Breathing for Singing- How to Inhale

Respiration for singing is called active respiration. Passive respiration is used in most of our daily activities, where breathing is automatic.

Breathing and support are often hotly debated topics among voice teachers and singers. Some teachers feel that it is the most important aspect of singing; they have their students do weeks or months of breathing exercises before they allow them to sing.

At the other extreme are those who don’t teach breathing and support at all because of the possibility of overloading the vocal folds with too much air pressure.

Breath management is another case where our motto just enough and not too much should be the guiding tenet.

Some singers need more breath support to fuel their particular vocal genre and voice type; others need less. This can be style-driven or based on the development and physiognomy of the individual singer.

The objective is always to find a balance between breath pressure and vocal fold adduction. If the vocal sound is breathy, there is not enough fold adduction. If the vocal sound is driven and raspy there is too much air pressure.

If the sound is clear and ringing with a modicum of projection, there is a balance between air pressure and the focusing or approximating ability of the vocal folds. Balanced is always the healthiest approach.

Sometimes singers think they need more breath, but what they really need is better valving, or adduction. When the vocal folds adduct, they meet firmly at the midline at the onset of sound. Breathy singers don’t necessarily need to breathe better; they need to valve or adduct better.

Another factor that contributes to vocal power is closed quotient. Closed quotient is the amount of time the vocal folds remain together in the cycle of opening and closing known as vocal fold vibration. Higher closed quotient means greater subglottal air pressure.

Taken to the extreme (100% closed quotient) there would be no sound because the vocal folds would never open.

As a singer’s technique improves and they become stronger, they can increase breath pressure and, correspondingly, vocal fold adduction and closed quotient for stronger and more powerful vocal sounds.

However, as Dr. Hubert Noe says: The overestimation of breath support at the cost of the glottis and vocal tract is a typical mistake of beginning singers. This can be dangerous because breath pressure is by far the most powerful part of the breathing mechanism.

So, when it comes to breathing and support, remember: just enough, and not too much!

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