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The Great Breathing Debate (Singing Teachers)
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Hey Eliza,
I’ve looked for information about natural diaphragm recoil, and I can’t find anything! I’ve learned about how the lungs have an elasticity to them and so when they’re stretched to take in air, they naturally let go of some air suddenly as a recoil (I think!?).
But I haven’t been able to find anything for singing specifically.
An chance I could get you to explain a bit more? Do you know of any videos out there that show this so you can see the effect? Or if you could even upload a vid, that would be super amazing. I’d love to write a blog post about breathing soon, so any info would help a heap -
Haha – well I just googled it, and I am pleased to present you the first hit on Google – Matt Pocock’s Voice Hacker!
He explains it a lot better than I do. Lip trills (or raspberries as he puts it!) are an excellent, easily accessible way to achieve this. Along with the “zz/vv” revving sounds.
http://singinglessons.london/breathing-for-singing-3-the-recoil-breath/
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Awesome! Matt should be here to help us out haha!
So I just read that, and I have to admit I don’t really understand? If it’s something the body does naturally isn’t this whole idea just about being aware of the outbreath and not focusing too much on the in-breath or making it laboured? This just seems like what happens naturally.
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Hey there, I think the concept of ‘recoil breathing’ may be overcomplicating what in my understanding is actually very simple. Lungs expand / stretch during inhalation. So the way I see it, recoil is nothing other than the natural ease with which the lungs ‘rebound’ after we exhale, which in very simple terms means they go back to the same state we experienced previously at rest, before inhalation. The process repeats every time we inhale & exhale without us having to think or control it in any way.
With regards to breathing exercises in general, I always incorporate at least 1 or 2 into my lessons, as I’ve found conscious focus on ‘just breathing’ for a couple of mins has a number of benefits:
– It helps to alleviate tension
– It helps students to get into ‘training / singing’ frame of mind & switch off distractions
– It calms them down and makes them feel more relaxed & comfortable in a learning setting
– And it sets their breathing into a smoother, steadier, more consistent pattern, which paves a great start for vocal warm ups & subsequent singingI use various breathing exercises and alternate them to keep it interesting for the students, e.g.
Exercise 1 – Breathing out a consistent stream of air
Start by taking a deep breath, filling your lungs all the way down to the abdomen (not just the top half of your lungs). Then let it out very slowly in a constant stream. Imagine that you’re exhaling through a very thin straw and the air is going out so slowly that you don’t appear to be breathing at all. It may help to picture a candle out in front of you, and your breath is moving so slowly that the flame doesn’t flicker as you exhale.
Exercise 2 – Breathing out and sustaining a note
Pick a nice comfortable note and hold it through the entire breath. Don’t let it change in pitch or volume–make it seem like a key being held down on an organ. Be sure that each note is a comfortable pitch–somewhere in your normal speaking register. Low notes are good because they help the throat relax. Use a different pitch for each breath. Don’t try to belt out high notes. That strains the vocal chords.
For those who struggle with the concept of diaphragmatic breathing I advise to practise at home the following:
Lie on the floor on your back with your hands on your stomach. Breathe in (inhale) and your hands will rise. Now breathe out (exhale) and they will lower. In this position it is virtually impossible to breathe incorrectly. Try to breath in the same way when you speak or sing.
Hope this helps
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Well said Monika!
Yes the lying down and breathing is what helped me learn how to sing from the right place!
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