breathing question

[VideoHere]

hiya folks,

i've heard two schools of thought on these two subjects, can you let me know the better way to go?

1. when singing on stage, is it better to breathe from the nose or the mouth?...some say the mouth is better, but tends to dry the throat.

2. when inhaling should the chest be pushed up or left to itself? i know you want to expand the ribs and leave the shoulders down, but i thought it's better to keep the chest unlifted.

thanks in advance, bob

[ronws]

Well, the diaphragm is an inhalation muscle, so the easiest way to breath in is relax. Which is easy to do after holding a long note and running out of air. But what can help exert the right pressure is slight tension in the stomach muscles. Not so much that you are pushing all the air. Just some. I used to see this in actor William Shatner. It comes from his stage/theatrical experience. Next time you watch "Star Trek," notice is mid-section compress when he speaks. He did it in TJ Hooker, as well. It comes from having to "project" the voice. Breathe in the nose and not the mouth? I don't know so much about that. You will be exhaling slightly through the mouth as you sing. Plus, when you breathe in, whether through the mouth or nose, the cords wide and out of the way, mostly. But I have read so many different takes on breathing, some counterpointing each other.

[drew77]

Its basically impossible to say that you should always breath one certain way..........................singing, and speaking for that matter are such dynamic things.......................practicing the type of breath management youll need is part of the process of learning how to use your own instrument.................that being said..........as you previously stated..when breathing through the nose.........your basically breathing 100 percent filtered and moisturized air..............but this will sometimes slow you down when you need a quick breath to get to that next phrase..................so basically........there is no answer to the question.........how should I breathe?........................this is why different schools of thought differ on breathing.................some times "breathing from the diaphragm" can cause a singer to take in too much air......and if they dont support (hold back air) then they could end up pushing the vocal chords...............this is something that has been a personal problem for me..................so basically........you gotta practice breathing the way that works for you...........for whatever specific song you happen to be singing

[Steven Fraser]

hiya folks,

i've heard two schools of thought on these two subjects, can you let me know the better way to go?

1. when singing on stage, is it better to breathe from the nose or the mouth?...some say the mouth is better, but tends to dry the throat.

2. when inhaling should the chest be pushed up or left to itself? i know you want to expand the ribs and leave the shoulders down, but i thought it's better to keep the chest unlifted.

thanks in advance, bob

Bob: As to mouth/nose, I think its a matter of personal preference, and can be somewhat based on what effect (or not) the singer wishes to convey. For myself, I breathe through the nose if I have the time, but if I am starting a word with a vowel I am perfectly ok with opening to the shape of that vowel and then breathing through it. If I am beginning a word with an M or N, or any of the consonants done with the mouth mostly closed... I usually nose-breathe. I think it just looks funny to open the mouth to take a breath, and then shut it to make the sound.... just me.

Yes, there is a benefit of filtration and humidification of the breath when taken through the nose, and it can help release any tension that may have accumulated during the prior phrase. I knew an opera singer from Germany who did nose-breathing religiously for that reason.

However, sometimes, its just not possible. Catch-breaths in the middle of a phrase can be done non-obviously if by mouth.. but become very obvious, almost funny, if done through the nose.

Generally, I prefer the chest in a relaxed, high position throughout the singing cycle. It stabilizes the base of the rib cage, and gives more freedom to the diaphragm. However, I think my bigger concern is for just not letting it move much... wherever it happens to be. Particularly, if the chest is falling during the note... the diaphragm is not controlling the air pressure from that motion. So, first preference: keep it still. 2nd preference, high and still.

[VideoHere]

Bob: As to mouth/nose, I think its a matter of personal preference, and can be somewhat based on what effect (or not) the singer wishes to convey. For myself, I breathe through the nose if I have the time, but if I am starting a word with a vowel I am perfectly ok with opening to the shape of that vowel and then breathing through it. If I am beginning a word with an M or N, or any of the consonants done with the mouth mostly closed... I usually nose-breathe. I think it just looks funny to open the mouth to take a breath, and then shut it to make the sound.... just me.

Yes, there is a benefit of filtration and humidification of the breath when taken through the nose, and it can help release any tension that may have accumulated during the prior phrase. I knew an opera singer from Germany who did nose-breathing religiously for that reason.

However, sometimes, its just not possible. Catch-breaths in the middle of a phrase can be done non-obviously if by mouth.. but become very obvious, almost funny, if done through the nose.

Generally, I prefer the chest in a relaxed, high position throughout the singing cycle. It stabilizes the base of the rib cage, and gives more freedom to the diaphragm. However, I think my bigger concern is for just not letting it move much... wherever it happens to be. Particularly, if the chest is falling during the note... the diaphragm is not controlling the air pressure from that motion. So, first preference: keep it still. 2nd preference, high and still.

steve, i was hoping to have you answer this. thank you so much.

[VideoHere]

Its basically impossible to say that you should always breath one certain way..........................singing, and speaking for that matter are such dynamic things.......................practicing the type of breath management youll need is part of the process of learning how to use your own instrument.................that being said..........as you previously stated..when breathing through the nose.........your basically breathing 100 percent filtered and moisturized air..............but this will sometimes slow you down when you need a quick breath to get to that next phrase..................so basically........there is no answer to the question.........how should I breathe?........................this is why different schools of thought differ on breathing.................some times "breathing from the diaphragm" can cause a singer to take in too much air......and if they dont support (hold back air) then they could end up pushing the vocal chords...............this is something that has been a personal problem for me..................so basically........you gotta practice breathing the way that works for you...........for whatever specific song you happen to be singing

thanks for your input. bob

[Mr Bounce]

I've never found the taking in of the breath to be a significant problem. You relax, and simply allow the breath to come in and fill your body.

The holding back and controlled delivery of that breath seems to be something that takes many years to master however :D

[robin6]

I Digged this thread to save it for future

Regards

robin6

[WebAndNet.com]

hiya folks,

i've heard two schools of thought on these two subjects, can you let me know the better way to go?

1. when singing on stage, is it better to breathe from the nose or the mouth?...some say the mouth is better, but tends to dry the throat.

2. when inhaling should the chest be pushed up or left to itself? i know you want to expand the ribs and leave the shoulders down, but i thought it's better to keep the chest unlifted.

thanks in advance, bob

The nose is built for breathing, but when extra air is needed, the mouth can add. Thereby, the answer to the first question is how fast one needs to replenish the lungs. If slowly, nose is better; if not (e.g. need air to sing next note), both.

Most people have posture problems, in particular, slouches. Therefore, the correct position for most people is the chest pushed up, which is actually its natural state. Unfortunately, most people have so much body tension that they slouch. In slouching, the myofascia tissue, muscles, and spinal alignment actually adjust to a near-permanent tension state. So, if the chest is then pushed up to its natural state, there is greater tension still.

So, the correct solution is to straighten the spine, which is a lengthy time, difficult process. The incorrect process is to minimize tension, which is to go into the most relaxed slouch state; which is the better short-term solution.

The second answer depends on whether you're seeking a short term or long term solution.

[gno]

Bob - keep the chest still like Steven said. When you breath in your abdomen should be moving out. Your chest should not be moving. This is not necessarily intuitive so you may have to concentrate on this until it becomes automatic.

[WebAndNet.com]

A different philosophy:

In good singing, the sound is an expression of the entire body’s emotions. In learning how to sing, it may be useful to keep certain parts of the body still in order to learn how to gain control, as moving body parts are difficult to learn how to control. However, after learning some control (through posture alignments), the entire body should become emotionally expressive. This means that the chest should move according to the desired emotional expression.

Sad singing–drop the chest to express sorrow.

Angry sing–raise and tense the chest.

Happy singing– raise and elate the chest.

Without the proper body posture, the emotion is very difficult to express properly because the muscles are in conflict. If the emotions drive the body posture, the singing will be emotionally expressive.

Similar idea as in most sports. In these, there is usually a starting neutral position that enables one to be able to quickly go into other positions. But the other positions are where the execution take place most of the time. Chest, same way. Begin with a neutral position, but execute (change) according to the emotion desired.

These chest motions are slight motions. BTW, it is not possible to diaphragm breathe in and out and not move the chest, particularly if one expends all the air. The chest, like the rest of the body, should express itself emotionally starting from a natural, untense state. This is not easy to achieve though.