How to breathe for singing
There are many discussions amongst singing teachers about how to breathe for singing. I will tell you my opinion based on my experience.
Breathing is the first stage of your voice production, therefore you want it to be of good quality. In the inspiratory phase, the air comes in from an external environment to the lungs. The communication between the lungs and the exterior is possible through the windpipe.
When singing, the first thing you want to make sure is that you are using the correct parts of the body for breathing. In a correct breathing sequence, first, the diaphragm contracts which allows the lower part of the lungs to fill with air. The sensation is that the air goes into the lower abdomen, this is because the diaphragm pushes your organs when it contracts. In order to achieve this, it is very important for the body to adopt a good posture. If the body has bad posture (for example curving the lower back forward), the diaphragm will find its movement limited.
In the second stage, when the diaphragm is already contracted, the rib cage expands so more air can fill the lungs.
And the third stage only uses 10% of the lung capacity. It is what we know as “chest breathing”.
Now, that is the process for a complete inhalation. What happens (and this is the tricky part about breathing in singing) is that we tend to ONLY use the third part of the lung’s capacity for breathing when we are in a vertical position. If you observe someone sleeping, or a dog, you will see that they don’t lift their shoulders while they are breathing. This is because they are in a horizontal position.
When you lift the shoulders, three things happen:
- The brain understands that you’ve reached the limit of your air capacity, so you can’t breathe in any more air. So, if you ONLY use this part of the lungs, you will only have a small amount of air available.
- The muscles that are near the neck are tense and this interferes directly with your singing.
- You are less likely to have air control, which enormously impacts your singing.
So what you want to achieve when you are learning how to breathe for singing, is to fill the lower and the middle part of your lungs with air and keep the top part relaxed. This will give you a better voice, better control of it, and a lot more possibilities to work on it.
How to breathe for singing – exercises
- The first one is not an exercise, but a bit of advice. Quit smoking!!
- Do some cardio regularly. It will grow and improve the coordination of your breathing muscles, and it will also train your body to take in more air. This will help you when you are singing.
- Breathe through the mouth while opening your arms with your palms facing towards the ceiling. While doing this, your ribs will open naturally, and the middle part of your lungs will be activated. Exhale and do it again, and this time when you exhale, also sing an AH sound.
- Standing up, separate your feet shoulder-width apart. Let your head and torso drop-down -vertebra by vertebra – while bending the knees a bit. Your arms, head, and your chest are all relaxed. Come back slowly to the initial position, one vertebra at a time, while breathing slowly. The head is the last thing that comes up. Now exhale with any sound you like and see if your air lasts longer.
- Breathe while lifting one of your knees in a standing up position. Exhale or sing any sound you like
These exercises activate parts in the lungs that are often blocked due to our standing up position, stress, bad posture, emotions, etc.
Now it is your turn. Play around with these exercises and notice the difference!
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