Breathing from the Diaphragm

Singing and speaking from the diaphragm is so easy that a baby can do it.  Then why do so many voice students spend thousands of dollars and many hours on lessons trying to learn how to do it and many, despite years of practice still never fully learn the skill?

Let's first look at a few reasons why we lose this skill.  When babies are born, they instinctively breath from the diaphragm because it is the most efficient way to breath and it is natural. That is why you can hear a baby babble across a crowded church yet can barely hear some members of the adult choir from ten feet away.

What is the first thing a parent will say to a child who is making loud noises?  Shhhhh . . . quiet . . . shut up. Infants and toddlers quickly learn that being heard is wrong so they stifle the natural process of breath support in an effort not to be heard. Likewise, teens and adults who are insecure, self conscious and don't want to stand out suppress the natural mechanics of support so they are less noticed.  This also causes people to slouch, bring their shoulders together, bend their neck or close their throat.  Another reason is that proper breathing comes from the belly region and nobody wants to make their belly look bigger.  Fear of what other people think of us is very stifling to creativity.

Finally, gravity pulls down on the body and people instinctively think that raising the shoulders is how we breath because that is what they think it feels like to breath.  Breathing doesn't come from the shoulders or lungs.

Let's first look at our anatomy.  The lungs are beneath our ribs and right beneath the lungs, still under the ribs, is a parachute shaped sheet of muscle called the diaphragm.  When we breath, we pull down on the diaphragm muscle which creates a vacuum in the lungs and air simply falls down or is sucked into the lungs.  Our chest and lungs are not necessarily directly involved in that process.  There is no need to raise the shoulders although, maintaining an expanded chest allows more air to fill the lungs.  Bigger expanded lungs means more space for more air intake.  Every good soldier knows to "STICK OUT YOUR CHEST.  SUCK IN THAT GUT!"

When you exhale you push the diaphragm muscle upward and it pushes the air out of the lungs.  If you only breath from the upper chest and shoulders you will only use half the air in your lungs causing you to run out of breath or have other issues with your vocal production.  If you use the diaphragm, you will use all the air in all of your lungs.

Expanding the chest and only breathing partially through the diaphragm is also the secret to the dead man float.  The lungs are like balloons and if you expand and fill up the upper lungs with air, then only breath through the lower lungs, you'll float without effort. 

Let's do a few exercises to show you how effortless, natural and efficient breathing from the diaphragm can be.

Let's start by lying on the floor.  Bend your knees if you like.  Breath naturally.  Feel that your breathing comes from the stomach area.  That's it.  Simple.  Now let's try a few things with your voice.  Cough.  Notice from where it emanated from.  Pretend you are a fire engine making siren sounds and get louder and higher each time you sound the siren.  Yell "HEY" like you just caught someone stealing.  Yell "Bad" as if your dog just messed on the floor.  Yell "GIT" to a cat in your trash.  Call for help three times with increasing volume as if no one can hear you.  Say "BOO" like you are jumping out from behind a door to scare someone.  Now, playfully say "Woof!" as if you are a puppy trying to entice its owner to play.  Now get on all fours and pant like a dog.  Where does it all come from?

Do you see how easy and effortless all that was?  The challenge now is to stand up and continue to breath that way after years of training your body to accept ignorance, misuse and abuse as normal.

While you are still on the floor, try not to breath from the stomach and only breath from the upper chest.  After five minutes of breathing properly and effortlessly, can you now feel how wrong it is to breath from the chest and shoulders?  Proper movement always makes improper movement to feel bad, like it really is.

I have included a video link to an example of what it looks like to breath properly.  This clip is taken from the movie ROCK STAR starring Mark Wahlberg or "Marky Mark."  Notice that he takes his breath from his stomach then pushes in or contracts his muscles to expel the air.  If we had cameras from his back and side you'd also see expansion there, too.  There are intercostal muscles between each of the ribs and because of the intensity of what he is singing, he is expanding and contracting those, too.  Also watch the swimming competitions at the summer Olympics and pay close attention when the swimmers get out of the water or do interviews immediately after competitions.  They are  trained to breath from the diaphragm.  Some of them may raise the shoulders but they are at least instructed properly otherwise.  The professional dancers on Dancing With the Stars are well trained in breathing since they are also reprimanded for raising the shoulders.  There are many great examples all around us in our professional athletes.  Musicians need to remember that they too are athletes and can sometimes benefit more by a few lessons from a sports coach than a singing coach.  Singers will also benefit by singing WITH the lost, lonely, homeless, dying and the sick.  Technique is worthless if it is not connected to an emotion.  Too many of our trained singers are also devoid of soul.

I will add that if anyone is suffering from any form of COPD, this type of breathing can prolong their life and also rescue them from a shortness of breath panic attack.  Diaphragmatic breathing also increases oxygen in our blood stream which aids in healing, repair and clear thinking because  oxygen is needed for brain function.

So, new moms, please think twice before saying to you infant "Shhhhh . . . "  At least, if you have to say "Shhhh . . . " do it from the diaphragm.

Becoming a Better Singer

Ugh, I went to an organ recital recently and the organist, though technically proficient, was devoid of energy, interpretation, originality or excitement.  No wonder today's youth are not taking up the organ as an instrument because they have to listen to people like that in their churches every Sunday.  What a turn off.  In many of our churches on Sunday, the organ is like a sports car, backed out of the garage for one hour each week and only to the end of the driveway then back into the garage.

When I work with singers either in the church, workshop or theater venue, I often share one of several simple videos with them.  We first watch the video with the sound off.  Then we watch it a second time but this time I tell a story based upon the facial expressions and movement of the singer.  Then the singers each take a turn doing the same.  I then tell them the story of the song and we watch it one final time with the sound still off.  Finally, we watch it with the sound on.  Listeners often hear the notes and not the words because singers, like organists, put more effort into the notes rather than communicating.

This exercise not only makes the singers aware of their expressions, movement and inflection, but it also makes them cognizant of the importance of words and story telling.  All too often singers are mired down with technique, notes and style rather than simple communication.  This applies not only to theater performers but church musicians often fall down into that hole, too.  I'm not saying they need to employ theatrics into their delivery of the Psalms and holy scripture, just become better communicators of it through basic facial expression, making eye contact and most importantly - BEING PREPARED.   If you have to look at the page more than 20% of the time, you're not prepared to interpret.

I'll say no more on the topic.  You can use any video you like but one of my favorites to start with is Betty Buckley's interpretation of the song "Meadowlark." The first video with commentary but, without sound can be found here:
https://youtu.be/NaLch5-ItPg

Here is the original video with sound:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqI6-Lrvi68

So, all you singers, story tellers, poets and organists, "SING . . . " for me.

Breathing for Life: From the Diaphragm

No preamble.  Let's just jump into it.

Get on the floor or on your bed.  Lie on your back with your knees bent. 
Take a couple of deep breaths.
Notice that you are breathing from your stomach area.
Make several high pitched fire engine siren imitations, each time going higher and louder.
Notice that you are breathing and pushing from the stomach area.
Notice that your shoulders are not going up.
Notice that your chest may not be going up.
If your chest did go up, good.  Keep it there.
Keep it there as if you were in the Army and your drill sergeant barked at you (from his diaphragm) "STICK OUT YOUR CHEST!  SUCK IN THAT GUT."
Now cough.
Notice it came from the stomach area, or diaphragm.
Yell "NO.  BAD." as if your dog is about to void on your new white carpet.
Notice it came from your diaphragm.
Yell "FIRE."
Yell (quietly-in case someone hears you) "help."
Whisper "Awwwww . . ." while thinking about a new born baby.
Where did you feel it?
Notice that in order to project both loudly and quietly, it came from your diaphragm.

These are all great exercises to awaken you on how to breath properly.  Now for the hard part.  Stand up and try it.  You may succeed a few times but as the day goes on, you will most likely lapse into shallow upper chest breathing again.  That's okay.  Perfect practice makes perfect.  Get back on the floor and keep in mind your drill sergeant's instruction: Stick out the chest (to make room for air) and suck in the gut (to push the air out).  What goes in must also come out, so, in order to breath again, your diaphragm or stomach must expand.   Breathing while on your back is how the machine of your body is designed to operate.  Maintaining that mechanism while standing takes a little bit of work.  The stomach expands to let air into the lungs so the stomach must pull in to push the air out.

The summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil are not until 2016 but this summer, if there are swimming competitions on TV, watch them.  Professional athletes are not only trained to breath from the diaphragm but by nature and physical demand, they do so naturally.  Watch the swimmers when they get out of the pool.  Look at their stomachs.  Most will be breathing from there.  Sure, a few shoulders may rise and a few chests may collapse but keep an eye on the stomach.  That is where all the work is being done.

Professional singers are not always good to watch because many do not breath properly.  Isn't it ironic.  Some of them think they know what they are doing but don't, while others are more concerned with how they look and won't expand their stomachs.  Another hindrance is that their clothing may hide the true action of the diaphragm.  That is why shirtless athletes are easy to learn from.

Many teachers who teach singing from the diaphragm fail because they either don't truly know what they are doing or are too afraid to look at or touch their students out of fear of a sexual harassment charge.  You will often see singers touching their own stomachs to assert or verify they are breathing properly but that isn't necessary for, if you are breathing properly, you feel it in your voice, head and whole being. 

When you blow up a balloon, it doesn't fill up just on one side but, the entire balloon fills up.  Your whole upper body must do the same.  Someone looking at you from behind should be able to see your whole upper body expand from the back, sides and front.  When you take a breath, imagine your whole body is a balloon and you are filling it.  Your ribs are designed to expand, let them.

Breathing should be effortless.  To take a breath, we need only to relax the diaphragm and the air should fall into our lungs effortlessly.  To exhale, or yell help or fire or bad or hey, that takes pushing or pulling in.  If we find taking the breath requires effort, that is because we are trying to breath in and push out at the same time.  You can't inhale and exhale at the same time.  If a singer runs out of breath on simple phrases, chances are they are trying to take in more air before they used up or pushed out what is already inside them.  You can't fill what is already full.  You need to empty first, completley.  Get back on the bed for more practice.

Mark Wahlberg does a great job demonstrating proper breathing in the movie "Rock Star" where he spends most of his on stage scenes shirtless and you can see him breath properly.   Even though many pop stars and rappers run around the stage shirtless, I advise not watching them for, many of them are breathing from their chest and shoulders.  Anyone who runs out of breath, cracks or wavers is doing it wrong.  Don't try to learn from them.  Well, learn what not to do.

Breathing properly is good for oxygenating the blood.  Oxygenated blood gives you energy, promotes healing, helps with clearer thinking and is beneficial for overall health.  You can't heal or lose weight or think clearly if you are not breathing properly.  If you ever develop breathing issues from smoking or some disorder such as COPD, you'll be glad that you took the time to learn how to breath fully.

So everybody, for your homework, go to bed.

"Sing" As played by Oscar Peterson