Breathing is the basis of singing. Without breathing, you cannot sing a single note. Breathing is the foundation. No matter how amazing the renovation you do, but if you save on the foundation, then one day the repair will have to start all over again. Maybe you naturally know how to breathe correctly, so you just have to consolidate your existing skills. But, if you don’t have enough breath to finish a vocal piece, you need to practice.

There are several types of breathing : thoracic, abdominal and mixed. With a chest type of breathing, our chest and shoulders rise while inhaling, while the stomach is pulled in or remains motionless. Abdominal breathing is, simply put, breathing with the diaphragm , that is, the stomach. The diaphragm is a muscular-tendon septum that separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity. When inhaling, the stomach protrudes, inflates. And the chest and shoulders remain motionless. It is this breathing that is considered correct. The third type of breathing is mixed. With this type of breathing, both the diaphragm (abdomen) and the chest are involved at once.

To learn abdominal breathing, you must first feel the diaphragm. Lie on the floor or sofa in a completely horizontal position with your hands on your stomach. And start breathing. Do you feel your belly rise as you inhale and fall as you exhale? This is abdominal breathing. But standing up to breathe with your stomach is more difficult. For this you need to practice.

Breathing Exercises

1. Learn to take short but deep breaths. Stand up straight, inhale sharply through your nose, and then slowly exhale through your mouth. This exercise is best done in front of a large mirror. Observe the position of the chest and abdomen as you inhale and exhale.
2. If there are problems with exhalation, exercises should also be used. For example, you can blow out a candle. For the first time, place it at a distance where you can blow out the flame without much effort. Gradually move the candle away.
3. Try spreading your breath over an entire musical phrase. You don’t have to sing just yet. Turn on a well-known song. Inhale at the beginning of the phrase and exhale slowly. It may happen that by the end of the phrase you still have some air left. It must be exhaled before the next breath.
4. Sing one sound. Inhale, take the sound and pull it until you exhale all the air.
5. Repeat the previous exercise with a short musical phrase. It is best to take it from a collection of vocal exercises or a solfeggio textbook for the first grade. By the way, in the notes for beginner vocalists it is usually indicated where exactly you need to take the breath.

Breathing rules for singing

1. The inhalation should be short, energetic, and the exhalation should be smooth.
2. Exhalation is separated from inhalation by a greater or lesser pause – holding the breath, the purpose of which is to activate the ligaments.
3. Exhalation should be economical, without “leakage” of breath (no noise).
4. In this case, breathing should be as natural as possible.
5. You need to take breath only through the nose, and exhale through the mouth along with the sound.

The diaphragm is the foundation of sound