Breathing exercises for singing
One of the most important parts of learning how to sing is learning how to breathe correctly. Breathing exercises are very important to singers as they help improve breath control and can help keep your voice strong.
Many breathing issues that singers encounter, such as running out of breath before the end of phrases, are often down to the internal muscles (the vocal cords & larynx) not being used correctly. However it is really important to regularly do breathing exercises as a singer.
Check out the following link for more advice on breathing exercises for singing: http://www.openmicuk.co.uk/advice-for-unsigned-singers/breathing-exercises-for-singing
BREATHING EXERCISES
Below are some breathing exercises for singers:
- Lie on the floor, relax and breathe normally. You should notice as you breathe in your stomach and rib cage rise (inflate) and as you breathe out they get smaller again (deflate).
- Make sure your shoulders are not rising when you take a breath. If they are this indicates shallow breathing and will result in too much air pressure onto your vocal cords. You’ll likely get an initial blast of volume followed by very little else as your breath and therefore your voice quickly runs out. The cycle will then continue and become very hard work.
- Practice doing short mini laughs with a breath in between – “Ha” breath “Ha” breath “Ha”. On every “Ha” make sure the stomach is going in and on the breath going back out. This breathing exercise for singing is good to practice this in slow motion to help develop control with your air pressure & flow. Think of squeezing a tube of toothpaste from the bottom up to keep that steady flow.
- Your breathing should start much lower down with your stomach and diaphragm muscles expanding like bellows. If your stomach goes in when you breathe in, you’re doing it the wrong way round!
BREATHING EXERCISES FOR SINGING
For more information on breathing exercises for singing go to: http://www.openmicuk.co.uk/advice-for-unsigned-singers/breathing-exercises-for-singing
ENTER THE MUSIC COMPETITION OPEN MIC UK HERE: www.openmicuk.co.uk
