Do You Have to Have Breath Control as a Singer?
Have you ever seen a singer perform in front of a large audience and all of a sudden the singer loses their breath while singing? No singer wants to experience this, no matter if they are a professional or amateur singer. There are ways to clear this up, and that is learning breath support.
Every singer must learn to breath correctly as it is a part of basic singing skills, without question. You cannot handle your singing properly if you do not learn to use breath support while you sing. When you use breathing exercises regularly, you will be able to notice that you will be able to hold your breath longer and your voice projection will be much stronger.
When you breath deeply, you will find that your voice modulates much better. Shallow breathing merely involves air stored in the upper lungs, while diaphragmatic breathing involves the expansion of the abdomen or stomach. When someone breathes this way it is widely believed to be a much better way of gaining good breath support.
When you breath deeply, you should be able to release stress easily. It is key to be fully relaxed while you practice breath support exercises. Make sure you are not wearing snug or uncomfortable fitting belts, ties, and skirts which will restrict breathing and movement.
When you start to sing do not clench your jaw, tighten your fists, and the leg muscles tense. Keep the body upright and relaxed so you do not feel tense. You want to feel at ease with yourself, but prepared with good posture so that you can sing on cue!
By putting one hand on the chest and one on the stomach, the expansion of each can be noted. It is better to start with a few easy breaths and notice which part of the body is expanding. If the rib cage expands, concentrate on breathing from lower parts like the abdomen.
Exhalation is often more important in deep breathing than inhalation, so you should breathe out slowly. Believe it or not, panting exercises can help you in the form of breathing exercises. Panting or taking sharp, quick intakes of breaths in short groups of five helps in feeling the diaphragm work.
Constant practice makes deep breathing easy and natural, so that the singer does it unconsciously, like a conditioned reflex action. This enables proper modulation and exhalation of breath during a song and helps in relaxing the singer, thus making the song better. However, breath control comes gradually with long practice and therefore cannot be expected to work wonders overnight.
