Breathing is the key to life and also the key to singing. Breathing correctly is crucial to singing, especially in healthy singing. By "Healthy singing" I mean being able to sing in a way that will not damage or harm your voice.
We all breathe throughout the day, most of the time we are not even aware and do not think about it. It's something that just happens naturally and without it you wouldn't be reading this. Therefore we need to make ourselves aware of how we are breathing and if we are indeed doing it correctly.
The breathing that we want and should do for singing is called Diaphragmatic breathing. Diaphragmatic breathing is possibly a deep breath than you are used to. Most people tend to do Tidal or Clavicular breathing where you are breathing into your chest/ collar bone. This can usually be identified by the shoulders rising when taking an in-breath.
So to start breathing correctly place your thumb over or in your belly button and rest your hands on your lower abdomen. First we are going to breathe OUT, to do this gently squeezing your belly button towards your spine while you exhale. Keep going until you feel you have no more breath left inside.
Now to breathe IN all you need to do is just release your belly button. You lung will then automatically fill with air! Its that easy and simple to breathe in.
This may feel a bit alien or odd to begin with, but try and persevere with it. As with most things in learning to sing it is a really good idea to practice in front of a mirror, so your able to see whats going on and to make sure you are doing things correctly.
This is has just been a quick start in how to breathe, if you would like to learn more or book a lesson please feel free to contact me details can be found at bottom of website.
