Singing’s all about feeling, and expressing our feelings, and the breath is the “wings” of the song.
- Release the urge to control the breath; surrender to feeling and experience singing instead of worrying about outcomes.
- Follow the breath: feel air over the larynx; the larynx connects to the diaphragm through the heart, enabling relaxed support.
- Breathe lightly and joyfully to spark feeling, relax the diaphragm, open the sacral creative center, and produce a rich, creamy tone.
- Connect with breath variously: from the air, up from the earth for grounding, or into the back to free the front body.
- Match breath to song: ballads need deep diaphragm control; fast songs need trust and vitality. In performance, focus on emotion and surrender.
The first, and last, things we do on this earth is breathe, and the breath connects us to the places of energy in our body we use to sing (the diaphragm, for example). And when we sing we’re literally molding the breath with our emotions.
As soon as one tries to control this process, however, it sounds like it and it’s all over. Our deepest instinct is to control the breath, but what we really need to do is to let go and surrender. Experiencing the feeling of singing instead of worrying about the outcome of our actions.
The path of the breath when singing is:
We breathe in air from all around us, experiencing it in the mouth and feeling the air flow over the larynx.
The larynx connects us to the diaphragm via the heart.
If we breathe in lightly yet joyfully, the air combusts in the heart to create a feeling of joy, which in turn helps the diaphragm to relax and open.
This in turn opens the path to the “sacral” point where our creativity and instinct is housed. Sing from there and you get a rich, creamy tone. Remember to use the larynx and tongue to create the vowels, and control the pitch and tone.
Connecting
There are many ways to connect with the breath. The traditional way is to imagine that we’re breathing in from the air around us.
Another way is to imagine it coming up from the earth, through the bottom of the feet, or the perineum. Great for blues and gospel – you’re literally rooting, or grounding, yourself.
Another is to breathe in to the back. This, I feel, is the best way. It takes the pressure off the front of the body (which needs to be as relaxed as possible), and easily connects you to the diaphragm, heart and stomach (as in the breathing exercises of the Level 1 videos).
Another way that’s been helping my students with their posture at the same time as breathing into the back is to imagine that you’ve huge wings, and that you’re standing on the edge of a cliff with your back to the sea, far below you.
This certainly makes one stand on the ball of the feet and open the chest at the same time. Although it’s worth mentioning, also try to keep this a relaxed exercise:)
We also connect with the breath differently during a song. A ballad requires a deep connection to the breath and diaphragm. We tend to breath more deeply and need to control the note smoothly.
A faster song is a completely different experience. We experience the breath vitally, letting it take us to the places in the body where the note can vibrate clearly. Everything’s going too fast for thought, so we have to trust the breath to support us and free us.
However, these are all practice exercises. When performing a song, focus on the emotions of the song, surrender to that, and your breath practices will help support you, your body naturally expressing the emotions and feeling of the song.
Related articles:
Level 1
Create your own singing lesson
Practicing a new song – the basics
How to practice with the vocal exercises
The high notes
The Jaw – Do’s and Don’ts
Finding your pure note
Focusing the note
How to breathe properly
Let yourself suck!
Level 2
Give yourself a grounding cord