This two part series will cover both performance and technical editing of breathing and the voice in Music Production. Georgie Gillis is back again with part one of this series to help vocalists and producers gain a better understanding of the mechanics of breathing when singing.
The Basics Of Breathing For Beginners - A Singer’s Q&A
It goes without saying that breathing is paramount to the singer. Yet so many do not understand how to do it…
It’s The Same As Breathing When You Are Doing Anything Else Right? Breathing Is Breathing?
No. When we speak we take shallow breaths - only using the top part of our lungs. We punctuate our speech with natural breathing points such as full stops(.)pauses(…)or commas(,). Whereas when we sing we need to use defined breathing spaces unique to each song. Every breath has to be substantial enough to carry our voices through an entire line of lyrics. Thus trained singers have learned the technique of intercostal diaphragmatic breathing.
That Sounds Complicated. What Does It Mean?
It is a technical term meaning to take a voluntary deep breath, engaging our abdominal intercostal muscles and diaphragm. Our day-to-day breathing is described as involuntary because we do it without thinking about it. The respiratory system is comprised of internal and external intercostal muscles as well as the diaphragm which work in conjunction with one another each time we take a breath. What we are doing as singers is to artificially use that system to our advantage. This method of breathing is also known by other names such as abdominal breathing, belly breathing, diaphragmatic breathing or deep breathing.
But When I Sing Happy Birthday At A Friend’s Party It Sounds Fine. Why Should I Breathe Any Differently?
Breathing correctly equals an influx of power to your voice. An equivalent would be like playing an electric guitar dry and then plugging it into an amplifier. Giving your voice a larger air supply enables the rest of the tools needed for a good performance; such as projection and tone. The only time we use deep breathing naturally in our daily lives is when we sleep at night. Certain activities like yoga and wind instruments for e.g. also teach deep breathing. Learning how to do this whilst delivering a song is the secret to great vocals.
Okay, I Want To Learn. But How Does It Work?
First let’s have a brief anatomy lesson. Put your hands on your chest and find your ribcage. Now feel along to the bottom of it. Notice how far down it goes, along your sides and around your back. What you might not realise is that your lungs take up as much as 2/3 of your ribcage, with the diaphragm just below, situated on top of your stomach. It’s no accident that your ribcage is shaped to your lungs, is elastic and expands when you inhale. Take the deepest breath you can and it will feel as though your entire chest is inflating, pushing your shoulder blades up from underneath.
So How Is Intercostal Diaphragmatic Breathing Done AKA Taking Deep Breaths?
I could take my time and explain this in a technical way. But put quite simply, we do this already, automatically every night when we sleep. Try it now:
- Lie down on the floor on your back.
- Interlace your fingers and place your hands on the soft part of your belly below your naval.
- Take deep breaths through your mouth, but inhale normally - do not force your ab muscles in any way.
- Pay attention to what is happening to your hands.
- The action of breathing in & out should be making your belly rise and fall, pushing your hands up & down.
- Now stand up - try the same thing on your feet. Make a point of looking down at your hands so you can visualise the air going into your belly.
Right. Now How Do I Practise ‘Belly Breathing’ When Standing Up?
When you are standing again, keep your hands on your belly with your fingers interlaced and practise breathing while looking down at your hands. This focusses your attention on where the breathing should take place. Breathe in and out, slowly and deeply through your mouth. If you are doing it correctly your belly should go out when you inhale and in again when you exhale. Watch yourself in a mirror. Your shoulders should be relaxed and not moving at all. Visualise that you are breathing in a great amount of power for your voice. Practise makes perfect and our bodies can learn new reflexes just as we do for e.g. when learning to drive a car.
Is That All There Is To It? Is There Anything Else Involved?
Yes, one last thing. The way we intake air is different. I call it the ‘Milkshake Straw’ method. When we go to breathe during speech we only need a shallow breath and so we draw the air in that we need in order to complete a sentence. That can be done as we choose; through our noses or mouth. When we go to breathe during singing we must suck the air in through our mouths using the same mechanism as if we are drinking milkshake through a straw (make sure though that you do not use ‘straw lips’ but rather an open mouth). This enables us to get a full inflation of our lungs in 1 beat which is the average breathing space within any given line of lyrics. Breathing through our noses is a waste of time for a singer because it takes too long (about 5 seconds).
Okay I Think I have Got This, Belly Breathing Plus Sucking The Air In. How Often Should I Do It?
When you approach a new song it is good practise to mark your breathing points on your lyric sheet. Some breaths will be full inflations and can be marked for e.g. with a capital ‘B’. These are commonly found at the beginning of each line of lyrics. Sometimes we only get half breaths or ‘snatch’ breaths, where we need to grab as much air as we can but in only half a beat or less. These can be marked for e.g. with a lower case ‘b’. This can be especially useful if there is a tricky passage in your song, like a tempo change or a rap section.
How Much Air Is The Right Amount Of Air?
Breathing to a singer is like breathing to a swimmer i.e. breathe during a song as if your life depends on it - even if you feel you don’t need as much during the quieter verses, take it anyway. Having extra air in your lungs as a reserve will come in handy during the bigger choruses. Be an opportunist - keep topping up your ‘air tank’ every chance you get; all natural pauses within a song, be they at the beginning, end or half way through a line. If you start to feel light headed - it’s okay, it just means you’re doing it right!
I Have Heard That Breathing While Singing Is Effectively Holding Your Breath.
Yes and in that vein swimming is the best form of exercise for a singer. It is said that Frank Sinatra used to swim underwater in order to increase his lung capacity. The story goes that he would recite his songs in his head while he swam for extra motivation! Technically speaking, from the beginning of a line of lyrics to your next breathing point you are holding your breath and using the air you have to make sounds. We all know the famous opening lyrics to ‘Over the Rainbow’. Try singing them while holding your breath:
“Somewhere over the Rainbow
Way up high
There’s a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby”
Now try it this way:
B“Somewhere over the Rainbow B
Way up high B
There’s a land that I heard of b
Once in a lullaby”
Out of all the vocal training techniques, breathing is the first step to unlocking your best singing voice. Getting your breathing right is a game changer. It can make an average singer sound good and a good singer sound great. If you are serious about your voice and would like to realise your full potential, breathing correctly is the single most important thing you need to master.
Part two will cover how you can edit, remove, shape and place breaths in Pro Tools.