November 1, 2014: On Over-Breathing Whether from early instruction or just a pitfall, many singers develop the habit of taking in too much air at inhalation, or what some call ‘over-breathing’. It is actually simply a hyper-extension of the ribcage. I remember when I was young and we took a lot of breath in a choral setting to make it through specific phrases. Excellent choral directors who know the voice do not request this so much. But what are the consequences of such a message at an early age? Actually, MORE is less! Many singers have the confused idea that more is better, thinking that taking a huge amount of air will allow them to go further in a musical phrase. Nothing could be further from the truth. When we take a large amount of breath at inhalation, often hyper-extending or over-widening the ribcage, the body then wants to blow out that air during the first few beats of a musical phrase, leaving the singer out of breath too early. Allan Lindquest would instruct me to ‘take a little breath low in the body’, which was an excellent idea even though it took me years to master. The ‘Push Reflex’ and the Dramatic Singer I work with a great many larger-voiced singers, including tenors and helden tenors. Working with singers who are required to sustain a higher tessitura with a thicker instrument can be challenging even in the best of circumstances. Why? One major issue it accomplishing how to manage the breath supply, or what I like to call breath-budgeting. Many of these singers have larger ribcages and this can invite them to fill up all of this space, thinking that they will go further on a breath. I shall never forget Lindquest’s instruction to ‘take a thimble full of air and drop it into the tailbone’. Of course this is not possible. What he was trying to accomplish was to have me release the body so that the organs could fully drop. This way the lungs fill more even though the sensation is less air. Remember ‘hyper-extension’ of the ribcage simply intensifies a muscular sensation which seems to ‘feel’ like more breath. I remember teaching a dramatic soprano several years ago. She was upset because she was having breathing issues, and she was a professional singer. The first thing I observe when a singer begins to phonate is the shape of the sides of the neck. If the singer has indentations on the sides of the neck, it is an indicator of a slight squeeze of the larynx, and this closed throat is often related to over-breathing. This is because too much sub-glottic air pressure leads to driving the larynx too high in position. The vocal mechanism is not meant to hold back breath pressure. This is the body’s responsibility. The first thing I observed was this singer’s tendency to over-extend her ribcage at inhalation, taking vast amounts of breath. This is a difficult habit to break because it becomes part of the instinct to sing. So I had her feel the side ribs and ONLY allow them to move at the end of the breath, after the lower abdominals and lower back had released. This way, she did not over-breathe. Certainly enough, the larynx descended to a lower position, and this allowed for more vocal fold approximation. She was diligent in learning this new habit and within 2 weeks time, she had broken the habit of over-breathing. Note: Realize that over-breathing is related to posture. If the singer pulls too high with the front ribcage, then he/she will over-breathe. We all need to accomplish a long back ribcage. Vocal Damage and Breath Pressure: Many voice therapists will tell you that a large percentage of vocal damage is related to breath pressure; involving taking in too much and then over-blowing the vocal folds. As I said before, it is especially a pitfall that larger voiced singers, often because they are larger-bodied individuals with a large breath capacity. I remember my teacher Evelyn Reynolds once shared a quote of Mme. Ernestine Schumann-Heink, “It is not how much breath I take, it is how I manage the outflow!” Caruso said, “I only take as much breath as to have a casual conversation with a friend!” While this could be an exaggeration, the message not to over-breathe is quite clear. The Tread Mill Singers can fall into what I call the ‘treadmill’ of over-breathing and then over-blowing the vocal folds. This pattern leads to a lot of vocal issues, often costing the singer their musicianship, reflecting a desperate attitude when singing, and generally creating a lot of anxiety for the singer. This anxiety is breath pressure related, because there is no sense of ‘inner peace’ due to the fact that the singer is always ‘fighting with the self’. When too much breath is taken, the battle is what to do with it. My advice is to get rid of a lot of it. This begins to break the chain of over-breathing and over-singing. Realize that when a singer over-breathes, then he/she has less body sensation related to the deep inner core muscies, which are at the heart of true body support. Exercise: This is an exercise that I learned from Evelyn Reynolds. Bend at the hip sockets and knees, somewhat like Alexander’s monkey position, but not going into it fully. Then just allow yourself to stay in this position for a couple of minutes. Bring your attention to the lower abdominal area. Without manipulation, allow the abdominals to drop straight downward with gravity, NOT out. Remember that we NEVER want to push the abdominals ‘down and out’, as this creates a gag reflex at the tongue-root. By the way, the gag reflex can also be directly related to over-breathing. Observe in this exercise that you do not need a great deal of abdominal movement, but in allowing the lower back to expand and the abdominal movement to be small, then you will begin to feel what it feels to breathe low and complete without a great deal of rib movement. The rib movement will be subtle and in coordination with the lower abdominals and lower lumbar region. Now after a released inhalation, perform a strong ‘hissing’ sound, creating a lot of resistance at the tongue, teeth, and lips. This will teach your body how to resist the outflow, while instructing you in how to achieve the small breath-stream on which to pronounce healthily. Then, stay in this position, allow for a relaxed inhalation, using the concept of allowing the abdominals to drop straight downward, yet not too much. Then sing a musical phrase remembering the feeling of the strong hiss. This should feel as an excellent coordination of voice and body. Have a great day! David
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 12:26:18 +0000
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