>>>>i would describe normal breathing as the following: when we talk, we begin talking on whatever air is in our lungs. as we talk, we use air, creating a vacuum. when we stop talking and relax, we stop the process that is creating that vacuum and, nature, by virtue of eliminating that vacuum, inhales for us. i have found that this process is quicker than any of the approaches that attempt to 'manually override' the process of breathing in hopes of making it more efficient. i am not alone in my thinking on this. carlo bergonzi, piero cappuccilli and daniel ferro (i think) all believe in this type of breathing. jerome hines discussed the approach, along with quite a few others, in his book 'the four voices of man'. one other benefit to this type of breathing; as it is the breathing of everyday life, there is a calming effect when performing (or, at least, it doesn't contribute to the general panic).
mike<<<<
I agree with your thinking wholeheartedly Mike, and in a perfect world, this is all we would ever need to impart to our students about breathing. Mind you, nothing that I teach about 'breathing' is to >>>'manually override' the process of breathing in hopes of making it more efficient.<<< Far from it. You might like to check out Kristin Linklater's book "Freeing the Natural Voice", as well. I find her technique invaluable.
Many students though, the moment they walk in the door, will suddenly become all self conscious about their singing or themselves or both and the first "casualty" is their ability to breath naturally. (Try asking a group of six year olds to sing. All those raised shoulders! *groan*) I don't even have to mention breathing, all I have to do is "be me" with my "singing teacher hat on" and there it goes! My first steps in re-establishing their connection with their breath is to go via the "natural breathing" route you mention.
Further to this though, there is always a number of students whom, no matter HOW much you try to avoid this pattern of faulty breath, will continue to go on and make this a major stumbling block. They will also be PARALYSED with performance anxiety. They practically BEG you to give them "a method" whereby they can simply do Step a b and c and proceed to d when they have perfected the previous and feel they are in control. It is always a relief if you can halt the rot at this point and they can just settle with that and never look back.
Even further to this, there are yet another sub group of these students who will NEVER "get it" and finally go off to another teacher citing "breathing problems" as their nemisis.
(I often run group workshops for my hardest cases and employ a mix of things depending on what addresses the individuals. My starting point is usually the Kristin Linklater.)
Hence the "need" for "breathing exercises" or even discussing or 'teaching breathing' in the first place. As I said previously, there are students who from the moment they come to lessons never need to "do" anything about their breathing. It is perfect the way it is. The only instruction they get is basic anatomy.
Also, the high number of asthmatics I seem to get through my studio are never going to get anything from me telling them to just breath "normally" either.
Doing it and teaching it are different animals.
~Michelle
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