Inspire: Breathing and Breath for Singing and the Voice
Module no. 6 - Breathing to Sing
Module no. 6 - Breathing to Sing (the breakdown)
Remember, the goal of the exercises is to begin with mindful awareness of your breath in your body and then find more coordination as a result. This isn’t about being a “good singer” or being “good at breathing.”
It’s about finding your breath in your body and optimizing it through helpful posture and coordination.
If this feels complicated to navigate, stay curious. Enjoy the exploration.
Now, let’s use our breath and then add in our voice. Remember, this will feel like a different type of resistance than a regular exhale and/or a hiss. You can sing higher or lower, louder or softer, headier or chestier… these will all change your experience of managing the breath and staying expanded.
Exercise no. 1 - Box breathing with a hum
4 counts in
4 counts hold
4 counts hum
4 counts rest
Increase the counts, using the included practice tracks.
Note: These exercises prepare you for something that happens all the time when we sing songs. See, when you sing a song, you have a prescribed amount of time to breath and often people do not coordinate or time this well. They will breath at the very last second as a gasp, rather than taking up more space with a calm nasal inhalation. These exercises help habituate taking up the appropriate space with a calm, energized breath in the body.
Exercise no. 2 - Box breathing with an open vowel
5 counts in
5 counts hold
5 counts “Ahhh”
5 counts rest
Feel free to use ah, ee, a, eh, ih, oh or oo on any pitch within the scale, again, playing with volume, pitch, etc.
Songs change vowels, pitch and register all the time.
There is no right or wrong. The following practice track will be of great assistance!