Singing: the Mechanism and the Technique

Breathing, Posture and Breath Control [1967] by William Vennard

Breathing There are teachers who consider breathing to be the most important factor in tone production. It seems wasteful to spend more than one or two lessons on breathing by itself. It is primary in importance, but it is easy to understand, and can be practiced without the aid of a teacher. Lesson time is usually expensive. The one thing that the teacher must supervise is actual phonation. The pupil can easily practice singing poor tone without knowing it. He or she will never practice wrong breathing by himself if he pays attention to what he is doing. The teacher should discuss habits of breathing with all beginners in an early lesson. Breathing should be explained in detail, and its importance stressed. Then the teacher should point out that the pupil can form the correct habits by practice outside the studio. All the muscles involved in respiration can be consciously controlled. The only involuntary reaction is the necessity of taking a new breath when the oxygen content of the lungs runs low. If the student will spend five minutes at the beginning of each practice period practicing breathing exercises conscientiously, he will make rapid progress. If the student will not practice outside, then lesson time must be given to it. No matter how well a person sings, if his breathing can be improved, his singing can also. Posture The muscles of posture will work by themselves if we know what they should be accomplishing and concentrate on that. One does this by thinking of the posture instead of the muscles. It is good to have one foot a little in front of the other. An aggressive stance commands the attention of the audience. Do not put your weight on your heels. Stand well-supported, leaning perhaps a little forward. If your legs weary after considerable singing, it is a good sign. A student should practice before a mirror and keep asking himself: "Would I pay money to look at that?" Three types of breathing: Chest (also called "Last resort" or "desperate breathing") Generally, movement in the upper part of the thorax1 should be avoided. First, it is inefficient. It is inspiratory2 and provides no control over exhalation. A good singer is seldom so in need of breath that he or she must do this. Second, it looks bad. Third, chest breathing can easily lead to muscular tension in the throat. Fourth, abdominal breathing, which is best, cannot take place correctly when the ribs are heaving. The heaving chest is the symptom of inability to get enough to get enough oxygen otherwise. One should form the habit of raising the chest comfortably, not excessively, relaxing the shoulders, and letting the arms hang loosely. This position should be maintained through the song. Rib The sideward expansion of the ribs characterizes the second type of respiration: costal, or rib breathing. The normal expansion of the ribs is primarily sideward, partly forward, and very little upward, so that it coordinates with belly breathing (see below) rather than shoulder breathing (above). The student can check to see how well he is doing it by placing the heels of his hands against the lower ribs at the sides. He should place them so that when he has exhaled, the fingertips are just touching in front. Then, when he inhales, his objective will be to push them as far apart as he can. Diaphragmatic, or abdominal The diaphragm3 is one of the most powerful muscles in the body, and certainly a most important

one. It is not only a partition between the ribcage and the belly, but it is related to both types of breathing, which implies that they should be coordinated. When the diaphragm contracts, it flattens, lowering the floor of the chest, and drawing in the breath. Probably more breath can be inhaled in this manner than by the sideward expansion of the ribs, though the point is academic, since both movements occur at once. Place the hand on the abdominal muscles, near the top, at the point where the ribs arch in front, just below the breastbone (This region is called the epigastrium4). When the diaphragm flattens, this area will push forward. It is really the contraction of both the diaphragm and the abdominal walls that causes the outward motion of the epigastrium. The tightening of the muscles, causing the bulging epigastrium, is not so much for expiration as for its control. Place one hand on the ribs at the side, and the other hand "on the diaphragm" in front, so that you can check on both costal and abdominal expansion at the same time. The word "abdominal" is used advisedly, for diaphragmatic action is bound to involve the abdomen. When the diaphragm drops (contracts), it presses down upon the stomach and other organs, and there must be some place for them to go. They cannot be compressed. The diaphragm forces down the organs of the belly and the abdominal wall must relax enough to allow these displaced organs to move forward a little. This is why it is impossible for one to sing well after too heavy a meal. Breath control First, there is the matter of getting enough breath with the inhalation. The principles of correct inspiration become all the more vital: The chest must be high at the outset; There must be sideward costal expansion; and The abdomen must relax to allow the full descent of the diaphragm. (#3 above probably sounds like a contradiction to those of you who recall my instructions to "firm up" the stomach muscles. However, this instruction is given to facilitate the contraction of the diaphragm for those who have difficulty with the concept. The abdomen does indeed relax, but the abdominal wall contracts. Please note the second paragraph under diaphragmatic breathing, above.) Second, there should be no waste of the breath. Take a deep breath, and then, hold the chest high, as if you were not expending any of the air at all. Let inhalation be quick and intentional [studied] and exhalation be slow and subconscious [unstudied]. In other words, the exhalation should be slow and steady; you will scarcely be aware of it. [There is no upper chest movement at all.] In this way, any "holding of the breath" is done by the diaphragm and the intercostals5 and not by the larynx. To overcome the weakness of unfamiliarity, the obvious solution is practice. Breathing exercises Any exercise that improves the physique will also cause better singing. There is probably no other skill in which general fatigue or debility will show more plainly. One simple exercise for developing the right coordination is performed while lying flat on the back on some rigid surface. A weight, such as a few large books, is placed on the abdomen near the ribs. When the person inhales, he should raise the weight, and when he exhales, the weight should go down. Another exercise, similar to the one above, but much more strenuous, requires the use of a small object about the size and shape of a pint milk bottle (here the author shows his age; this was written in 1967... use something as close as possible). Hold the object against the epigastrium, between the ribs, and lean so that the other end of the object presses against a wall (or the lid of your piano, or anyone's piano, or a table top, etc.). Stand on tiptoe, with feet far enough back so that a good deal

of weight is converted into pressure on the epigastrium. Release the breath but do not exhale abdominally; rather, let the bottle, or whatever, expel the air by pushing the weight of the body away from the wall. This is too rugged an exercise to practice for long periods of time. Instead it should be considered a kind of test. Please do not consider the previous exercises to be substitutes for the exercises that I have given you during your lesson: the staccato hisses using the bouncing epigastrium as the power source for the air; and the steady hiss using the same idea as "a." Practice these daily in order to see improvement. Singing: the Mechanism and the Technic by William Vennard, A.B., B. Mus., M.Mus.; Chairman, Voice Department, School of Music, the University of Southern California; past president of the National Association of Teachers of Singing; Carl Fischer, Inc., 1967 Glossary
5

Intercostals - three sets of muscles between the ribs interni - expiratory intimi - expiratory externi - inspiratory Thorax - upper part of the trunk, the chest - upper part of the abdominal wall over the stomach; erroneously called the

4 Epigastrium

diaphragm

Costal - rib
3
2

Diaphragm - partition between the ribcage and the belly Inspiration, Inhalation Expiration, Exhalation -