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Thursday
Aug092012

The Mythology Of Breath Control 

People schooled in conventional singing wisdom might find it surprising that in my previous discussions about the mechanics of voice production and effective voice teaching, I have not focused on the importance of breath control to singing. This decision could be viewed as shocking, since historically, singing technique has often been reduced to breath control.

“If you learn how to breathe, then you know how to sing,” has been a popular adage in singing culture, literally, for centuries. But like so many old ideas that have been shown to be scientifically incorrect, the reduction of singing to breath management is also a misinformed viewpoint. We now know that with the correct functioning of the musculature of the larynx, pharynx, soft palate, and oral cavity, good breathing management naturally follows. But even more to the point is that any attention directed to breath control as a source of proper singing is misleading to the extent that breath control, as a guiding idea, has no basis in biological fact.

It’s worth repeating the dynamics of breath in voice production. Breath compression pushing-up against closing vocal folds supports all vocal expression—it is the foundation upon which voice production rests. However important breath compression may be to voice production, breath, in itself, does not transmit vocal sounds.

One of the more entertaining demonstrations of this fact of voice production could be seen in a parlor trick that opera singers are sometimes eager to demonstrate: a singer, with a lit candle held near to his lips, sings a loud note without causing the candle’s flame to flicker. And why doesn’t the flame flicker? Because sound—with only minimum breath—is streaming from the singer’s mouth. Of course, the degree of breath release from the vocal folds is determined by the artistic choices of the singer. Breathy singing, for example, could result in more breath escaping from the vocal folds as compared to full voiced, lower register singing, which draws the vocal folds toward each other more firmly and restricts the amount of breath that is emitted. The summarizing point is that breath does not carry vocal sound; rather, vocal sound is carried by sound waves traveling through the air.

The secret to great singing, in other words, is not breath control, but rather voice control. Everything else—including breath management—follows naturally. Laryngeal actions control how breath is both compressed and released. This is another way of saying that natural singers or well-developed singers don’t need to focus on breath management: strong, coordinated laryngeal muscles automatically control the breath component of singing.

Because singers have been brainwashed into thinking that breath control is the foundation of good singing, it is very common for them to begin to focus on breath management when vocal problems set in. Many singers report a loss of “breath support” that makes singing difficult, for instance. But what is happening here? Is it possible that a singer's breathing process has, for some reason, gone haywire all of a sudden? Not likely.

My work as a voice builder has confirmed time and time again that vocal problems, including those involving inefficient breathing, are rooted in weak and uncoordinated laryngeal actions. Since specific muscles control all laryngeal movement, increasing the “fitness” of the musculature of the larynx should be the main focus of vocal training in these instances. A singer who misdiagnoses his vocal difficulties as rooted in breathing problems often tries breathing exercises, such as deep, diaphragmatic breathing for extended periods of time, to try to remedy the condition. Some singers even try cardio-vascular exercises such as running or cycling as a way to improve breathing efficiency. These measures don't produce positive results because they don’t address the real problem.

All singers should keep in mind a simple truth that will eliminate a great deal of confusion and prevent wasting a great deal of time: The vocal folds control the flow of breath in singing and not the other way around. This means that so-called breath support problems are really deficiencies in the movements of the vocal folds, in which insufficient vocal fold closure is causing excessive breath to escape. The solution then is simple: improve the strength and coordination of the vocal folds to enable them to manage compressed breath efficiently.

 

Image source:Shutterstock/BestPhotoByMonikaGniot

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