Breath IS the Problem

I have many people come to me either in person or over the Internet with some problem or other and tell me that their last teacher told them they needed to remedy the issue with more breath. This advice has tended to be the solution to every vocal problem for many teachers. I have even heard the advice given first hand. I hate to say it, but they are just making the problem worse. In many of these cases the breath is the problem, so by recommending more breath it just makes things worse. The breath needs to be well coordinated to allow the vocal mechanism to function freely. It must be remembered that the voice and the breath must balance each other. If you increase the breath it risks knocking that relationship out of balance. The breath should not be dealt with directly because this imposes the breath onto the voice. Instead we should allow the breath to respond reflexively to the needs of the moment. If we want to crescendo, then we do that and the breathing system reacts to the need to participate. In action it is really quite simple, but it requires that the body be in the proper state, or condition, in order for it to respond reflexively. This is why posture is so important. More on this later.

Q&A

I would like to get your opinion and perhaps enroll in some vocal lessons. I do mostly rock and roll music (middle aged hobbyist guitar player) and would describe myself as being 'almost' able to sing. I can often produce vocals that are non-offensive, but none that are really good. I do not want to pursue futility and don't know enough about vocal music to know if one can actually 'learn' to sing or if it's something you are just born with and either have it or don't. If there is any potential I would certainly pursue it.


Hello and thanks for writing with your question.
Singing is a skill, just like anything else. Nobody is born being especially good at anything. They may have a strong inclination towards some activity and then they work at it to get good. The same applies to singing. Some people may be inclined to sing more than another person. But all this means is they will be more willing to put in the work necessary to develop skill at it. If you are able to sing at a "non-offensive" level without any training then it is very likely that you have potential that can be developed. The great majority of people who sing just started out with a desire to sing, which led them to learn about the voice and how it works. They were not particularly good before they learned to develop their skill. The only way to really find out is to meet with someone with experience who can assess you accurately.

Q&A

Hi,

I'm studying classical singing in a conservatory of music for only less than 2 years and am a soprano (I'm not yet sure which type). When I vocalize, I usually go up to A and sometimes B below the high C. But the thing is, I can also reach the whistle register from that very same A up to the high G but i don't include it yet in the vocalization because it is a completely different feeling, one that is very light and effortless. It sounds thin and it doesn't have body like that of my lower registers but I can easily produce vibrato with it. I haven't told my teacher about this whistle register yet because I'm afraid that she would torture me to reach it with the same quality or thickness as that of my lower registers during a lesson. That's what I'm not sure about--how do I make that whistle sound one with that of the lower registers? What specific types of vocal exercises could I use to smoothen out the passagio in this particular area? I really hope you could help me.

Thanks a lot.


Thanks for writing with your question. The first thing I would say is it all depends on the nature of how you are producing the whistle register. Often when people are able to produce this part of the range it can be used as a guide to the rest of the voice. I would suggest trying downward slides starting high in the whistle range and taking it all the way down to your lowest note. If the voice does not crack then that means you are in line and it is beneficial. If the tone cracks at some point that means the registers are out of line with each other because of misalignment in the vocal tract and this needs to be fixed before the exercise is worthwhile. This is often the case when we feel like we are singing out of the mouth. It is critical that we use all three pharyngeal areas for resonance to allow the voice the greatest flexibility and freedom. We use a little "oo" vowel to exercise this resonance coordination. Because the mouth opening is so small the tone is not allowed to escape and has the opportunity to resonate in the naso-pharynx in the head. This conditions the tone and makes it vibrant and full while being very easy. It is singing in the position of whistling. It takes some getting used to. Once we have the feel of singing in the upper resonator we can sing all vowels while keeping the resonance position.

Feedback on Emotions Article

Dear Mr Michael Mayer

I have just read your article on Emotions. (http://www.vocalwisdom.com/emotions.htm)

I agree with most of it, especially the notion of total response and the necessary condition of joy & freedom.

Splitting the Human in Body, Mind & Emotion is right as long as we understand that nothing can work without the other. In fact human action & thought is a function of the three.I would add, from the perspective of the believer, the Soul which I differentiate from consciousness.

Of course the singer is concerned with the emotions of the character. But we all humans share the same emotions, we all produce the same "products", however we set different conditions. Our job, I think , is to re-create the conditions that lead the character to feel what we identify in the text. Of course one's response will differ from the other's but this is not an issue as the basic emotion will be conveyed and recognized.

Interestingly you have brought forward the issue of negative emotions. I also note that you describe desire as implicitely underlying fear.

I'd compare emotions to water. It can be clear or troubled. The singer produces that water but he/she is also the container, the jug. The jug does not have "feel" the water, it just have to contain it and be bent so as to allow water to be poured. So the singer would rather remain serene. Birgit Nilsson was a perfect in this regard.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for reading my article and for responding. I agree with what you say. I don't know if we actually disagree on the points you bring up. The point I was trying to make by categorizing the Body, Mind and Emotions is that they all need to work together toward the same goal. That is the meaning of the Total Response. I agree about the Soul. I guess I would say Mind and Emotions come from the Soul so we have Body and Soul as the main components.

I do try to illustrate the difference between the character's emotions and the emotions of the singer. If they get confused it can lead to problems because singing is basically a joyful expression. So I recommend a singer try to express the words and music with love and joy and let the meaning of agony or hate come from the text and music. This is to make sure the physical response to the emotions do not interfere with the physical act of singing. Usually the enthusiasm and excitement from the joyful expression through singing will more effectively express the emotions regardless if they are love or hate. They just need to be heightened with an understanding of the text and music and the expression will be tinted appropriately.

If we look at fear closely we can see that underneath it is a desire for something. We desire this outcome so we fear the failure of that. The more we desire it the more we have fear. It tends to go hand in hand. So I recommend understanding the relationship between desire and fear. We don't necessarily want to not desire anything. But we can understand that desire should stop at intention. This is what I want to have as an outcome. Then we know what needs to be done. This is absolutely necessary. But if desire for something grows and becomes very important to us then we almost can't help but have fear about it not coming to pass. This is what causes stage fright and performance anxiety. That is what I'm talking about.

I agree with your analogy with the water. I see it especially true in relation to our breathing. If the emotions get too riled up and make the water troubled then our breathing will not effectively support our singing. I agree Nilsson is a good example. My model is Jussi Bjorling. Thanks again for your feedback.

Q&A

Hello Michael,

In one of David Jones' articles he mentions the importance of the lips and jaw curling backwards after the pronunciation of every consonant. This according to him helps the larynx to remain in its rightful place. How does one do this?

I have just discovered your site and it is informative. I am happy to know that you are a student of David Jones. I have just ordered his CD. I look forward with excitement to receiving the CD. Your site is great!!


Thanks for writing in with your question. Another way of saying this, and the way I think of it, is to stretch the jaw a little with every vowel. Mr. Lindquest taught this by having people chew very slowly in small movements and then repeat the action when singing the vowel. Not only does it help keep the larynx in the proper position, it also keeps the muscles of the jaw flexible so they don't cause the tone to sound tight. This is because when they flex in a closing direction they sympathetically cause the muscles of the throat to close. If we think of the muscles of the jaw stretching it helps release the throat space open as well.

Weekly Wisdom

"The hook-up between technique and the singing personality is developed by inducing a spirit of buoyancy and an elevated, inspired mental attitude, even in voice-building exercises and scales. Attitudes such as prayer, praise, joy, and pleading are induced at the same time that physical action is stressed. Breath comes because one has something to say while singing, even if it is only a vowel or a scale, and there is no effort to control the breath by locking the diaphragm or holding the ribs...Then the breath for the new phrase came automatically with the idea that something new was to be said. He (Dr. Bratt) believed also that this breath action reflexively opened and freed the throat without local throat consciousness, for he regarded the larynx and pharynx not only as a part of the phonating apparatus, but also as a freely opening part of the breathing mechanism." - Security in Singing, Bulletin of NATS, April-May 1949, by Allan Rogers Lindquest

Good Singing is Natural by Jussi Björling

Good Singing is Natural

A conference With Jussi Bjoerling

Internationally Distinguished Tenor. Leading Tenor of the Metropolitan Opera

Secured expressly for The Etude by Myles Fellowes

(October, 1940, Vol LVIII, No. 10, p. 655)

Each year new groups of young people find that they have voices and set about discovering the best and surest means of developing them. Thus, while the subject of vocal technique is constantly a new one, it is also as old as the race of man. People sang long before they built instruments to play upon, and the fundamental principles of vocal emission must have been the same, ever since our first ancestors experienced the pleasure of expressing their emotions through song. Whether one sings an operatic aria or a simple country call, these fundamental principles are the same, because singing is primarily a natural physical function. The rules of study that we apply to our vocal development are not imposed upon us; on the contrary, they are formed from centuries of observation of the natural behavior of those parts of the body that are used in singing. While the young child must be taught everything he is to do, certain actions are more natural than others. Eating, for instance, is more natural to man than driving an automobile. I like to regard singing in the light of a natural function. It must be thoughtfully taught and carefully learned; but basically, it is a part of natural human living. Its rules and habits, therefore, should always conform to natural physical behavior.

Vocal study, then, is at its best when it is entirely natural. Indeed, the more natural it is, the easier it becomes. It is better to avoid vocal problems in the first place than to correct them after they have become burdensome. The pupil who is fortunate enough to have his groundwork presented to him along the most simple, natural lines, will find few problems with which to contend. Among the chief factors to watch in mastering vocal art along simple, natural lines are breath and resonance.

There should be no "trick" about either. No singer holds the "secret" of good breathing, it is born into every normal human body. If you watch the easy, natural breathing of a very young child, you will find the best model. Observe the full, deep breath that the child draws, bringing into play the powerful abdominal muscles that form the basis of correct breathing. It is only later in life, when the natural, unstudied habits of childhood become alloyed with a certain self-consciousness that the danger of chest breathe (or top breath) occurs. Each breath must be well supported by those great abdominal muscles, and pushed by them against the diaphragm and thence along the tracts of vocal resonance.

To a certain extent, good breath control is an inborn function. Some singers are equipped by nature with wider chests and larger "lung boxes", and then, of course, can manage a larger supply of air without extra effort. This particular physical structure can never be acquired. But smaller frames can do much toward improving and developing breath control, provided that the process is always calculated along natural lines and never forced. Forced breathing spoils good tone.

To facilitate the proper "resonating" of breath, the young singer must first make him-self aware of the various chambers of resonance, and then utilize them consciously, and to their fullest extent. A preliminary study of anatomy is helpful. When one knows what valuable chambers of resonance lie back of the nose and above the soft palate, and when he studies charts that shows exactly how the air passes into these chambers and vibrates within them, he then has a clearer conception of the goal for which he is to strive.

Between the drawing and resonating of breath there lies the important process of controlling it. The conserving, or budgeting, of breath so that it lasts throughout a long phrase, is largely a matter of thought and practice. If one thinks his way through the phrase before he begins to sing it, he can gradually train the breath to follow this mental picture. The mechanics of the process consist in emitting as little breath on any one note as is necessary for vocalized tone, storing up the breath supply, not for single tones, but for the line of the phrase as a whole. Then, at its close, the singer is never completely at the end of his resources. This process of control is achieved only after long and careful study. The actual details of what this study should be can never be set forth in a single set of rules. It is for the individual teacher, who sees exactly what the student's strong and weak points may be, to devise the actual ways and means of practice.

Once the student has found his way into the correct drawing, controlling, and resonating of breath, he will do well to forget about it and allow this correct procedure to take care of itself, again as naturally as possible. Too much concentration on breath control, oddly enough, makes for self-consciousness and confusion. Certainly, the student must think about it while he is learning to master it! But once these mechanics are well under control, let them become second nature. It is a fact that if, in singing, one begins to think of breath, breath, and nothing but breath, he will become short-winded. Many natural functions are affected this way. If, for instance, one allows himself to concentrate on swallowing or on blinking the eyelids, he will find himself compelled to such an act far more frequently than normal. It all comes back to behaving as naturally as possible, lest a “problem” grow out of what should be a perfectly natural procedure.

Without presuming to counsel others as to individual exercises for practice, I will gladly outline my own routine. Each daily practice period is begun with scales and vocalizes. Due respect is paid to the grand scale, devoting a full breath to each tone, striking it squarely in the center, exploring it fully, and resonating it well. Then the scales are taken at a faster tempo, progressing to vocalizes in all the keys, and in all the registers of the voice. It is usually helpful to select exercises that have some bearing on the music one is studying. In practicing a song like Rossini's La Danza, for instance, with its rapid passages and great leaps, I devote some preliminary minutes to rapid scales and arpeggios.

The young singer should strive for a completely even passage from one register of range to another. Scale work is excellent practice for this. The vocal passage from the lowest to the highest tones must be accomplished as evenly as on a piano, where the tones already exist without possible change of tonal quality. There must be no break, no audible transition, no alteration of voice, in passing from the low register, to the middle, and then to the high. The student does well to train himself to listen to his own singing and to keep his ear alert for the absolute evenness of his scale.

One of the most important lessons the young singer must learn has no direct bearing on vocal problems. He must realize that he is first of all a musician, and secondly, a singer. He must believe that the best technical singing is valuable only insofar as it serves music. There is a possibly natural tendency among young students to look longingly at the "fireworks" of vocal style--the trills, the runs, the long held high C's. Where these accomplishments follow the normal lines of vocal technique they are, of course, necessary. But the moment they open the door upon conscious showing off, they become harmful. Technical display for its own sake is well named “fireworks”; it may be brilliant and showy, perhaps--but it is also artificial, ephemeral, musically meaningless. The wise student early realizes that his vocal equipment is but an instrument upon which music may be performed--and the music is always more important than the instrument!

Let the singer's first thought be of the music to be performed. Notes and indications should be read carefully, then followed attentively; the meaning of words and melody should be clearly understood; the interpretations should be planned with due respect for the written symbols and also for the niceties of style or period that lie back of them. Only then can one be ready to sing. Exaggerations or "effects" never should be allowed to mar the fidelity of the performance. During the great operatic florescence of the 18th Century, for example, the style of the period demanded that high notes should be held overly long. In many of the operas of Meyerbeer, Donizetti, and Bellini, there are high C's, and the like, marked with indications that demand their being held. And in such cases, they must be held--not for the singer's "effect" but because the composer indicated it. It is a serious error of style, however, to carry over the holding of top notes into music that is not so indicated. What is good in one case, may be distinctly bad in another--and who is the judge? Always, the composer. The fewer liberties taken with "effects", the better the effect will be.

It is always a great advantage when the student learns the rudiments of good musical habits at an early age, in his own home environment. That cannot be regulated, of course; it is just a piece of good fortune. I had that good fortune. My father is one of the best-known tenors of my native Sweden, and my two brothers also sing tenor. We are, in fact, a family of tenors, all four of us continuing our studies together. My father is the teacher. I began to sing at the age of three, for the sheer instinctive pleasure of singing. I had no studies at that age, of course, but my father began my teaching when I was still a small boy. His vocal creed is built around the complete naturalness of approach that I advocate today--and it is advocated because it has been proven to be good. When I was nine years old, my father brought us to America, to sing as a family quartet. Except for the necessary years of study, I have been singing ever since. My operatic debut was made in Stockholm, at the age of nineteen, and now at the age of twenty-nine, there is already two decades of professional work behind me. I "specialize" both in opera and concert work, and find it very helpful to keep both lines of study in active use. I have no hesitation in saying that the good and helpful things I have learned were given to us at home, as part of our home life. Reverence for music, the careful searching of musical values, and the natural, unaffected approach to vocal study were part of the very air we children breathed. These points comprise the best counsel to hand on to other young students, in their search for musical truth.