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The Great Breathing Debate (Singing Teachers)
The topic I’ve been waiting for!
1. Yes, more so now as I realised that some of my students didn’t know how to do it properly and they were breathing too much or too little and expelling breath on the on/offset. Some just need a recap if they’ve slipped into bad habits (over-breathing in particular – I spotted this after a teacher spotted ME doing it when having singing lessons!) Some don’t need to learn it because they have a controlled, steady, even sound!
2. I aim to get the student to understand that it’s exactly the same as every day breathing and intake of breath before speaking. I get them to be able to easily activate the breathing that’s completely automatic in our bodies! Physically, it’s to help them relax and engage with the diaphragm. Sonically, they can hopefully hear a clear, steady sound and also feel the resonance within their mouth/chest, without an exasperated, breathy result, or any leftover breath/breathlessness. Finally, psychologically it helps them realise that the sound is NOT bigger than them, therefore they don’t need to tense up in apprehension because their bodies are stronger, more capable and has more capacity than they realise!
3. I only teach 45 minute lessons, so I cover this in lesson one and expect them to engage their breathing before they arrive for lesson. If they seem particularly tense after a stressful day at work/school, I get them to do stretches and relax their shoulders and neck muscles etc. Normally only takes a couple of minutes. If they seem unable to engage in a few minutes, then repetition of breathing exercises is something they need to do every day in their own time and keep me posted if there’s any issues!
Over and out…
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21 Replies
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I love the idea of doing stretches if the student has had a stressful day. This is something I’d love to do more.
I see you use the word engage a lot, like “engage with the diaphragm”. I haven’t seen this terminology before. Obviously we always use the diaphragm no matter how we breathe – we use it in our sleep! Could you explain what you mean by engage? Are you just talking about a low breath rather than a more “clavicular” one?
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We’ve talked about this on the facebook so I decided it was time to make it happen. These are some things I’d be interested to hear about from you guys, but feel free to wax lyrical and tangentialise where necessary :).
1. Do you choose to teach breathing yes/no? Do you teach it for all students or only some?
2. If/when you do teach breathing, what are your aims? And what is the perceived result in the student when these aims are achieved (physically, sonically, psychologically etc.)?
3. How much time do you typically spend on breathing (per lesson or per student)? Do you see it as a pillar of technique that must be worked at repeatedly, or is it more “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”?
Go!
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Engaging with the diaphragm means connecting and getting the abdominal muscles working and getting your breathing in place, e.g. the natural diaphragm recoil when warming up and being aware of it in general singing.
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So you’re saying it’s a lot to do with awareness right? Just being aware of what the body does naturally to control and accommodate air. Because I 100% agree with you that it should be the same breathing as speaking. Natural, automatic etc.
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Pretty much. I went from not teaching breathing (apart from quickly demonstrating not raising shoulders, making sure your stomach inflates! Again, same as every day breathing) to going into more detail recently with diaphragm recoil, as that’s what MY singing teacher has been doing with me and it’s really helped. I over-exert when I sing and subsequently run out of breath a lot.
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