Tina and Vocalisters:
You asked:
>I'm curious for opinions on the best method of breathing for singing - I'll
>break it down to the basics - expanding the abdominals verses pulling them
>in with expansion in the lower ribs?
How one should breath while singing is, it would appear, a
never-ending question. I suppose because the breathing system so so
completely immersed within the body it is prone to misunderstandings
and more than a little variety of false explanations.
Here is an earlier response to this question that might be of some help.
I have read some of the responses to your request for information about a
"weak" diaphragm. There is a lot of misunderstanding about how the
breathing system works and, within this, there is also confusion about the
workings of the diaphragm.
The diaphragm is a muscle system. It is fastened to the lowest ribs on the
sides, the bottom of the sternum, and to the back at the top of the lumbar
region. Its primary function is as an inhalation muscle system. When you
inhale the diaphragm descends. When it descends it must displace your
viscera, primarily your stomach and upper intestines. If you are short
waisted these displaced organs will make your epigastric area (the area
between the bottom of your sternum bone and your naval and sideways to your
lower ribs) bulge out slightly and you will be quite aware of the effect of
your inhale. If you are long waisted, you will have more room for these
displaced organs and your epigastric area will show less or little bulging
and you will be less aware of your inhale.
When you exhale, your abdominal muscle system becomes active. Your
abdominal muscle system (from your pelvis to about your naval) is your
primary exhaling muscle system. The diaphragm is not active during
exhaling of your breath except as a controlling muscle system. In other
words, your diaphragm does not exhale your breath; it only controls how
quickly your breath is exhaled.
If you exhale quickly your diaphragm is inactive. If you exhale very
slowly such as you would do when you are trying to feel very warm, moist
breath on your fingers placed very close to your open lips, the diaphragm
is actively resisting the exhaling action of your abdomen muscles. If you
pay attention, you can feel some subtle action behind the epigastric area
as you exhale this very warm, moist breath. That subtle action you feel is
your diaphragm being active.
You will also notice as you exhale this very warm, moist breath, that the
epigastric area does NOT move inward, nor should it, because the diaphragm
is active. If the epigastric area does move inward it signals that the
diaphragm has collapsed upward and can no longer resist the exhaling
abdomen muscles. In other words you have lost control of your breath
because you have allowed the diaphragm to collapse upward into its rest
position.
Breathing for singing is very similar, in fact almost exactly like
breathing out a slow stream of very warm, moist air on your fingers placed
close to your lips. The diaphragm is the muscle system singers use to
CONTROL the breath on the exhale. The diaphragm is not the muscle system
that exhales the breath.
No diaphragm is weak. It cannot be. Every living person uses it every
minute of every day to breath to stay alive. It is one of the most used
muscles in the body. Sit ups do not strengthen it. Overweight people,
thin people, average people all have strong diaphragms. But singers must
learn to control their diaphragm on exhaling because it is the control of
the breath that makes good singing possible. The vocal folds should not
have to hold back enormous breath pressure. If vocal folds are required to
hold back excessive breath pressure they must press together too tightly to
function easily and freely. The vocal folds should have just enough breath
pressure against them to maintain their vibratory movement. The breath
pressure for singing is always dynamically changing and the control of that
change is the duty of the diaphragm. So what you are learning is control,
not strength.
And yes, you did understand the statement a few paragraphs above. YOUR
EPIGASTRIC AREA MUST NOT BE SUCKED IN DURING SINGING! It should remain in
the full feeling position you experience immediately after inhalation and
you should attempt to maintain that inhalation position as long as possible
immediately after onset of the tone. In a very long phrase you will find
the epigastric area will move inward toward the end of the breath. But if
you move it in nearing the beginning of the phrase you will have collapsed
the diaphragm upward and lost control of your breath. Every singer has had
this experience of taking a proper breath and singing a few notes only to
feel out of breath. They are not out of breath of course but have merely
lost control of the breath because of a collapsed diaphragm. They are then
required to try to control the breath with only the exhaling abdomen
muscles and this control is extremely difficult because the abdomen muscle
system is very extensive and not meant to be the controlling muscles for
exhaling.
I hope this is of some help.
--
Lloyd W. Hanson
|
|  |
