Needs Help With Breathing

Recently I have been to a masterclass with a very competent Italian soprano and voice teacher, Ms. [Name Deleted]. What she said to me was quite shocking. She said that my voice came out tiny (even for a soprano leggero) and that the kind of sound emission I was using was never going to work in an actual stage. My speaking voice was actually louder than my singing voice. The notes were all in tune and in the right place, she said, but mainly I was using almost no breath to sing. "You're holding it all back" she said "Unfortunately, I cannot teach you to sing using your breath effectively in 4 days, you're going to have to work out for yourself. Unless you learn how to breathe properly you're never going to actually sing. Take it slowly and focus solely on the fiato". At that moment, I felt terrible. But she was very kind, and gave me a bunch of breathing exercises that are quite extreme (mainly to learn how to use the abdominal muscles correctly and push the air out). I have been working on them for these past weeks and trying to activate those muscles - now I am starting to open my rib cage independently. However, I am having trouble coordinating the breathing with the actual singing. After I vocalize, I am noticing that my throat is starting to feel sore. And I know this is not a good sign. I am scared that I might be "spingendo la voce" in order to make up for weak muscles, but I cannot be sure without some actual professional help.


There is a lot of truth in what you were told at the Masterclass. I did a search for the teacher and found a couple results. One was a recording, the other her web site, and if it is who you worked with I wouldn't be too set on trying to accomplish what she recommends. The singing I heard was quite pushed and over-blown. But the basic concepts she told you are correct, if they are correctly applied. From what you said it sounds like they are causing you to force the breath and overpower the voice. This is the danger of placing too much emphasis on the breath without knowing how to coordinate it. The part that is missing, and is the most important part, is the role of the larynx providing a stable opposition to the breath. This is felt as a "platform" of resistance at the bottom of the neck or the top of the chest because we don't feel the larynx itself or the vocal cords because of the lack of nerve endings there. This allows us to use the strength we get from the breath without forcing it out causing the tone to blast. The body functions the same for singing as it does for coughing, grunting, clearing the throat, laughing, crying. Any number of bodily functions are in the same "family" as singing. We need to learn how to function in that natural manner when we sing. The difference being that we are singing instead of doing these other functions. But they are all based on compressed breath. The difference in the sensations between compressed breath and loose breath are clear to us when we experience them. Loose breath feels like a flow of breath, compressed breath feels like the breath is static but there seems to be a flow of tone. The "platform" of resistance that I mentioned has a very subtle feeling. It can easily be overdone with the help of the tongue, but this does negatively affect the freedom of the vibration and subsequently the tone. So we should be able to notice if we fall into this trap. 

Is it Nasal, or Good Facial Sensations of Resonance?

Sometimes when I am working in this new way I feel the voice becomes nasal... but then again, it might be that I am still not very familiar with the correct feeling. How can I tell the difference?


The feeling of being nasal is probably a good one. Most of us are not familiar with the sensation of resonance in that area so it can seem wrong. Good function does feel like we are singing through the face around the nose. Many have a habit of singing through the mouth with a lack of head/facial resonance. This feels like the tone is going through the bones instead of through the air of the mouth. So when you experience the sensation of tone in the bones of the face it can feel nasal or wrong. The best way to tell the difference is by how it sounds. If you record yourself check on how it sounds. The way you can tell by how it feels is an undesirable nasal tone feels tight or constricted in the nose. A good tone feels like it is all over the space above the mouth, as well as in the mouth and throat. A bad nasal tone needs to be pushed forward into the nose, a good one feels like it fills the spaces behind the nose. Pitch also has an influence on how this feels. On lower and middle pitches the resonance feels all over. As the pitch ascends we feel the resonance exist more in the upper pharynx and head, which sympathetically is felt in the face. But again, we don't want to try and create this effect. It is a result of good, vibrant phonation and a good resonance form. An undesirable nasality is usually the result of trying to create this result, which causes muscles in the throat to constrict and restrict the resonance in the nose.

Question on Body Connection and Singing too Dark

When I feel like I get things right, I feel very "connected" to my body, and there is no pain of any kind. I have done some recordings of me studying, and I was surprised to hear that the voice sounds much richer in tone, and very dark. In fact I am worried it might be a little too dark... I was a little scared, since I got used to the thought of my voice being light and clear...


The connected feeling to your body is a good thing. All voices should have darkness and richness. There should also be a brightness, but it is probably not the kind of brightness you are used to. It can get too dark, and we want to watch out for that. That is why we need to keep a slight lift in the face and upper lip. It is often referred to as a slight smile, like in the Mona Lisa painting. If the voice gets too dark it will feel heavy, and that is not wanted. Even so-called heavy voices should not be heavy. This is a sign that there is not enough resonance in the upper part of the pharynx behind the nose. The lift opens that area allowing the tone to exist there. This is what traditionally was called singing in the mask. It must be done right or it can cause a constricted feeling and/or nasality. 

Question about Larynx Moving with the Vibrato

I have a question about something I have just started experiencing. When there is vibrato in the voice, the larynx starts moving slightly up and down - it has never happened to me before, what is that?


The bobbing of your larynx is a sign of release. That can be good or not depending on other factors and how severe the movement is. I would say that you should never try to fix it. Think of it as a symptom and work on the overall coordination instead. Ideally the larynx should be stable and the tone steady. It is possible that what you are noticing as vibrato and the larynx moving is actually a slight instability. Observe if there are times when it doesn't move, but don't try to change it directly. That will cause interfering tensions and create new problems. It will change with improved coordination of the whole instrument.