Breath Support . . . What that Heck IS IT?
09.27.2015 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.
