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Every now and then I get totally out of breath

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I really try to focus on getting enough air.  But every now and then I'll get completely out of breath and have to stop and lean over to breathe for a moment.  Sometimes it happens during the break between sentences, too.  So I must not always be breathing correctly.  How do I figure out where I'm going wrong?

 

Thank you!

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Hey, I was waiting on you to reply to that last PM so you could be given those exercises. You shouldn't be so out of breath that you need to double-over. Are you using your diaphragm like we talked about?

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I did reply but it looks like it didn't actually send it.  :-/  Sorry about that!  If you could go ahead and send the exercises, that'd be awesome!

Yes, I'm using my diaphragm.  It's not very often that it happens, which is why I don't know what I'm doing differently.  Obviously something changes...

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I would reckon you're probably breathing only from your chest which will surely get you winded, in any activity. Look up information on diaphragmatic breathing. And also breath support and cord closure for singing. And find exercises to practice these and follow the instructions carefully. Better yet, studying one on one with a vocal coach is always most preferable, any of the good ones will cover all three of these topics. Good luck

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I did reply but it looks like it didn't actually send it.  :-/  Sorry about that!  If you could go ahead and send the exercises, that'd be awesome!

Yes, I'm using my diaphragm.  It's not very often that it happens, which is why I don't know what I'm doing differently.  Obviously something changes...

​No worries. I'll PM you later today and we'll talk about this issue and the other stuff as well.

 

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Also look into cord closure. There are two parts to this: 1. you need good cord closure to not run out of breath and if you don't it will show up as problems getting through long phrases 2. vocal fatigue from oversinging can make the vocal folds swell and reduce closure causing the problems I mention in #1 to come in even if your cord closure is normally good. In this case it's not just weak closure it can sometimes actually be that you've done a tiny bit of damage to the folds or overworked the intrinsic muscles and should rest from singing and excess talking for a day and the problem will resolve (to prevent it from coming back the solution is to vocalize less and/or with better technique)

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The trick isn't about getting a lot of air. It's about managing the air you have by steadily supporting its exit with your belly. It also means you should work gently enough and be relaxed enough so that when you need to inhale (may even happen mid-sentence) it won't be abrupt. 

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OP, few us of here can teach you to breathe correctly. And even then... you must learn it yourself. One of the most effective exercise to do this is the Farinelli exercise. Inhale for 4 seconds, keep your mouth open and don't breath for 4 seconds, exhale for 4 counts. Repeat for a couple minutes. Then increases to 8 counts, then 12, then 16... etc. You should feel nothing in your throat and think of "flow." A simple ticking clock or metronome will help with this.  

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  • 2 weeks later...

If you don't know if you get dizzy or not, you may need to pay more attention to your body when you sing. None of the info on this forum will be of help if you aren't paying attention to what your body is doing. Singing is about recreating what feels good and sounds good. So a great place to start is to just become a little more observant as you sing. :) 

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