| REVISED AND EXPANDED \NDED EDITION ESSERE | VOCAL LEAULTS Te amanual for teachers oj of singing and for choir directors James C. McKinney NASHVILLE, TENNESSEEChapter 4-BREATHING AND SUPPORT ‘THE BREATHING MECHANISM ... BREATHING FOR SINGING .. INHALATION SUSPENSION .. CONTROLLED EXHALATION RECOVERY ... BREATH SUPPORT . SUMMARY OF BREATHING CONCEPTS. FAULTS RELATED TO BREATHING AND SUPPORT FOUR INCORRECT METHODS OF BREATHING .. OTHER BREATHING AND SUPPORT FAULTS...Chapter 4 Breathing and Support MECHANISM ay a natural process which begins with birth and ends with death. No one instructs a baby in the art of breathing, although he may get a manual assist from the doctor or nurse if he has trouble getting started. The rate of breathing is governed by the body’s need of oxygen, Ifa person is sitting down and not exerting himself, the rate will be about 12-16 times per minute; if he goes to sleep, the rate will decrease it will increase. This type of breathing to sustain if he starts exercising, it e life is automatic and needs no conscious controls. , low intake of air; (2) a some- Breathing for life has three stages: (I)asl what quicker release of air; and (3) a waiting or recovery period before the next intake. If you start analyzing this natural process, it will lose some of its spontaneity because you are bringing it under conscious control. The essential difference between breathing to live and breath- ing to sing lies in the amount of conscious control exerted. ‘Air enters the body because of a difference in atmospheric pressure inside and outside the body. This difference in pressure exists because of the action of the diaphragm muscle, which creates partial vacuum in the lungs. Since the external pressure is greater than the internal, air enters the body through the nose and/or mouth, passes through the throat, the trachea (windpipel, and bronchi, and then enters the lungs—two spongy, elastic saclike organs located, along with the heart, in the chest cavity. The diaphragm is a dome-shaped partition that separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity. It may be described as a floor to the chest and a ceiling to the abdomen. The lungs are nonmuscular and, therefore, must depend on the diaphragm and the muscular move- ments of the chest, back, and abdomen for expansion or contraction during the a of respiration. e muscle fibers of the diaphragm are attached to the breastbone, the lowest ribs and the backbone, with the dome (which may be more cavity a oe as a double dome) extending upward into the chest m these points of origin. Since the ribs in the front of the rib DiaGNosis AND ra OF VocAL FAULTScage are higher than the ones in the back, the diaphragm extends lower in the back than it does in the front. When these muscle fibers are con- tracted, the dome of the diaphragm is lowered, compressing the viscera below it and causing the upper abdomen to protrude. At the same time, because of the negative pressure created by this descending movement of the diaphragm, the lungs are stretched down- ward, thus increasing the effective capacity of the lungs and establishing the partial vacuum referred to earlier which causes outside air to enter the body. It should be mentioned that the descent of the diaphragm does not go as low as the places to which it is attached. The movement visi- ble in the upper abdomen is the result of displaced viscera and relaxed abdominal muscles; some people confuse this movement with that of the diaphragm. The diaphragm cannot descend that low. The primary muscle for bringing air into the body is the diaphragm. It is assisted by the external rib (intercostal) muscles, and by the relax- ation of the upper abdomen. When breathing becomes more labored due to strenuous exertion, various other muscles of the shoulders, back, and chest are brought into action; since singing does not demand this level of physical activity, these muscles will not be considered here.! Getting air back out of the body is a somewhat more complicated process than bringing it in. There are several factors involved: (1) the diaphragm relaxes; (2) the lungs are elastic and tend to return to their original shape after they have been expanded; (3) the abdominal organs and abdominal wall return to their original shape and location when the diaphragm quits pushing against and compressing them; (4) the internal rib muscles? and the abdominal muscles* assist in the expulsion of air. The role of the internal rib and abdominal muscles becomes more prominent as the level of exertion increases. Breathing normally takes place through the nose until the level of exertion demands so much oxygen that the mouth must assist in tak- ing larger quantities of air more rapidly than is possible through the rose alone. The nose is designed to filter, warm, and add moisture to he incoming air, in order to perform these functions, it is constructed o that it also slows the air down. This factor limits the amount of air hat can be inhaled in a hurry through the nose, and therefore becomes quite important in certain singing conditions. Soren te SS ohn eae RS bal he gers Voce jreath (videotape) (Dallas: Pst...nc, 1991)... ; i Spacing pals or sring them closer together, this action decreases ‘fed. Sis "ike geil Reaniswedndebat=ie commie Breathing and Support 47Sa. smportance of aerobic conditioning for a singer becomes a ie ‘one considers the structure of the lungs. The lower half each lung is much better equipped with capillaries than the upper ha This means that the lower half is more efficient at taking oxygen out the air and removing carbon dioxide from the blood stream. Sedenta regularly tend to be shallow breathers an ercise people who do not exerci ac singoxpgea forcarbon diotiae inefficient at ex Se amd peonla who engage in aerobic exercise for at least twe ty continuous minutes several times a week are training their cardi vascular systems to work at near peak efficiency. This kind of con for a singer, not only for the cardiovascul tioning is very important nly a improvement it entails but also for the training effect it has on t} entire respiratory system. BREATHING FOR SINGING‘ ‘Natural breathing has three stages: a breathing-in period, a breathin out period, and a resting or recovery period; these stages are not usual consciously controlled. Breathing for singing has four stages:5(1)a breat ing-in period (inhalation), (2) setting-up-controls period (suspension) | a controlled-exhalation period (phonation), and (4) a recovery perio these stages must be under conscious control until they become con tioned reflexes. Many singers abandon conscious controls before the reflexes are fully conditioned and inherit chronic problems thereby. INHALATION. The inhalation stage of breathing for singing is quicke the quantity of air inhaled is greater, and the breath goes deeper into tl lungs than in natural breathing. When time permits, the singer shou breathe through the nose, so that it may fulfill its cleaning, warmin and moisturizing function. Frequently the music will not allow enous time for breathing through the nose; when this happens, the sing should breathe through mouth and nose simultaneously; this will pr vide the most breath in the least time.6 It is important for a singer to condition his inhalation reflexes by tl Proper mental preparation. Experiment with the following ideas to s if they have meaning for you: 1. Pretend you are smelling a flower, even to the point of ‘For an excellent article see “Breathi _ , Ste ay hey 98 Psne Sine” by oben Sunde in 2 28, ty, Expressive Singing, 2 vols., 3rd ed. [Dubuque: Wm. C. Brown Company, 197 writer cannot agree with those teachers who insist that all breath the ne This approach ha at eat three weaknesses (I the singer te comes inate ot quick breath, (2} dhe looks weit wie soe HO get enough breath when breathing quickly, (3) the sin DIAGNOSIS AND CORRECTION OF VOCAL FAULTS 48 eeeBREATH SUPPORT The breath of a singer is the actuator of the vocal instrument. The pressure of the breath against the vocal folds sets them in vibration and phonation ensues. Increasing the breath pressure can affect phonation in two ways; it can increase the frequency of vibration (the pitch) and/or the amplitude of vibration (the intensity). In other words, breath pres- sure contributes to both the pitch and the intensity of the vocal tone. Breath support is a dynamic relationship between the breathing-in muscles and the breathing-out muscles, the purpose of which is to supply adequate breath pressure to the vocal folds for the sustaining of any desired pitch or dynamic level. When a person establishes the correct posture, breathes in properly, and then suspends the breath, a balanced tension is set up between the muscles of inhalation and the muscles of exhalation. By a process of trial and error—empirically—the singer learns to adjust this balanced tension just enough to supply the needed breath pressure for a given pitch and dynamic level. With an inexperienced singer the breath energy seems to come in uneven spurts—too much for one desired sound, too little for the next—somewhat like a small child Breathing and Support 53y ies .s) movements before he can make tearing torn ne and disciplined practice will eo « ‘epport mechanism to its a potential for supplying fine a duce s to the vocal cords. : ere “breath support” and “breath control” a ed interchangeably, they really are not the same thing, Breath x - reviously defined, is a function of the breathing muscles, Peach control mainly is a function of the vocal cords themselves 5 may be defined as a dynamic relationship between the breath ang vocal cords which determines how long you can sing on one breath § that relationship is not an efficient one, if the vocal cords are not cle ing properly, it is possible to run out of air very quickly, regardless how well your support mechanism is functioning. The following exe, cises will help you distinguish between breath control and support: Take a deep breath through your poe leave your mouth hanging open and blow your breath out; notice how quickly ail or beth is exhausted from your body, because you are doing nothing to control the passage of the air. Now take another deep breath, but this time as you blow your breath out, shape your lips into a pucker as if you are about to whistle; notice how much longer it takes to blow the breath our of your body this way. This is because you have begun to control your breath through the use of your lips. Take another deep breath and this time exhale with a hissing noise as you have done earlier, sustaining the sound as long as you can; you are now controlling the breath through the use of your tongue and teeth. Take another deep breath, but this time say “one, one, one,...” smoothly and continuously while your exhale, sustaining the sound as long as you can. You are now controlling the breath through the use of your vocal cords, which is the way it is normally done in speaking and singing. This is the meaning of the term breath control. it id i cone ae aa and then the loud one. This sensa- rt; observe that it takes more support to ae the ea sound than the soft one, Repeat the sot then reece nce, but this time say “one, one,...” softly, then oon a a > again observing the Support sensations, ‘ Port is a dynamic, ever-changing relationship between the D NAGNOSIS AND. ee ae (OF VocaL FAULTS, 4 oe eeeforces which bring air into the body and the forces which cause air to leave the body. In the suspension phase of breathing, these forces are brought into equilibrium; the breath does not move in or out. When phonation is initiated, the balance is tipped in favor of the breathing-out mechanism so that breath pressure may be supplied to the vocal cords; however, the breathing-in muscles—the diaphragm and the external rib muscles—must remain active as a counter-balancing force which resists the breathing-out muscles, but not enough to win the tug-of- war. To the singer it feels much as if he is staying in a breathing-in pos- ture, even though air gradually is moving out of his body. The area of the upper abdomen just below the tip of the breastbone and bounded on both sides by the ribs is called the epigastrium. The importance of this area can be overemphasized, and its action can be exaggerated; nevertheless, singers need to be aware of how it functions. Try this experiment: Press the fingers of each hand into the epigastrium—the softer area just below the breastbone. While you are doing so, cough. Notice the reflex action of the epigastrium push- ing out against your fingers, this is sometimes called the “bouncing” epigastrium.® Continue pressing in and say “hey” loudly; you should feel the same outward reflex action. Now say “hey” softly; you should feel a gentle firm- ing of the abdominal wall, still going outward. SUMMARY OF BREATHING CONCEPTS Like good posture, the separate components of good breathing tech- nique ultimately must be brought together as a unified configuration. The breathing technique needs to be kept under conscious control until it becomes so habitual that is does not require continual analysis, but instead will respond readily to appropriate thought patterns. Some breathing concepts which may prove to be helpful in establishing good habits include: 1. Good posture precedes good breathing. 2. Breathe in as if smelling a rose. 3. Breathe in as if beginning a yawn. 4. In—down—out around the middle. 5. Comfortably up—comfortably in—free to move. 6. Inhalation, suspension, controlled exhalation, recovery. *Vennard, Singing, 28.30, Breathing and Supportthe in as if drinking a glass of water. 7, Breathe zis effortless and noiseless. . Breathing : . Foracatch breath drop the jaw and breathe as if surprised. 40. The chest is ‘comfortably high before, during, and after taking a breath. LATED TO BREATHING AND SUPPORT EAULTS RELI? methods of breathing which are to sore degree inelg. ‘tor tension-producing and therefore may be considered as breath. $etaults. These methods are identified by the portions of the anatomy involved: (1) upper-chest breathing, (2) rib breathing, (3) back breathing, ing, The semantic problems mentioned in an earlie and (4) belly breathing. ic pre chapter become evident here; there is ittle agreement among teachers ypdomen is P Concerning the names of different breathing methods. For example, in on the upper abs it thereby here is no widely-accepted name for the method of breathing previous. descent; reathing for singing, even though itisin feres with the free Iy advocated in the section on b common use; it has been referred to as diaphragmatic, costal, pan- mary weakness Sostal, intercostal, rib, belly, and diaphragmatic-intercostal breathing ‘Corrective Proc! by various authors, and this is not an exhaustive list! Neither is it easy ing are largely a0 tocome up with a name that is both accurate and descriptive. ing techniques Pr ‘All breathing methods involve the diaphragm to some extent; there is of the appropriate some rb action in all of them. Perhaps the most descriptive name forthe they have becom scpocated method is this somewhat unwieldy one: diapbragmaticinte to more interesti costal-upper abdominal breathing, at least it indicates ‘where the actionis ing are secure tec taking place “The reasoning behind the names of the four incorrect meth Some student sted above will become apparent as each is discussed separately. syndrome; for # trols. Those wk Pun Sete bisblataard oF ae akined ae hh draweit thing, which is also known as clavicular breathing, ing out on | draws its name from the highly visible rising and falling moveentsdf send ee majority of ethod is not taught, but is naturally present in the ¢ continued an ry of beginning students, It is i i it pilize the chest dna fean pacodhoal Gallien Pathe sarees observe that babit in the exerci has attended school for tw: reathe correctly, by the time the child oe uae breathing will have bose eae eee eats: it is likely that ‘upper-chest Dr iinnheros al faults which arise from anegitne chief cause of this is the post! a pperab a des ; or table several hours a 437 ily observe and and leaning over i it te i upper-chest breathing aie draw, and read. In the general populace student to kno ‘women. It : predomi a toned Characteristic feature is pina aati, esr among Rib breathir Upper-chest fring exhalation, est rises during method passed ng is undesirable for the following reasons: ae : thing, the 1 Diacwosis aN ‘Conrecrion OF VocaL 36 FauursJ omas J: Hixon, i 1987 ae J son, etal, Respita gtin in Spach an Song Ros. tle; (2) it is more difficult to judge exactly how much teng: reduced than it is how much it has been increased, Ty th bis Curl your hand slowly into a fist and gradually “sag ening it until it begins to hurt. It is possible to con® addition of tension rather constantly, Now try to the tension just as gradually; within a short time it become, quite difficult to know just how much tension is remane® Despite the difficulties involved, the student must learn to upper abdomen enough that it retains its flexibility and gc movement. Encourage him to practice the four stages of brea dom deliberately, making certain that he achieves expansion around ee terof the body and that suspension is taking place before he an °° support a sound. If suspension is effective, it will not be neoas 2S him to pull in hard on the upper abdomen to start the seu 274 Ask him to describe what he feels while the suspension stag; effect; these sensations form the foundation for the support e® nism, and might be described like this: ech * There is an expansive, stretching feeling all around the middle of my body, almost as if it is made of gentle elastic, ¢ There is an expansion downward deep within my body which is hard to localize but also seems to stretch like elastic, * There is a gentle lifting sensation under my upper chest, not forced, but buoyant. * If I start to make a hissing sound, I can feel muscles deep in my lower abdomen start contracting. Another idea which might encourage less support is to ask the studet to sing as if he is singing to a baby. Since the function of the actuator (the breath) is to bring the vibutt (the vocal folds) into action, respiration and phonation are closely int related and it is difficult to discuss one without referring to the ott Most of the faults related to the breathing mechanism have been sidered in this chapter, others will appear in the following chaptet™ faults related to phonation. Breath control problems fall into this” gory because they originate from the vibratory action of thevoall ‘’d Persons interested in an indepth study of the respiratory syst find the books listed below to be significant sources.!! fe ald F. Proctor, Breathing, Speech, and Song (New York: DIAGNOSIS AND CORRECTION OF VOCAL FAULTS ee ‘pot ‘THE MECHA The laryn. imary Pur other foreig Jungs to assi Its use in sp or superimy may be mo! for it is here This dua and as a Sov functions a attempts t speech ma enters the versely, sp sary strain action whi In recer come into on food ot Pressure o ed upwar who is ch maneuve arms, clc below th the other edto fitt be applie Tt wou ed mater _— ae