Breathing is the process of taking air in and out while one is singing. It involves inhaling, which is intake of air into the body and exhaling which is the release of air out of the body. For one to sing continuously, he or she must be in control of their breathing. This involves restricting breath for some time to sing the higher octaves and releasing one’s breath when singing the lower notes. Breathing while one is singing should be done at intervals depending on the rhythm of the music.
Controlling one’s breath requires that one start with low inhalation where they intake bits of air as they sing, and then pause with every pause in the rhythm of the music. Some of the high notes require the singer to take in much breath as they go higher and then the singer exhales slowly as the notes lower again. When singing, most of the music with high notes is followed by a gradually decreasing rhythm of music or a stop, thus breathing is permitted after a high note. The extremely low and extremely high notes require restriction of breath and one must be ready to hold their breath for long.
One can detect if they are breathing correctly by the sound they produce while singing. If the sound is strong, then one is breathing well. If there are problems like going sharp or flat or short breaths while singing that require one to gulp for breath to keep on singing, then this is an indicator that the singer is not breathing correctly. When one is breathing well, they are not supposed to strain while singing even if it is the high notes. Singing is more enjoyable when one can sing the high notes without straining.
Good breathing is when the singer starts with slow inhaling. There are other internal body processes that take place, which include expansion of the diaphragm. The diaphragm expands on the sides as well as the front and back holding in the air that comes into the body. The opposite happens when one exhales as they sing a lower note. These body movements should be noted since they help in monitoring the breath.
There are breathing terms in singing for example, ‘giving the breath more support’ which is keeping the throat open and relaxed while producing the sound the music note requires at that position. This is usually a high note but it does not need stressing. It is important to start a music class with warm up exercises. They help in exercising the vocals and adjusting the diaphragm. Breathing in singing becomes better with practice.
