Four Part Breathing

When we breathe, it is a cycle. We can measure the cycle of our breath in 4 distinct stages.

1. Inhalation
2. Suspension
3. Exhalation
4. Recovery

Inhalation

During the Inhalation stage of breathing, we take air into the lungs and the body. The vocal folds open wide to take in air. During this phase, the diaphragm descends and flattens out, making more room for air to enter the lungs. The diaphragm pushes down our other organs such as the stomach and intestines. Our ribcage will also stretch out wide to accommodate the extra air filling the lungs.

Suspension

Before we exhale, there is a brief, suspended moment. It is this preparation moment that influences our singing intentions and can improve the onset of sound. This phase is very short, but is an opportune moment to set an intention for your phrase.

Exhalation

This is the part where we get to sing - Exhalation or Phonation (if we make sound while we exhale) is the fun part. You wouldn't be here if you didn't like this one! During this phase, the ribs will contract and the diaphragm will relax, allowing air to flow back out.

Recovery

At the end of singing a phrase, or breathing out, we will experience a microscopic recovery period before inhalation begins again, restarting the breath cycle.

Types of Inhalation

You may think that when you breath, you're just breathing to take in air for your body. We can actually feel our breath in different ways, and think about breath for specific needs in specific ways to enhance what we are doing. For example, if we are running and need to take in lots of air, we will breath higher in the body, taking deeper breaths. If you observe most singers, they usually aren't panting like they've run a marathon - they have a much more calm and lower breath (part of where this "sing from the diaphragm" misnomer came from, surely).

Clavicular Breath

When we are breathing heavily and our chest is moving up and down, we call this a clavicular breath - Our clavicle, or collarbone, moves up and down as our lungs take in air. In yoga, we might call this "filling the top of your lungs." This type of breath can greatly increase total air capacity of the lungs, and is the most common breath for athletes. As singers, it is an impractical choice, because this raises the position of the larynx and adds tension to the muscles of our neck and upper back.

Rib Breathing/Middle-Torso Breathing/Back Breathing

Now, we've already discussed the need to expand through the ribcage as we inhale, and the ribs will move as we breathe. "Rib breathing" occurs when the singer inhales into the middle body without releasing through the abdomen. Restricting or "holding" in the body in this way is less-conducive to singing. Sometimes this is similar to a technique known as back-breathing. Supporting your sound from back-breathing has occasional uses that should be guided with a teacher. Some professional singers will discuss using the back-breathing sensation, and it can be helpful for dancers, who may have trouble releasing their abdominal muscles.

Belly Breathing/Lower-Torso Breathing

When we breathe into our belly, we're not actually breathing into the belly, but rather feeling that downward sensation of moving viscera (guts and stuff!). If we relax the belly, we can stretch the abdominals as we inhale and see a protruding belly. This method can work for some singers, but neglects to expand the ribs and sometimes interferes with alignment.

Optimal Inhalation: A Balanced Breath

Ideally, as singers, we want to find the type of breath that best works in our bodies. Depending on your height, stature, body shape, or gender, you may feel this sensation differently. Personally, I imagine the sensation of breathing into my back and hips - but I am a short, female soprano! A 6'5" bass is probably going to feel breath in a different place in the body.

In your observation journal, note how you feel when inhaling in these different ways and note which ones feel the most natural, the most unusual, and the ones which help you sustain air the longest. Take the inhalation, and exhale on a lip flutter or raspberry & time yourself. Where do you feel your inhalation?