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Physiology of support! PLEASE HELP WITH RESEARCH PROJECT


MB20

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Ok, so I have to do a research project for my 2nd year of uni and I've chosen one on breath management and the support system.

I was wondering if anybody could give me a comprehensive explanation of the physiological process of support and suggest any technical and physical exercises which directly target the musculature involved.

Looking for very well informed answers please!

:D

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Ok, so I have to do a research project for my 2nd year of uni and I've chosen one on breath management and the support system.

I was wondering if anybody could give me a comprehensive explanation of the physiological process of support and suggest any technical and physical exercises which directly target the musculature involved.

Looking for very well informed answers please!

:D

wow! isn't that asking a lot from a forum? perhaps you should pull from some great books.

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I'm doing a literature review as well, however, I'm just gathering information from as many sources as possible. I've found it hard to come by information for those specific questions. I'm not looking for massive essay answer just concise, valid information

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Isn't the whole point of this forum to ask vocal specific questions to people who know about the voice...? I'm asking questions here in the hope of getting some informed answers from reliable sources, not to be sent to other sites where half the information is useless. If no one has any answers that's fine, but please don't just half heartedly try and send me somewhere else where I'm even less likely to find what I'm looking for...

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Buddy, people aren't just going to do your work for you :P

That said... Breath support is using muscles of the body to control the release of air from the lungs. The main issue is preventing the involuntary action of expelling air at a rapid rate, because the vocal folds can only take a small amount of breath pressure. The need to breathe is quite vital, yet singing "support" directly counteracts this by stretching out the diaphragm (basically the primary mover in respiration) so that it can't do its job. There are a lot of muscles that contribute to this stabilisation action, primarily the muscles of the front abdominal wall, the latissimus dorsi, and the various muscles which control rotation of the pelvis (from the anterior and posterior directions). Also, the muscles in the rib cage are important, especially for the bottom "floating" ribs (intercostals?).

As for training "support"... Well if singers could agree on this, then maybe people such as myself wouldn't have wasted years trying to work out why the hell it's so hard :P

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@Mr Bounce - I'm not trying to get people to "do my work for me".. I'm trying to collect a range of opinion from as many sources as possible. Thank you for your input though (y)

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@Mr Bounce - I'm not trying to get people to "do my work for me".. I'm trying to collect a range of opinion from as many sources as possible. Thank you for your input though (y)

it's not that we don't enjoy helping each other, it's that resources are all over the web. gotta reach out and grab them, they're not gonna come to you...lol!!!

here's two that i've never seen before that took me 3 minutes to link:

http://www.voiceteacher.com/support.html

http://www.singingbelt.com/learning-center/diaphragm-mechanics/

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If you are doing a research paper, then you have to note your references. And "ronws" from the Vocalist Forum is not a credible, annotated reference. Therefore, you will have to rely on books, regardless of what opinions we give you on the subject matter.

At least, back when I was doing term papers and such, we had to cite references with book title, author, publisher, page number, etc.

But Mr. Bounce gave the best, shortest answer and I don't think I could improve on it.

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@jonpall: That link doesn't work... :/

@VIDEOHERE: I do appreciate that and I have been looking online, I just thought I'd ask here as well for other opinions. Thanks for the links.

@raphaels: Thanks a lot! that's really useful

@ronws: Yes we do have to cite and provide bibliographies. You can reference many different things in a credible manner using the Harvard system: youtube videos, blogs etc. so if anybody provides an opinion, it is useable.

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Ah, the modern age, where wikipedia, a consumer-define enclyclopedia, becomes the source for all. Science by means of majority vote.

Egads!

Fine, let me stick my neck out, once again, on the chopping block, to be cleanly separated from my body by a long list of people (not just here. It seems, these days, I excel at differing with others, to say the least.)

And what if you had a hundred statements echoing what Mr Bounce said?

Breath "support" should be called breath management. Essentially, you control respiration with the stomach muscles by relaxing them and compressing them, which allows the diaphragm free movement. But the diaphragm does not "support" anything. I am begging you on bended knee and clasped hands to please cite a medical source (they are plentiful) that shows the diaphragm is an inhalation muscle. You provide air against the vocal cords properly by compressing the abdominals. And your tummy muscles, unlike the diaphragm, are under your conscious control.

Das ist alles. Esso todo. Fait accompli.

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ron, what's this new "i'm gonna be disagreed with" attitude of your's lately? man, you gotta stop that. no one's persecuting you!

we all have an opinion and while we all disagree from time to time, there's not a forum member on here that dosen't value your opinion.

you and i disagree on some issues, but that's just what it is, a disagreement...nothing more.

c'mon buddy, kill that attitude!

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Ah, the modern age, where wikipedia, a consumer-define enclyclopedia, becomes the source for all. Science by means of majority vote.

It's not quite that straightforward...!

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