Month: July 2020

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Breath Support – How #2

Inhalation

Breathing?  Nothing to it!  Just in, out, repeat, right?

Generally, yes.  However, for singing we need a bit more control.

The breathing process I will describe here is operatic, designed for voices that need to fill a theater of 4,000 seats with full orchestra, unamplified.  A lot of breath energy is needed.  At the end (probably another time), I’ll talk about differences in breathing for what good opera singers call “microphonistas,” or those who operate in the opera world relying on amplification, as well as many theater, jazz, etc., singers.

Okay – we have a lifted, loose, energetic posture, with room between the ribs and the pelvis.  When the lungs fill, everything around them is pushed out – the ribs will expand a bit, the stomach moves out and even the lower back will expand a little.  For the anatomically curious, the intercostal muscles (between the ribs –  what we munch on when we order spare ribs) help expand the rib cage, and the diaphragm muscle expands everything below the ribs.  This expands the lungs, drawing in a lot of air.  (For anatomical geeks like me, read Vennard)

The shoulders must not rise.  The only muscles that can pull up the shoulders are in the neck, which needs to stay loose.

Let’s talk diaphragm.  It’s a dome shaped muscle at the bottom of the rib cage, basically horizontal, that separates the heart and lungs above from the stomach and everything else below.  (Separates the vittles from the vitals, a college prof used to say)  It is the major muscle of inhalation – when it flattens out it opens the lungs, sucking in air.  In the process, it pushes out everything below:  abdominal muscles, sides and back.  If you put your hands on your waist, thumbs forward, fingers toward the spine, bend over 90 degrees, and inhale, you will feel the back expand.

Some people talk a lot about back breathing.  As we saw above, the back will expand when you inhale correctly.  I sometimes will use this with new students – have them go through the exercise at 90˚ to feel the back expand, then have them try for the same expansion standing up.  It is useful to get a low breath and stop a heaving chest.  However, there are no muscles of exhalation in the lower back, which we will talk about more when we get to exhalation next time.

Likewise, the sides will expand a bit, but the bulk (pun intended, in my case!) of the work is done in front.  The abdominal muscles will distend, and it is helpful to think of the expansion all the way from the ribs to the pelvis.  My last teacher, Miss Ellen Repp, used to say, “I breathe so low, I can’t tell you.”

Breathing in this manner can be very relaxing.  Think of it – if you’re breathing with the shoulders raised, every inhalation produces tension.  Not so good for the beginning of a phrase.  However, if, at the end of the phrase, your ribcage is still open but your abdominals are pulled in, if you just let go of the abdominal muscles, your belly will drop and your lungs will fill, assisted by the diaphragm flattening out.

Try this – stretch out your arms to keep your ribcage up and open (and loose!), and exhale by pushing in your abdominals, navel to backbone.  Really give them a squeeze!  Now, when your lungs are empty, drop your belly and get a good breath.  Relaxing, isn’t it? Now that we have a good breath, next time I’ll talk about the use of the breath in singing

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Breath Support – How #1

Breath gives us life.  The German word atmen, or breath, is closely related to the Sanskrit atman, or soul (originally, breath.  They noticed that when someone dies, the breath leaves the body, hence, soul.).  We get the English word atmosphere from this root.

Without breath, there is no life or soul.  Without good breathing, there can be no good singing.

How

The ‘how’ can be easily conceptualized, but can be difficult to put into practice.  There are just a few parts to it, but they can be counterintuitive.  They are posture, inhalation, exhalation.  Easy, eh?

I’m going to discuss all this at the experiential level.  If you want to get into the exact musculature and skeletal structure, I couldn’t do better than Vennard.

Today I’ll talk about Posture

If your posture is like a question mark, there could be room for improvement.  You should have a lot of room between your ribs and your pelvis for the expansion that good breathing needs.

The ribcage should be up and open, like when you stand with your arms outspread. My massage therapist says, “Lead with your heart.”   It is a lifted, but loose and energetic, posture.  It must not be locked or tense.

The relationship between the head, neck, and ribcage is important.  Probably the most important part of it is that it should all stay loose and energetic.  If the head has to be locked in one position to sing, there is room for improvement!  I know, I know, some folks believe in the chin to the chest approach, and others like the shoulders raised, and yet others seem to only be able to sing if the head is slightly to the left or right.  To me, all of these seem to come from tension, and do not help a good singing tone.

I once performed with a baritone whose chin had to be pulled to his right shoulder when he sang.  If he was crossing from stage left to stage right, he sang upstage!  Not only did this get in the way of his performance, but he made an ugly noise.

So, what about the head and neck?  The head should generally be looking straight ahead, not up or down, but (dare I say it?) loose and energetic.  Watching singers I’ve admired, like Luciano Pavarotti or Theo Adam, the head is mobile and they are always moving side to side, at least a little.  We’ll talk more about this, but you should be able to move your head fully from side to side while singing throughout your range.

Once this relationship between the various parts is in place, the rest of the body can do almost anything.  When I sang Rodolfo, I used to play a game with myself and see just how far I could slump in my chair in Momus and still hit the high B at the end of the Quando m’en vo ensemble.  We’ve all seen operatic performances where the singers got into all kinds of positions with no problems singing, which is always better than those singers who always have to stand just so, and put on a veneer of acting.

So, the foundation of good singing is breathing, and the foundation of good breathing is the postural relationship between the rib and pelvis, and the head, neck, and ribs.  Next time, we’ll tackle filling the tank.

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Breath Support – Why?

Breathing is good for you. Here’s why:

With good breath support, the voice can be free, resonant, clear, open, loose and beautiful. Without it, all of these are compromised.

“Support” is a great word for this process; it is the foundation of good technique.

Something has to control the sound, create the pitch, and fill the room. If breath support isn’t doing it, something else will take over. This will always lead to tension in the tongue, but also the jaw and throat. If you try to loosen the tongue without replacing that tongue control with breath, something else will just get tight.  Your range won’t be what it should be, dynamics and color will be monotonous, and vibrato will be out of control.

With good support, the larynx can relax open, giving the voice a clear, resonant sound. The open larynx (space between the hyoid bone and the thyroid cartilage) is what gives the voice that extra overtone (the singer’s formant, around 2800 cycles/second) that fills the theater over an orchestra. You may feel it in the “mask” but it comes from the open larynx.

With proper support, the tongue and lips are free to clearly articulate the vowels and consonants. Singing must be communication, otherwise, play the kazoo!

When the vocal apparatus is loose, it will respond to and express the emotions in the text and the music. You will then be able to fully engage your audience in the story, rather than the process.

That’s why. How is next time!

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First Principals

Luciano Pavarotti once said you should “always remember your first lesson.”  He must have had a terrific teacher, because I didn’t get what I now consider to be “First Principals” until well after college, many teachers after that first lesson.

For instance, it wasn’t until I was already singing professionally that a teacher told me the voice should be loose.  And it wasn’t until I worked with Ellen Repp in NYC that I learned what support really should be, and what an open sound really is.  Sure, lots of people talk about “support” and an “open sound” but without defining how it works, or getting the student to actually DO it.

So, this blog is to be a rumination and discussion about those first principals.  Let’s talk!