to your posture if necessary.

Stand at the end of the walk space and walk naturally towards the mirror observing your
movements and posture as you walk. Compare with the Do's and Dont's above and make
adjustments to your posture if necessary.

When walking your weight should be mainly on the balls of your feet, so your heels just
lightly touch the floor, with the majority of movement from the hips and legs. The upper
body should remain straight, relaxed and not 'swing' from side to side.

Even if it seems that you are standing and moving with the correct posture it is difficult
without an impartial, experienced observer who will notice bad habits that may appear
normal to you.

The following exercises will not work if your posture is incorrect!! 5 to 10 minutes
practice a day will help you to achieve better posture, the ideal is to reach a point whereby
your posture and movements become automatic and unconscious.

Exercise 1

Place the book centrally on the top of your head.

Turn your head slowly to the left, return to centre then repeat the exercises turning your
head to the right. The head movements should be smooth with eyes ahead, chin level,
head, neck and shoulders relaxed. If the exercise is done correctly the book will remain in
place. Tense up, drop the jaw or move jerkily & the book will fall! Repeat this exercise
until you can do it several times without the book falling off.

Exercise 2

Stand at the end of the walk space and place the book centrally on the top of your head.

Walk normally towards the mirror, observing your posture as you walk. If your posture is
correct and your movements are smooth then the book will remain in place - if not it will
fall! Repeat this exercise until you can walk the length of the space without the book
falling.

Exercise 3
Stand at the end of the walk space and place the book centrally on the top of your head.

Walk normally towards the end of the walk space, turn and walk back towards the starting
point. If your posture is correct and your movements are smooth then the book will remain
in place - if not it will fall! Repeat this exercise until you can do the exercise without the
book falling.

Singing Warm-Ups

In fact, it is best that when one is still working at learning the notes of a song, to sing sotto
voce, with a subdued voice, or even down an octave much of the time as one practice the
song, if the vocal line lingers up high for a while.

Some individuals seem blessed with a naturally warm, flexible, high and phlegm-free
voice. Others have voices that wake up tight and a little stiff unless the voice is "flexed"
every day, a bit like a new, unstretched balloon.

Some also have a voice as tight as a new thick rubber band. Daily they need gentle
warming up as well as an additional vigorous workout. Without daily attention, the singing
voice is rough and subject to breaking only an octave above Middle C.

Vocal Warm ups:

Some vocal warm ups that could be tried or practiced

12345

12345

54321

15453525

1545321

15453525
1545678

Finger placement = 1 on C, 2 on D etc.

Sing numbers to the melody played as indicated by finger …

Warm ups for Steps of the Scale & Intonation

1,

1 2 1,

1 2 3 2 1,

1 2 3 4 3 2 1,

1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1,

1 2 3 4 5 6 5 4 3 2 1,

1234567654…

Great diction Warm Up

do, do re do, do re mi re do, do re mi fa mi re do, do re mi fa so fa mi re do, do re mi fa

so la so fa mi re do, do re mi fa so la ti la so fa mi re do, …

Here is a warm up

he did, he did, he died of a broken rib he did

he did, he did, he died of a broken rib he did

he did, he died, he died, he did, he died of a broken rib …

Diction
Diction is done with the tip of the tongue and the teeth.

Tinkers Take Their Time at Tea...

"Tinkers take their time at tea until their tale is told" --

Great one for early morning warm-ups -- have fun with it!

Daddy dropped a dollar down the drain

I teach piano and vocal beginners at my teacher's suggestion to help round out my budget.

super bubble gum

super bubble gum (clap,clap)

super dooper bubble gum (clap,clap)

super dooper double bubble super dooper double bubble super dooper double gum
(clap,clap) …

lu la lee la lei la lei lu la lee lei la lei lu la lu la lu la lei lu la lee lei la lei lu la lee lei la lei
lu la lu la lu la lei

baba baby baby baba booba

Each beat of every word you clap.

Sotto voce (/ˈsɒtoʊ ˈvoʊtʃeɪ/; Italian: [ˈsotto ˈvoːtʃe], literally "under voice") means
intentionally lowering the volume of one's voice for emphasis. The speaker gives the
impression of uttering involuntarily a truth which may surprise, shock, or offend. Galileo
Galilei's (probably apocryphal) utterance "Eppur si muove" ("Nonetheless, [the Earth] does
move"), spoken after recanting his heliocentric theory, is an example of sotto voce
utterance.

In music, sotto voce denotes a dramatic lowering of the vocal or instrumental volume —
not necessarily pianissimo, but a definitely hushed quality. An example of sotto voce occurs
in the Lacrimosa from Mozart's Requiem Mass in D Minor. The singers lower their volume
for emphasis.

In literature, drama, and rhetoric, sotto voce is used to denote emphasis attained by
lowering one's voice rather than raising it, similar to the effect provided by an aside. For
example, in Chapter 4 of Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë uses the term sotto voce to describe
Mrs. Reed's manner of speaking after arguing with Jane:

'I am not your dear; I cannot lie down. Send me to school soon, Mrs. Reed, for I hate to
live here.'

'I will indeed send her to school soon,' murmured Mrs. Reed, sotto voce; and gathering up
her work, she abruptly quitted the apartment.[1]

In law, "sotto voce" on a transcript indicates a conversation heard below the hearing of the
court reporter.