How to Breathe Properly for Singing

Just as wind instrument players need to learn to control their breath properly to play their instrument, singers must learn how to breathe properly to control their vocal instrument. Incorrect breathing can lead to pitch problems, shortness of breath, weak tone and an uncomfortable tightness and pain in the throat. It can even lead to vocal chord damage, which is in many cases permanent. Follow these guidelines and learn how to breathe properly for singing.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Start with proper posture. You'll notice that professional singers rarely sit during a performance, and if they do, it is generally on a stool that they only half sit on or lean against. This is because an upright posture, where the abdomen is straight, allows for clear airflow and deep, full breaths. Any slouching, curving, or bending of the body constricts the airways and interferes with proper breathing.

2. Inhale deeply, using your diaphragm and other abdominal muscles. Place your hand below your ribcage. You should feel this area expanding and contracting as you breathe in and out. Your abdominal muscles control your lungs and support your breath. When you sustain a note, this is the area that should be doing the work, not your chest or throat.

3. Keep your shoulders and chest relaxed and steady as you breathe. Shallow chest breaths cause the chest to lift and the shoulders to hunch up. Practice inhaling and exhaling while keeping these areas of the body steady. Your ribcage will expand with your inhaled breath, but make sure there is no conscious thrusting out of your chest.

4. Imagine the air you inhale slowly filling the lower portion of your lungs. Breaths have to be taken quickly during a song so the temptation is to take quick shallow chest breaths, but these aren't strong enough and can cause damage to your vocal chords. With practice, you can learn to open your throat and quickly bring in enough air to expand your ribcage and sustain phrases and long notes.

5. Exhale steadily as you sing. Like blowing up an inner tube, you know that short bursts of air don't do much, but a long, steady stream of breath will expand the inner tube. These long, steady exhalations will carry you much further into the song, with strong consistent tone and fewer breaths between phrases.

6. Conserve your energy. Long-distance runners know not to run their hardest at the beginning of the race, because their energy will drop off while they still have a lot of race left to run. Don't push notes out at the beginning of a song; keep your breath steady and your tone solid, and save your energy for the crescendos and any big finishing notes to the piece.

7. Use your gluteal muscles. This practice used to earn a lot of giggles in high school choir, but tightening your gluteal muscles to help lift and strengthen your notes really does work. Keep your throat and chest relaxed as you belt out those high notes, but clench your buttocks to help drive the powerful sounds.

8. Plan your breaths in your performance pieces. With experience, you'll learn the natural places to steal breaths in a song, but it's not a bad idea to include planned breathing into your practice sessions. For complicated pieces, sustained notes, runs and other difficult phrasing, it helps to work out the breathing ahead of a performance. That way you won't unexpectedly get caught on too long of a phrase without a proper breath, which can end up straining your voice and leaving you tired and with pitch problems.

9. Practice, practice, practice. Stand in front of a mirror as you practice inhaling, holding a breath and exhaling it. Watch your posture and the movements of your body, and correct the mistakes you see.

10. Consider a trained voice coach. It's always good to have a professional by your side who will help you practice and be diligent about proper breathing techniques.

Tips & Warnings

• Experts often recommend lying on the floor (on your back, and then on your stomach) or pressing your back against the wall as you practice singing in order to feel which muscles in your body are moving when you inhale, exhale and push out notes.
• Do everything in moderation. Keep your posture firm, but not tense. Your ribcage should expand as you inhale, but not excessively. Sing only as loudly as you can comfortably; don't force it! Sing as powerfully as possible with as little breath as possible. The best and healthiest singing is that which seems effortless, with no wild movements, harsh breaths or straining.
• If you have any throat pain or soreness when singing, stop! This is a sign that you are overtaxing your voice. Learn to breathe and use your voice properly so you don't cause damage to your vocal chords.