Breath Support . . . What that Heck IS IT?

Breath support - what in the heck is that anyway?

 Many singers come into my studio after having years of voice lessons (and spending thousands of dollars), but still really don't know what breath support is. Their voices get tired or damaged on tour or during a run of a show, or their high notes are weak, or they don't really have a professional, marketable tone so they aren't getting to the next level in their careers. Fortunately, this is a VERY fixable problem. The first step is to learn how to create "thoracic stabilization" in the body while singing.

Thoracic Stabilization! What is it and what does it have to do with breath support?

 The thorax is the area between your head and your abdomen.  Thoracic stabilization is necessary for lifting, pushing, pulling - and for singing.  The muscles in between each rib cage are known as the intercostal muscles and you have two sets: one for inhaling and one for exhaling. When you flex out your rib muscles, you will feel your intercostals causing the ribs to move upward and outward, which stabilizes the rib cage. Other abdominal muscles also activate.  You can feel this easily if you stand on one foot and bend over, as if you were ice skating. You will feel your ribs flex out on the sides and back, and the transverse and lower abdominals flex. All this activity stabilizes the thorax -  and keeps you from falling down.

 Thoracic stabilization, when done correctly, keeps the air down low inside the lungs. The longer you are able to keep air down low in the lungs using thoracic stabilization, the longer and more beautifully you will sing, with much better tone, greater power, easy high notes and no tension in the throat. When no thoracic stabilization is used, singers use the muscles of the throat and tongue to "pump the air" and get out their sound, resulting in a compromised quality of sound and range, fatigue, lack of stamina and vocal injury. 

 In my studio, I use at least 8 sets of exercises to achieve professional level breath support.  Many of these exercises are done every day, and throughout the career of the singer.  These exercises train the intercostals, abdominals, latimus dorsii (lats), and rhomboids to properly manage the air for a professional sound.  Additionally, the muscles of the throat and tongue must be taught to give up their habit of tensing and grabbing.  Even when a singer has been taught good breath management, the throat and tongue muscles may still want to "help" and have to be encouraged to not participate in "pumping" the air. 

It takes practice and skill to achieve good thoracic stabilization for singing, but it's well worth the investment.

 

Body Alignment -- the missing link for a professional singing voice!

I find that singers often come into the studio with no clear idea of what good posture for professional singing is.

Body alignment is the key -- for many singers, the missing link -- to a professional sound, and a long lasting and healthy singing career in every genre.  The ability to sing for long periods of time while maintaing proper body alignment allows the voice to produce extended phrases, powerful high notes, and expressive, beautiful tone.  Kirsten Flaggstad, one of the most famous opera singers of the last century referred to her singing technique as "the school of the tall spine".  Early in her training, she studied at the Dalcroze School of Dance.  David Jones, a highly respected opera voice teacher in New York states that " [a]fter attending the Dalcroze School of Dance in Stockholm, [Flaggstad] often spoke about her body connection and the feeling of singing from the back muscles to the ring with the feeling of no throat'."

There are many body alignment disciplines that can aid the professional singer tremendously in developing good body alignment awareness:  Iyengar Yoga, Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais, and Pilates. 

Due to our rather sedentary lifestyle, where we spend so much time slumped over computers and smart phones, watching T.V. screens and driving cars, we tend not to sit, walk or move with an elongated spine and an elevated rib cage, both of which are essential to professional singing technique.  Thus, addressing body alignment at the beginning of the first lesson is necessary before even elementary breath support technique can be explored. 

However, attempting to merely "stand up straight" is not the same as developing proper body alignment for singing.  A well meaning student who "stands up straight" may throw the chest forward and arch the back, thereby driving the back ribs into the lung space, making it difficult to take the air into the bottom of the lungs.   This creates an unwanted domino effect, where the breath is now taken too high up in the chest, pushing the larynx up, etc.

When a new singer begins to work with me, the first thing we work on together is the yoga pose known as "Mountain Pose". 

I studied Iyengar yoga for many years and was fortunate to study first at the Iyengar Institute of Los Angegles, and then under Ana Delury, the "teacher of the teachers".  She brought a deep and comprehensive knowledge to every pose she taught, and modified the pose according to the needs of each student. 

"Mountain Pose" seems simple, but when done mindfully, activates every muscle group necessary for the body alignment required of professional singing.   These include the side and back intercostals, the lats, and the bottom floating ribs, as well as the lower abdominals and the transverse abdominals.  When done mindfully and often, Mountain Pose teaches the body to elongate the spine and elevate the rib cage without using the shoulder, neck and jaw muscles, and encourages the correct set of muscles to maintain good body alignemnt for singing. 

When first attempted, Mountain Pose may feel rigorous and fatiguing, but when done regularly, it stretches out and realigns the back and spinal muscles, creates more room for the pharanx to open, allows the throat muscles and tongue to more easily relax and release, and builds strength and stamina in the body, enlivening the health and sound of the singer.

After experiencing the benefits of Moutain Pose, singers often ask me about more yoga postures.  I teach several yoga poses in the studio and always encourage singers to seek out good quality Iyengar or other body alignment classes as part of their training. 

Big, Bad (Incorrect) Belts!

For all you Musical Theater singers with big bad (incorrect) belts who are losing your top notes due to a tight larynx (because that was how you were taught to belt), here is why I start new singers on breathing and exercises to relax the larynx and open up the pharynx FIRST:

Professional level breath support skill allows the pharynx to open and the larynx to relax. Professional level breath support skill refers to what singers with international careers utilize to power their voices and protect them, giving them long and satisfying careers. It does NOT refer to a generalized "sort-of" knowledge of "abdominal breathing". When a new singer comes into my studio, I ask them what they know about breath support. When they put their hand on their stomach and say "I breath here" or "I support here", I know they do not understand what professional level breath support skill is. We must first work to establish that skill level before we can work on their belt and high mix.

Professional level breath support skill involves the lower abdominals (NOT the intestinal area or the stomach area), the transverse abdominals, the intercostals and the "lats". While some involvement of other muscles in the intestinal wall are involved, overly focusing on those other muscles is not helpful and is often detrimental and defeats the goal of the singer to achieve powerful sounds with a comfortable, open throat.

Once breath support skill is established, the singer will experience an incredible release of the throat, and the belt/high mix work will seem quite easy compared to the struggle and disappointment of singing without proper breath support. Usually a singer will experience this release at least once or twice in the first lesson, often several times. With diligent practice, this beautiful release of the throat will become the norm for that singer. Once this release is achieved, it is possible to move on to other important areas of the voice: opening the pharynx, vowel work, registration issues, power, flexibility, developing stamina for 8 shows a week or tours, etc.

I taught a female musical theater singer in NYC a few months ago who had a huge breakthrough with her belt, from her chest voice on up to her top notes, all in the same lesson, due to the diligent work she has done on establishing excellent, professional level breath support skill. After all her work, we had this exciting breakthrough lesson! As she continues her work, that exciting sound will become HER sound, all the time. Life is good!

I Hate Practicing

I hate practicing.

I hear this in the studio from time to time, often from very gifted singer/songwriters who've never had singing lessons, or any formal musical training. They come to me because they're getting tired or hoarse during their gigs or on tour, or don't have the vocal chops to really express themselves in their material. I also work with many musical theatre singers with wonderful, natural vocal talent who now find themselves stuck in their careers when they find that natural talent only takes them so far.    

If you played high school or collegiate sports, or studied another instrument, practicing is probably not an issue for you.  But for many singers new to professional voice lessons, practicing may feel daunting and confusing.  The media doesn't help, since it encourages us to believe that becoming a "star" is something that just sort of happens after you get discovered on Youtube.  

The reality is quite, quite different.  If you want to be successful as a professional singer, you'll need elite practicing habits and skills.  As a singer, you are an athlete of both small and large muscles.   And like any professional athlete, you must learn to dedicate a portion of your day to working out and practicing.

The good news is that for the willing and motivated singer, there are practical, doable steps toward developing excellent and enjoyable practicing skills and habits. 

Let's look at the most common concerns regarding practicing:

1.  I don't have time. 

2.  I don't know what to do.

3.  I'm afraid I'll do it wrong. 

4.  I feel annoyed/antsy/irritable/bored when I practice.  

Let's address the first one: 

I don't have time. 

Yes you do.  Your issue isn't enough time, your issue is Time Management.  If you have time every day to look at your smartphone, facebook, twitter, TV, talk to friends on your cell, socialize, then you have time every day to practice.  It's a matter of scheduling your practice times each day, so that it becomes a habit -- like brushing your teeth. 

The Musician's Way, a great website for maximizing your potential as a music artist (www.musiciansway.com), suggests scheduling your first practicing session as soon as you rise in the morning.  Singers usually need at least 30 minutes to get the blood flowing into the muscles of the body and throat, so get some breakfast, brush your teeth, shower, get dressed and then practice for at least 15 minutes.  Schedule this first session as a "must", the way you "must" brush your teeth before leaving the house.  Eventually, it will become part of your morning routine. 

The added benefit of your first practice session is that it gives you a feeling of accomplishment, inspiring and motivating you for the rest of your day.  Start with this one simple step, and you will be on your way to establishing good practice habits.  

More later!  And please feel free to tell us about your practice challenges and successes! 

Tight Throat? Could be your vowels are shot . . .

Many singers of all different genres (rock, pop, musical theatre, opera) come to me for help with tight throats, pushing their sound and creating uncomfortable and unattractive high notes. After we establish good air pressure and air flow habits (involving thoracic stabilization), we work on how they shape their vowels. 

Are your vowels stuck in your mouth? Do you sing with spoken vowels or sung vowels?  Did you know there is a difference?  There is . . . and it can mean the difference between a tight, uncomfortable voice that stops your career, or a big professional sound with easy high notes.  

I worked with a wonderful musical theater singer in NYC this week and the issue that came up was vowel formation. 

Many singers sing using "spoken vowels" - making the same shapes in the mouth as they would when talking. Spoken vowel shapes are too far forward in the mouth for singing, and cause tension in the throat, jaw, tongue and soft palate. Singing spoken vowels shuts off resonance, creating less vocal beauty, power, and freedom. The singer hears this unsatisfying sound and pushes for more and better sound, creating a vicious cycle of pushing and squeezing, resulting in tight, off-key, yelled or screamed (and very uncomfortable!) high notes. Over time, this leads to vocal damage.

Learning to create efficient "sung vowels", rather than "spoken vowels is a complex process, but the results are well worth it! I have a little trick that I use with my singers to make that process easier and faster: it's called The Six-Sided Room. 

(I used to call it "The Six-Sided Box", but just recently I changed it to "The Six-Sided Room" because it sounds more open and flexible. Go figure -- it's a weird voice teacher thing.) 

Imagine the space inside your mouth where you sing vowels as a Six-Sided Room: 

1. The ceiling of the room is your soft palate. 

2. The floor of the room is your tongue, mostly the middle and back portion -- with a hole in the floor being your throat. 

3. The back wall is the back of your throat. 

4. & 5. The 2 side walls are the areas around your jaw hinge and temples. 

6. The front of the room is your lips, and the tip of your tongue. 

The Six-Sided Room is like short-hand for singers. If you know what shape your Six-Sided Room needs to be in, you can solve any vowel problem. You may ask yourself: "I wonder if the ceiling (my soft palate) is raised enough? Or: "Is the floor (my tongue) doing what it's supposed to do, or have I forgotten about it?" You will quickly learn to analyze and solve complex vowel issues on your own. 

Once you learn and train the basics of the Six-Sided Room, you can more easily learn how to modify your vowel "room" for different pitches, particularly higher pitches.

This wonderful MT singer and I revisited the Six-Sided Room technique with masterful results. Even though she was suffering from slight vocal fatigue, her chest voice was big and lovely, and she had a strong high mix on her top notes. Applying the Six-Sided Room allowed her to release jaw and throat tension, and create the resonance and freedom she needed throughout the entire song. We were both very excited by the end of the lesson!